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Daily Record
Daily Record
Lifestyle
Nicola Roy & Danielle Kate Wroe

The 65p cupboard staple that stops colours running in the washing machine

Over the past few months, the cost of using household appliances such as the washing machine has skyrocketed.

And it looks like costs will continue to increase as the energy price cap is set to rise once again in April - forcing many families to look for effective cost-cutting methods.

One of these is to put on less loads of washing by mixing darks and lights. However, there's always the risk that the colours will run and ruin your clothes, making them look grey and grubby.

There are specific products designed to stop this from happening, such as Colour Catchers - but it turns out that a cheap household staple does the trick just as well.

The Mirror reports that salt can stop your colours from bleeding into each other in the wash, even when they're in a mixed load, according to PureSalt.

The company suggested soaking your colourful clothes in a water and salt mixture for around two hours before putting them in the washing machine with your whites.

Then, it's also worth adding an extra cupful of salt into the machine just for added protection against bleeding.

A tub of table salt costs just 65p from Asda - which is a lot cheaper than a pack of Colour Catchers at £4.50.

Elsewhere in the home, salt can also be used to tackle a number of different problems - such as damp and condensation.

The cold outside temperatures mean that it can be difficult to get rid of condensation on our windows, which can lead to damp and mould if it's not dealt with.

However, by using salt on the windowsills, you can drag the moisture out of the air and away from the surfaces - leaving your windows free of condensation.

Cat litter works in the same way if you fill a sock with it and place it near your windows.

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