Here’s how Melissa Maker, the host of Clean My Space on YouTube, keeps backpacks and lunch bags smelling fresh:
1. Check the fabric label
If it says ‘machine washable’, use cold water on the gentle cycle. (Zip everything up and take off pins and removable straps, or wash in a mesh laundry bag.) If it doesn’t say ‘machine washable’, use warm water, a soft sponge and laundry detergent.
2. Get rid of stains
Use stain remover or, for major gobs, soak the whole thing in Vanish Power 02 Crystal White Powder for an hour or two. Scrub stains on the plastic insert of a lunch bag with a paste of bicarb and water.
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3. Avoid the tumble dryer
These bags are clothesline items. Plus, fresh air helps eliminate odours.
4. Keep smells out
Place a tumble-dryer sheet at the bottom or, if the scent is too strong, leave a piece of newspaper spritzed with water and vanilla extract in the bottom of the bag over the weekend when things start getting rank. When the paper comes out, all you’ll smell is cookies.
TIP:
Smelly, but no time to scrub? Put an open box of bicarbonate of soda in the bottom of the backpack overnight. It’ll buy you time until you get to wash it. On that note, bicarb is really is a miracle worker. Here are 20 household uses for this pantry staple.
Got a couple of minutes? Try our tried-and-tested tips on how to speed-clean everything from your tupperware to your blinds, microwave and down duvet.
PHOTO: iStock/monkeybusinessimages
