Tips & trucos: take good care of your clothes and help saving the environment, your wallet ánd free time
Because your Poca Boca items are here to stay: PARA SIEMPRE
The production of clothing is – desafortunademente – quite a burden on the environment. This is of course one of the reasons that we only use sustainable materials and techniques for Poca Boca, we design timeless collecciónes and we use as few unnecessary (packaging) materials as possible.
Good news: you can also do your bit! Aquí a few super easy tips for taking care of your clothes that are good for el medio ambiente and in some cases also for your wallet and free time 💃🏼.
Fresh aíre
Not only we human beings feel better when we get enough fresh air, your clothes do too! Smells that have got into your shirt or jumper are often gone after hanging next to an open window or outside for just one night.
Remove the smell
Is there still a bad smell in your shirt? Vinegar works wonders! Mix some vinegar with water and apply it directly to the spot where the smell is coming from. Leave for ten to fifteen minutes. You can also treat persistent sweat spots with salt. Rinse well, then let it dry outside and it will smell fresh again!
Remove stains
If you only have one stain on your jumper or shirt, there is no need to wash the whole garment; it’s better to just remove the stain.
Photo: Eggbank
Food spillage: Been a bit too enthusiastic with your burrito? The quickest way to get food stains out is to run hot water through the back of your garment onto the stain. Plenty of water and a good dab will usually do the trick. Still no result? Dab on a little liquid detergent or cold water with lemon and the last bit of burrito will be gone in no time!
Chocolate stains: wet down well with cold water. Still not gone? Put a little liquid detergent on the stain and rinse the fabric thoroughly afterwards.
Toothpaste stain: Take action YA! If you leave toothpaste on for too long, it can start to bite in your garment and leave permanent stains. Dab with plenty of lukewarm water and… it’s gone!
Coffee splatters: Took this song by Juan Luis Guerra a bit too literally 😉 ? Dab – do NOT rub – with plenty of lukewarm water and the stain goes away. If there is still some left, take the vinegar again and rinse well with water.
Need to run a wash after all? Then proceed as follows:
Wait until you have enough washing to run a full drum
Lower the temperature, you do not (always) need to wash clothes at 40 or 60 degrees. There are various detergents that are specially designed for washing at lower temperatures and which still clean your clothes well.
If you have the space, dry your clothes in the fresh air or on a drying rack. Much better for the environment (and your wallet) than a dryer.
Photo: Shifaaz Shamoon
Skip the fabric softener. Fabric softeners are very polluting for the wash water that is disposed of after your wash. Also, the production, transport and packaging are not exactly environmentally friendly.
Do not use too much detergent. The more detergent you use, the more water your washing machine will use to rinse.
Washing bag against water pollution
Synthetic materials such as polyester, polyamide and acrylic leave behind microfibres when you wash. These tiny plastic pieces are too small to be caught in the water purification system and therefore end up in our nature waters. This can be avoided by washing synthetic clothing in a laundry bag, as the particles will remain in this bag. After washing, take the particles out of the laundry bag and throw them away with the plastic waste.
Tea! Tea? Sí, té!
And we don’t want to keep this tip from you either! Because in addition to lemon and vinegar, tea bags work wonders. Is there a bad smell in your shoes? Put some tea bags in them, put your shoes in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer overnight to kill the bacteria.
