7 Ways You're Doing Laundry Wrong

They go into the washer dirty and look totally clean when you put them into the dryer, so how is it possible that when you then pull them out, you find them ruined by a constellation of dark, blotchy stains that appeared from out of nowhere? Those blotches are actually oil-based stains—the remnants of last Friday's pizza dinner, for instance. From now on, Gagliardi recommends, pretreat oil-based stains with a tiny amount of liquid dishwashing detergent. "The superconcentrated grease-cutting surfactants work well on these types of stains," she says. Boorstein suggests washing these items in a mesh bag, so you know exactly which items should be air-dried. Another tip: If it's a special item—say, his holiday button down—take it to the dry cleaners; the solvents used can cut through tough oil stains. To get a better price (these are your kids' clothes, after all), tell your cleaner that the items don't need to be pressed.