Six laundry hacks an expert says are 'terrible' and a waste of time

When we want better results from our laundry we often turn to hacks that claim to brighten whites and keep dark clothes from fading.

Some of these work a treat, but there are plenty that don't do anything at all to boost our washing.

Laundry expert Melissa Pateras has debunked six popular laundry hacks on her TikTok page.

Watch the video above.

She made the video after "asking friends and anyone I come across" about their favourite laundry hacks because everything they mentioned was "terrible".

Pateras joked the tricks were so bad she wasn't going to name names, and then did anyway.

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Here are the laundry hacks the TikToker said we should forget about:

Aspirin to whiten whites

This one came from Pateras' neighbour Linda and involves dissolving about five aspirin tablets in hot water and then soaking clothes in it.

However, the painkiller doesn't contain bleaching properties so won't have any effect on your white clothes.

"Because you're supposed to dissolve five to ten aspirin in hot water, it's the water that's probably doing the whitening, definitely not the aspirin.," Pateras explained.

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Salt to stop colour dye transferring

Pateras' sister adds a cup of salt to the washing machine to prevent the dye from coloured items transferring to white or lighter garments.

That's not all, she also believes salt helps to brighten clothes.

According to Pateras, both don't work as "this can only really be done in the manufacturing process ".

Coffee or tea to keep dark clothes dark

This is another hack from the TikToker's sister who thinks adding coffee or tea to the washing machine prevents dark fabrics from fading.

But it sounds like the coffee or tea would get too diluted when used this way.

"A few cups is not going to do anything with that much water which is usually let's just say around [57 litres] – don't bother," she said.

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Lemon juice as a detergent booster

Pateras' best friend Michelle shared this hack, which in theory sounds like it would work because citric acid is such a great cleaner.

However, the amount of juice you'd be able to squeeze from a lemon isn't enough to make a difference in the wash.

Dishwashing liquid to make whites whiter

This hack came from Pateras' long-time staff member Tammy, and is one that has been doing the rounds on TikTok.

The trick involves adding dishwashing detergent – or dish soap, as it's called in the US – to the washing machine to brighten whites.

"It's definitely not making anything whiter, but definitely ruining the machine and creating way too any suds – don't do that one," she said.

What dish soap is good for though is stain removal, especially for oil stains. So use it as a pre-treatment rather than a laundry booster.

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Vinegar as a laundry disinfectant

Pateras heard this hack from Shanta, a shopper who appeared in one of her 'grocery store laundry quiz' videos.

According to Shanta, vinegar helps disinfect your washing while it's in the machine, but it's not as effective as she thinks.

"It only works on a few strains of bacteria, far from the ideal 99.9 per cent," Pateras explained.

Instead of using vinegar as a laundry disinfectant, Pateras did confirm vinegar is a good substitute for fabric softener, so keep adding it to your fabric softener compartment.

As for the others mentioned, "Terrible hacks – please don't do any of them."

While those six things might not be worth your time when used in the washing machine, Pateras does recommend oxygen bleach as a laundry booster. This is what is in NapiSan type products, or you can buy sodium percarbonate on its own.

Just add a tablespoon to your wash for brighter whites and colours and to help with stain removal.