Laundry hint of the day

We have house pets - four dogs and two cats. As you can imagine, pet hair from shedding is a major problem.

For items that have static such as fleece, acrylic, polyester, silk, some rayons, some blends, I have learned a neat trick. (This might not work if you have to do your laundry in coin operated machines.)

Wash the item as you normally would - by hand or in the washing machine. First, when the wash tub is filled, aggitate the item(s) a little first, then stop the washer and carefully skim off the pet hair. If you forget or don't have time or have a front loading machine, don't worry about this step.

Next put the item or items in the dryer - the fewer the better. Make sure lint trap is cleaned out. Then, set to air fluff - NO HEAT or dryer sheets - for about 15 minutes. Heat causes static, which causes the hair to cling to the items. (Even the most delicate items can usually go in the dryer as long as there isn't heat, Velcro, zippers, or hooks.) Clean out the lint trap, again.

Now dry the item or items as you normally would, whether by hanging to dry, laying flat, or finishing them up in the dryer with or without a dryer sheet.

I have found that items put in the dryer on air fluff have usually lost quite a bit of the moisture that was in them so the heat cycle doesn't take as long. This can be a way to save energy, too, since it is the heat cycle that uses the most.