Spin me right round: 3 things you didn’t know about washing clothes

Did you know that the earliest washing machine first appeared in the 1700s?

Fact. German inventor Jacob Christian Schäffer published his washing machine design in 1767. If that ever comes up in a pub quiz, don't forget you heard it here first. A device a bit closer to the washing machine that we know and love (is love too strong a word?) today came into being in 1908, and its design hasn't really changed a whole lot since then. Laundry detergent arrived around the same time when those pristine Germans were at it again, with a certain Otto Rohm's research into the use of enzymes revolutionising washing powders in 1914. Forward-thinking Otto founded his own company and produced a detergent, Burnus (doesn't exactly scream baby soft does it?), becoming a best seller prior to the arrival of the first automatic washing machine in 1937. Fascinating stuff, eh? While we're at it, here's three other things we bet you didn’t know about washing your clothes... 1. Feeling hot, hot, hot Many of us have grown up with the message that we should turn down the temperature dial on our washing machines. Cold water is low risk as it won't shrink your favourite jeans (it definitely wasn't those doughnuts) or cause your new candy-striped shirt to bleed into a pink mess. But cold water probably won't get your clothes clean or remove odours. This is because 'surfactants', the active stain-removing compounds that make up to between 30 and 40 percent of the weight of washing powders, don’t work well in cold water. Bottom line: if you've got something germy you need to use the hottest temperature the material in question can handle; cold water will clean dirty clothes, but it won’t sanitise them. So, if you're an eco-mum using cloth nappies, or sticking in a load of bedsheets, you should turn that dial right up. Sorry environment. 2. There's a proper reason you should wash brand new stuff If you've just bought yourself some new bedsheets and are looking forward to an extra crisp box-fresh sleep, stop right there. Washing brand new items of clothing - or anything you're going to put next to your skin - may seem like a giant pain in the laundry arse but there's a valid reason behind it. Residual chemicals, left over from manufacturing processes, will sit on your skin if you don't wash first and dermatologists say they are a common source of skin irritation and contact dermatitis. Sticking your new items on a cold wash will also help to 'set' any dyes, meaning they won't bleed when you wash them later on with the rest of your laundry. 3. Blood is thicker than water When it comes to little cut knees, or if good aul Aunt Flo has left her mark, you should completely ignore tip one. Do not, we repeat do NOT use warm or hot water to remove a blood stain. A cold setting on your machine is the way to go here and detergent-wise you should only use an oxygenated bleach or enzymatic product. But before you leg it to the supermarket, there are some everyday household products that are top-notch at getting blood out. Try plain table salt and cold water, or if you wear contact lenses, your saline solution can be used to the same effect. The medicine cabinet can also save the day; if you have some aspirin knocking around, simply crush up a few tablets and mix the powder with cold water to form a paste that can be applied to the offending stain. Baking soda works just as well - allow the paste to sit for at least half an hour, or overnight if needed, and then cold wash in the machine. Ta dah!