Is anything more annoying than getting a tough stain on your favourite shirt? Whether it comes from wine, tomato sauce, oil or some other fluid: stains can be a real pain and they can ruin what was our favourite piece of clothing within minutes.

However, there are lots of methods out there to remove tie stains and others as well as to help our laundry be as clean as it can be when it comes out of the machine. Today we are going to take a look at some of these.

1. Use foil in the dryer

It never seems like a great idea to add heat to foil as many of us have seen what happens when it goes in the microwave… but actually, a small ball of aluminium foil in with your drying can be a great replacement for a dryer sheet. It will ensure that your clothes come out perfect and you only need to replace it every 6 months or so, so it works our much cheaper too!

2. Vinegar for softening

If you have some clothes which are made of pretty tough fabrics or even clothes which have a stubborn door before you place them in the wash, it can be a great idea to pour vinegar on them before a wash. Vinegar is an acid and therefore is able to breakdown stringy fibres of clothes as well as make sure that the bacteria causing a bad door is eliminated.

3. Use chalk for grease

Chalk is likely something you haven’t used since drawing in your blackboard at school, but it actually has a really great use in adult life too. Chalk is able to absorb and solidify grease, and therefore if you rub some chalk into a bacon grease stain, then wash it, you will find that the chalk lifts he grease and leaves you with the perfect garment once more.

4. Ice cubes for easy crease removal

One of the annoying things about drying your clothes is the fact that you end up having to iron out the many creases afterwards. But what if we told you there was another way? No one likes ironing, and this easy trick can ensure you don’t need to iron your clothes much, if at all after a drying session. Simply place a few ice cubes in the dryer with your clothes and use the hottest setting on the dryer. You’ll find wrinkle free clothes afterwards which will make life so much easier!

5. Stop colours running with salt

How can slay possibly stop colours from running? We hear you say… well? The chloride which is found in salt actually protects the colours in our clothes and keeps the colour from fading in the wash. It means that with a small sprinkle of salt you can have much more vibrant clothes for longer!

6. Hairspray for ink

One of the toughest stains to get rid of on our clothes has to be ink, and a lot of the time we end up scrubbing for hours trying to lift this off our pristine white shirt. However hairspray can be the ideal solution, because the alcohol inside it can dissolve the ink altogether and remove the stain. Soak the stain in hairspray or even hand sanitiser for 10-15 minutes and then wash it as normal and you should see a lovely clean piece of clothing afterwards.

7. Use baking powder for tea

When you have the perfect cup of tea on a cold day, all is usually right with the world. But what happens when you spill tea in your favourite pants and they are stained forever? Well, no need to worry because baking powder can be the perfect antidote. By soaking your clothes in vinegar for 30 minutes and applying baking powder over the top and throwing it in the wash, you should come out with perfect pants all over again.

8. Red wine stains

Red wine is one of those nightmare stains which you can be forgiven for believing will always stay on your clothes as a lasting reminder of your tipsy antics… but there is a way to stop it. When you spill red wine on yourself, immediately take off the garment and sprinkle some salt onto the stain. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Next, slowly pour boiling water over the garment from a height to flush out the stain. Wash as normal and you should be left with a perfect item once again.