Bleach Alternatives -- Use ¼ to ½ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup white vinegar or 3 tablespoons hydrogen peroxide in your washer instead of bleach. For lingerie or other delicate fabrics whose washing instructions suggest a gentle bleach, use 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 8 parts water. Soak the garment in the mixture for about 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
When Whites Get Dingy -- Cut ½ lemon into slices and put them in a basin of boiling hot water. Soak the once-white socks, t-shirts and underwear for at least ½ hour. Wash as usual. As you wash, dissolve 1 tablespoon borax in a pint of hot water and pour into the last rinse cycle.
HOMEMADE PRE-WASH -- Caution!! When you apply this solution, wash the clothing immediately. Allowing it to set for any period of time may create a difficult stain to remove. Mix equal parts of water, ammonia, with dishwashing (not dishwasher) liquid that doesn't contain bleach. Put it into a clean spray bottle and label it as prewash spray. OR Fill an empty roll-on deodorant bottle with the pre-wash and just roll on!
To Keep Dark Fabrics and Corduroy LINT-FREE -- Add ½ cup white vinegar to the last rinse cycle.
At least once per year, fill the Washing Machine with hot water, add 1 quart white vinegar and put it through the wash and dry cycles.
To Prevent Colors from RUNNING -- Set the color so that it will not run or fade: Dissolve 1 teaspoon Epsom salts in 1 gallon water and soak the garment in it overnight. Next morning, rinse thoroughly with vinegar water--¼ cup vinegar in 1 gallon of water. Then wash as usual.
To Prevent Pilling -- Turn garment inside out when you wash it.
Itchy Woolen Sweater? -- Try washing woolens in warm water that has had 1 to 2 tablespoons of glycerine (available in drugstores) added.
White Woolens? -- After washing and rinsing, place your white woolen items in your freezer for about an hour and a half. The cold will have a harmless bleaching affect on the garments. Just let them thaw naturally and dry as usual.
JEANS -- To soften jeans, run them through the wash with detergent and ½ salt.
To prevent streaking, wash them inside-out.
To prevent Fading, soak them for 1 hour in a mixture of 2 tablespoons salt and 1 gallon cold water. Then turn them inside-out and wash in cold water as usual.
To perk up FADED jeans, wash them a few times with a pair of new jeans. The dye from the new pair will be absorbed by the faded jeans.
SILK -- For washable silk, use hair shampoo whose first ingredient is water, not oil, and contains protein to feed the protein in the silk. Be gentle--do not wring or twist! Let it drip-dry not in sunlight.
Yellowing White Washable Silk Blouse? -- Soak it for 2 to 3 hours in solution of 1 gallon warm water and 2 ounces of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, in the sink or a plastic (not Metal) container. After soaking, rinse the blouse thoroughly in warm water and dry it on a hanger--for best results, in a room without sunlight.
To remove a water spot from a silk garment, let the spot dry thoroughly , then rub it with tissue paper. Surprisingly, that seems to work.
Suede -- Removing a stubborn stain on suede can be very simple. If ordinary brushing doesn't do the trick, try rubbing the spot lightly with an emery board, then steam over a boiling kettle. Just like new.
Makeup Stains can be removed by rubbing with a heel of bread.
Delicate Items -- If you want to machine-wash your delicates, put them in a pillowcase, tie it closed, then throw it in the machine.
To wash by HAND, put them into a large jar with water and 1 to 2 teaspoons dishwashing liquid. Then shake jar for a couple of minutes, rinse and air dry.
Homemade SUGAR STARCH -- When regular spray starch won't hold up frail fabrics, try the old-fashioned method great-grandma used for her lacy doilies. Mix ¼ cup water and ¾ cup sugar in a small pan. Stir the mixture over low heat (don't boil) until clear, not sugary. Shut off and let cool. Wet the collar and cuffs of a blouse or lace doily; roll in a towel to remove excess moisture and dip it into the mixture. Squeeze out excess starch, then shape the collar and cuffs. Allow to dry and iron on a warm setting. Doilies don't need ironing when you use this starch, just smooth out and shape while wet on a clean flat surface.
Pantyhose Trick -- BEFORE you wear new pantyhose, dip them in water, wring them out, enclose them in a plastic bag and freeze them solid. When you take them out of the freezer, let them thaw and dry completely. Then wear them well. Add a drop of liquid fabric softener to the water when you rinse pantyhose; it lubricates the fibers, giving them a longer life.
To Increase Elasticity, add 2 tablespoons white vinegar to the rinse water to help them keep the elasticity. When washing in a machine, use an old pantyhose LEG to hold pairs of good pantyhose, knot the leg closed and toss in the washing machine.
Buy Two of the same kind pantyhose, Get One extra for free. When a leg of the first pair gets a run, do not throw it away. Wait until the second pair gets a run in one leg. You then cut off and discard the legs with runs, leaving you with 2 panty parts, each with one leg. Put them both on and voilá! A run-free pair of pantyhose.
Great Sand-Castle Builder -- Save the tops of your liquid laundry detergent and bring them to the beach. They form great sand castles OR children can stack them like blocks.
Substitute Softener -- ¼ cup white vinegar added to the last rinse cycle is a good fabric softener and then some. It also brightens colors and helps do away with mold and fungus. It will NOT come out smelling like vinegar; it will not have the softener smell. 
Testing for HARD Water -- Add ½ teaspoon detergent to 1 quart warm water, close it and shake vigorously. If it doesn't suds up, or the suds disappear fast, you have hard water.
To FIX HARD WATER -- Combine ½ pound washing soda with ¼ pound borax in 1 gallon water. Store solution in a couple of plastic bottles. Each time you do a wash, add 1 cup of the solution to the wash to soften it.
Curtain Tricks -- To freshen DACRON or NYLON curtains, wash and rinse as usual. Then in a sink, mix 1 cup Epsom salts in 1 gallon of water. Soak, one panel at a time, for a few minutes, and hang them up. They should dry wrinkle free, looking like new. Machine wash your washable sheer curtains as usual, prepare a packet of unflavored gelatin in 1 cup of just-boiled water. Then, for the final rinse cycle, pour in the gelatin and forget about using an iron. PLASTICS -- Always wash with a couple of bath towels which will help scrub the plastic clean. Add 1 cup vinegar during the last rinse cycle to make them soft and pliable. Put them in a dryer with the towels for only a FEW minutes to make them wrinkle free.
Lace that has Yellowed -- Yellowed lace can be whitened again by soaking it in sour milk.
Suede -- To clean and condition SUEDE garments, sponge them with a soft cloth dipped in vinegar.
Read about the History of the Washing Machine Here!
Understanding Apparel Care Instructions and Care Symbols -- All about Stain Removal and Laundry Essentials - great site!!
Laundry Tips from Pro Hardware
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