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Socks are the bane of any person doing laundry. While it is warm, fuzzy, and protects our feet, it also has a crazy ability to pick up dirt from floors and inside our shoes. This makes washing them a chore, a nightmare even!
The dirt that gets attached in our socks also has a reputation for being stubborn. Sometimes, they even cause permanent stains and bad smells. If your mother had scolded you for coming home with a dirty pair of socks when you were younger, then you may have been on the receiving end of an earful of scolding.
But now you’re all grown up and responsible, and your mama won’t be the one to clean all those nasty looking and smelling socks of yours. This article will then guide you through how to make your socks cleaner than it ever was before!
The Essentials
Before you go on your aggressive cleaning campaign, it is best to first know and prepare your arsenal.
As with any major cleaning project, you need to use laundry detergent. Don’t be afraid to use heavy-duty detergents! You can also have bleach to help in the entire process. Keep in mind though, to use the ones best suited to the color of socks you are washing.
You also need to use warm water. It will help in the agitation of chemicals and make the cleaning process easier and faster.
Certain acidic material can be utilized too! Lemon juice can be utilized in the lifting of dirt. But when you are going to go headfirst in a quest to clean white socks (of all things!), then it would be best to also stock up on white vinegar.
The Methodology
In a basin, mix two parts lemon juice with one part warm water. Toss in your socks and let it do its work in lifting dirt. If you don’t feel like that’s enough, you can also add in some detergent. Leave it for a few hours at least before proceeding to the next step.
You might like to bring in your washer, but it would be better to continue this step manually. Mix vinegar, warm water, and detergent and have a field day on handwashing your socks! It would be better this way since you would be able to pinpoint the more difficult spots and pay them more attention.
At best, your socks will be back to its tiptop condition. But if it still has particularly difficult to remove stains (especially white socks!), then bring in the detergent!
When done, you can dry out your socks under the sun to fully dry them out. This is to make sure that all the moisture will be evaporated and nasty smells will no longer be a problem.
A Piece of Advice
Socks can be very complicated to clean, especially when they have been substantially covered in all kinds of dirt and grime. Not to mention, aggressive cleaning techniques (such as brushing the fabric to further remove stains) may contribute to the deterioration of your sock’s elasticity.
When it seems that all effort has been exhausted, it would be best to throw out that particular pair of socks. This is to maintain hygiene as the feet are notoriously susceptible to a bunch of nasty things that can cause infections and odours.
Besides, you’re not messing up a pair Gucci socks, are you?
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