Popular Laundry Myths Debunked

It seems reasonable to assume that if you want your clothes to be cleaner, you should use more soap but it doesn’t work that way. Using more detergent than needed creates excessive suds, which means more water has to be used to rinse clothes to remove residual detergent.

Always refer to your detergent label for dosage recommendations. Or use automatic dosing technology like the Bosch iDOS system, which determines and dispenses the precise amount of liquid detergent for every wash.

While it might seem strange that you need to wash your washing machine, it's a good habit to give it a clean from time to time.

Run a Drum Clean programme or any other wash program which operates at 90°C with an empty load.

This eliminates odour-causing bacteria and gives the drum surface a good clean. Add a descaler to remove limescale deposits caused by hard water.

There are a variety of factors why certain fabrics are more prone to shrinkage than others. Hence, it is important to check your clothing label to see if it's suitable for machine drying. Also, always use the right drying programme as different fabrics have different heat thresholds.

While a cold wash might consume less energy, it may not clean heavily soiled clothes perfectly.

Heated water provides a more hygienic clean by killing bacteria. Bosch's wash programmes can reach temperatures of up to 60°C, for the best wash results.

Hand washing your clothes is a time-consuming process, especially for fabrics such as wool or silk.

Contrary to popular belief, certain wool or silk garments can be machine washed - just check the clothing label for washing instructions.

Washing machines these days have a "Wool" and "Delicates/Silk" program, specially designed to wash these fabrics. If you want to be on the safe side, put items which need special care into a mesh bag for extra protection.

If you follow these tips, you will save time and money, while ensuring a long life for your laundry machine and clothes.