You can have an effective pre-laundry spray for next to nothing.

I’ve posted in the past about my trick of putting liquid hand soap on stains so they will come out in the wash. This is especially helpful when you don’t have ready access to a laundry as it keeps the stain from completely setting.

I’ve taken this one step further and it’s amazing.

A few weeks ago, I decided that if liquid soap worked on its own, then perhaps it would work mixed with water as a pre-wash spray – and boy, was I right. I poured a small amount of soap in an old windex bottle and topped it up with warm water. I find the warm water helps it to mix better – and nothing else. At first I was using soap I poured directly from our liquid hand soap refill, but today I had another brain wave. While I was refilling a hand soap container in the bathroom, I emptied the bulk refill jug. Rather than toss it with all of the soap clinging in the sides into the garbage, I filled the rest of the container with warm water and gently flipped it end to end to blend, with very little suds. Now I have a full refill container of pre-wash laundry spray.

Prior to throwing dirty clothes into the hamper, I spray any obvious marks or stains. Not only does it work, but it leaves a nice scent to mask that stale old laundry smell that usually emanates from the laundry hamper while waiting to be washed.