Shrinking or losing shape is one of the biggest reasons that people throw away clothes after washing and one of the most common laundry complaints. It’s no fun when you have an item of clothing that fits great, but comes out of the laundry too small, too short, or out of proportion. Shrinking usually happens from washing or drying your clothes using too-high temperatures, or from not following the directions on the item’s care label.
Many people think you need to use hot water to get clothes cleaner, especially if they are full of sweat and odor. However, hot water is rough on clothing fibers and can cause your clothes to stretch out of shape, shrink, or “pill”, also known as microfiber shedding.
To prevent shrinking, wash your clothes in cool or cold water, and use a detergent that’s designed to work well in all water temperatures. To remove sweat and odors in clothing, try pre-soaking items in OxiClean™ Odor Blasters™ Versatile Odor & Stain Remover before washing to get out tough stains and odors. OxiClean™ is free of chlorine and preservatives, so it’s safe on colors and gentle on your clothing – without sacrificing performance or leaving chemical residues.
Many detergents break down the fibers and dyes in laundry as they clean, causing severe fading overtime. This can lead to fading and losing the vibrancy of colors in your clothes. For your darkest, deepest colored clothes, OxiClean™ Dark Protect™ is specially designed to help prevent fading and pilling, so your favorite black t-shirt or jeans can stay rich and bold longer. Bonus: it’s made to work in cold water washes which may help your clothes last longer and reduce the amount of energy you use. Win-win-win.
To keep other colors bright and vibrant, OxiClean™ has a special Color Boost formula that’s safe for colored clothing and machine-washable household items such as towels, sheets, napkins and pillow or cushion covers. The chlorine-free, oxygen-based bleach formula dissolves stains, brightens colors, and is gentle on fibers.
Yellow sweat stains and dingy, dull white clothes can be frustrating and cause people to dispose of items before their time, contributing to waste. If your white fabrics have lost their brightness, you can revive them with a soak in the specialized OxiClean™ White Revive™ laundry booster formula to keep them looking new.
Learn more about how to wear whites comfortably and how to whiten sheets and towels with White Revive™.
Daily living – and eating and drinking – while wearing clothes can put them in peril for tough stains such as red wine, grass, mustard, grease, chocolate, or blood. If you get a stain on your clothes or sheets (we know you sometimes eat in bed, it’s ok!), the best thing to do is treat it right away. Keep OxiClean™ Max Force™ Spray or Gel Stick on hand to apply directly on the stain when you get it and wash later.
If you missed a stain and now it’s set-in, you don’t have to resign yourself to throwing away the item. OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover uses the power of oxygen to break down even tough, lingering stains, so don’t give up hope on rescuing stained clothing from heading to the landfill. Pre-soak stained items in OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover and add it to your laundry cycle to boost detergent effectiveness and power out stains.