What to know about doing laundry if you have sensitive skin

When you’ve got sensitive skin, there are enough things to worry about irritating you without risking a reaction after every load of laundry.
Clothes, sheets and towels can all end up making people with sensitivities itchy and sore if we don’t use the right methods or the most gentle products.
Karlie Suttie and Rachael Hallett, the women behind the ‘Mums Who’ online community, which includes the Mums Who Clean Facebook group, shared their tips for doing laundry when someone in the household has sensitive skin.
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One simple hack you can try to make clothes and linens less likely to irritate is doing an extra rinse or adding one to the cycle if your machine has that function.
“This will ensure that your laundry comes out cleaner than ever and that there is no risk of residue,” Suttie and Hallett said.
Another quick trick the mums had is to toss clothes into the dryer after drying them on the line. While this might seem unnecessary since the garments are already dry, the point is actually to soften the fabric more and make them less stiff.
To prevent residue from laundry detergent remaining on clothes and causing irritations, the mums recommend sticking to the instructions listed on the detergent packaging.
“Using OMO sensitive capsules is so simple as they are pre-measured and easy to use,” they said.
Suttie and Hallett also encouraged washing new clothes, towels and bedding before wearing or using to remove chemicals or debris that may be on the fabric.
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Their final tip was for households where one member does a dirty job or hobby to protect others in the home with sensitivities from anything that might cause a reaction.
“Consider a second washing machine to keep any sensitive household members away from potential chemicals, dirt or bacteria. A second-hand machine can do the job, throw the dirty clothes in that machine instead,” they said.
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