If you’ve got a couple of items to wash, it might take half an hour or so. But obviously the more laundry you have, and the more diverse your piles of dirty clothes are, the longer it’ll take you to treat and clean each individual item of clothing. What happens if you don’t use laundry detergent when hand washing? This, in turn, should prevent you from tipping too much of the detergent into the water in one go, and it ought to stop the watery mixture from becoming overly concentrated. So, if you were to buy this giant bottle, not only would you get ample washes from the tub, but you’d also be doing your bit for the environment. It’s made in their zero-waste factory, the bottle it comes in is 100% recycled, and the detergent itself is cruelty-free.

You can follow the steps above to hand wash silk items. However, you need to do a colourfast test first. Bicarbonate of soda is great for removing stains from wool. A mixture of half a teaspoon of bicarb and 1 cup of warm water can be used to apply locally to stains. You can then soak the garment in your usual wool washing detergent and enjoy smooth, stain-free wool. In addition to this, you should also think about hand washing clothes made from delicate materials, like wool, lace, silk, clothes with lots of beading and items with fine details.It still doesn’t excuse the fact that if you open the cardboard box up wrong, you risk spilling the entire contents of the box everywhere.

But water alone won’t be able to clean your laundry thoroughly, and it certainly won’t be able to lift away any stains.

Gentle and pH-neutral hair shampoos such as baby shampoos can be used to wash wool, so they are a good option if you have one to hand and don’t want to buy a separate wool wash product. If you just clean your dirty clothes in warm water, very little will happen. Your clothes may look a tad cleaner if you agitate the clothes around in the water. Stergene Handwash Laundry Liquid has been designed with hand washing clothes in mind. It’s gentle on clothes, there’s no strong fragrance attached to it and protects the fine fibres of delicate materials like wool and silk.

Specialised detergents are likely to prolong the life of your wool garments as they are designed to wash wool without damaging its fragile fibres.In addition to this, the material you are washing will also dictate the type of detergent you can use. For example, if you are hand washing silks, you will need to use a specialised silk detergent that is handwash-friendly. When hand washing laundry you need to focus on particularly dirty spots on the clothing. Under the armpit is a common area where dirt forms. This method for washing a wool sweater on Instructables.com recommends mixing dish soap (washing up liquid) with white vinegar, rather than using a special wool wash product. This washing detergent works brilliantly on wool, cashmere and any other delicate fabric you’d like to use it with. It is great to have a bottle in the cupboard during the winter period for your woollen wear and in the summer for the rest of your delicates.

Never put wool in the tumble dryer—the combination of heat and motion will cause it to shrink. Instead, remove as much moisture as you can with a low spin cycle on the washing machine. Just using water will also mean that your laundered clothes also won’t have that ‘just cleaned’ smell either. The plant-based, biodegradable formula comes in a liquid form, and thoroughly cleans stains from clothes, as well as being gentle on the delicate fibres of the materials you intend on cleaning. It’s also safe to use if you have a septic tank in your home, which is a bonus! Ecover Delicate Laundry Liquid is the perfect non-biological detergent to buy if you’re after a cruelty-free, vegan-friendly, and environmentally conscious cleaner for your clothes.If you’re after a detergent that is suitable for hand washing general, hardwearing laundry, Daz is a great option. In addition to this, when it comes to hand washing silk garments you should always use cold water, a silk-friendly detergent, and only wash one silk item at a time. You should only use a very little amount of detergent for the job too. How do you hand wash underwear? This eco-conscious company is also ‘certified plastic free’ so by getting this powder you’ll be helping the planet, and you’ll get a cute keepsake jar!