Home Finds — No. 07
Laundry & washing essentials
A laundry corner is four or five decisions, not forty — and this is the order worth making them in.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what gets recommended here. Prices and stock move around, so check on the seller page.
Machine essentials
The things that keep the machine itself working. Nobody buys them until something starts to smell, which is about six months too late.
DescalerDettol machine cleaner, 250 mlOne bottle through an empty hot cycle, once a month. Takes the limescale and the smell with it.
TabletsHappi Planet cleaner & descaler, 8 tabletsOne tablet, one empty hot cycle. Easier to keep in a drawer than a bottle, and eight of them last most of a year.
StandAdjustable washer trolley, 170 kgLifts the machine off a wet floor and rolls it out when you need to clean behind it. Adjusts to fit a 7–12 kg drum, and the feet have vibration pads on them.
PadsAnti-vibration pads, set of 4Rubber feet that take the shudder out of a spin cycle. The difference is loudest on tile.
FilterWaterLabs filter & cartridge comboCatches rust and scale before they reach the drum. The spare cartridge comes with it, which is the part you keep buying.
FilterWaterScience hard-water filterThe other one worth having if your water runs hard. Clothes come out softer and the machine scales up slower.
CoverStylista front-load dust coverWaterproof, and cut so the door and the panel still open. Worth it the moment the machine lives on a balcony.
Shoe bagGlivary shoe wash bagZipped and plush-lined, so trainers go through a cycle without knocking the drum about.Detergents & washing
One good liquid, matched to your machine. Front load and top load are not interchangeable, whatever the shelf in the shop suggests.
Front loadBeco Matic laundry liquid, 5 LPlant-based and low-suds, so it is safe in a front loader. The five-litre can is the cheapest way to buy it.
DisinfectantSavlon laundry disinfectant, 890 mlGoes in after the wash, not with it. Worth keeping for uniforms, gym clothes and anything that has sat damp.
Plant basedHappi Planet laundry liquid, 1 LNo SLS, no heavy perfume, and it takes both front and top load. The one to move to if detergent bothers anyone at home.Sorting & carrying
Where the clothes wait. A basket you are happy to leave standing in a bedroom beats a bigger one shut inside a cupboard.
BambooBamboo laundry hamper, 72 LLined, lidded, rope handles, and it folds flat when you do not need it. Good enough to stay out in the open.
81 LAAMATY bamboo hamper with lid, 81 LThe rectangular one, so it sits flat against a wall instead of eating a corner. Folds down, and the lining lifts out to wash.
On wheelsHomestrap laundry basket on wheelsRolls from the bedroom to the machine, then folds flat. Perforated, so nothing damp sits in it and turns.Drying
Where the washing actually goes. For most of the year, and most of the country, that is indoors — which makes the rack a bigger decision than the balcony.
3 tierLiMETRO double pole drying standThree tiers and fold-out wings, on castors. Takes a full machine load and rolls out of the way afterwards.
WingedAmazon Basics 3-way drying standForty-two feet of rail on a frame that folds down to nothing. The wings drop for sarees and bedsheets.
Wall mountRainbow Drywell wall drying rackFolds flat against the wall when it is empty. The answer for a balcony too narrow to stand anything on.Ironing & finishing
The last ten minutes, which is the bit everyone puts off. Half of it is not ironing at all — a steamer and a lint remover cover most of what a wardrobe actually needs.
Steam ironPhilips GC1905 steam iron, 1440 WThe default, and rightly so. Non-stick soleplate, steady 17 g/min steam, and a spray for the creases that will not go.
Full sizeHapper wooden ironing board, deluxeHeight adjustable, with an iron rest at the end. If you iron standing up more than once a week, buy this and not the small one.
TabletopBonKaso tabletop ironing boardFolds flat and lives on top of a cupboard. For a flat with nowhere to stand a full board, this is the honest answer.
1500 WOWNAIR handheld garment steamerHeats in fifteen seconds and takes creases out of a shirt on the hanger. Faster than setting a board up for one thing.
TravelNUUK Ström Go V2 travel steamerSmall enough for a cabin bag, and it comes with a heat-resistant pouch so it can be packed while still warm.
StandPANCA adjustable garment standWhat makes a handheld steamer usable. Hangs the garment at the right height so both your hands are free.
LintNUUK Rizz rechargeable lint removerTwo speeds, sixty minutes on a charge. Takes the bobbles off a woollen and makes it look new again.
LintAGARO rechargeable fabric brushThe cheaper one, and a bigger head. Good for a coat or a blanket, where the small shavers take all evening.Washing machines
The machine itself, if you are at that point. Spin speed decides how wet the clothes come out, and that matters far more day to day than the star rating does.
9 kgSamsung 9 kg front load, 5 starEcobubble, steam wash and a heater built in. The 1400 rpm spin is what gets a load close to dry before it ever reaches the balcony.
8 kgSamsung 8 kg top load, 5 starThe top-load answer, for a utility corner with no room to swing a door open. AI Wash reads the load and picks the cycle itself.On Instagram
The machine essentials most people skip
Everything at the top of this page, in use — the cleaner the machine itself needs, the pads that stop it walking across the floor, and the cover that keeps the dust out between washes.
Watch on InstagramTop load or front load
The case for each, settled: water and electricity on one side, shorter cycles and an easier reach on the other. Plus the two nobody mentions — a filter if your water is hard, and a clean every two months either way.
Watch on Instagram3 drying racks for a small balcony
The three shapes in the drying section, opened out side by side — floor, tiered and wall-mounted — for a balcony with no room to spare.
Watch on InstagramHow to set a laundry corner up
Laundry goes wrong in the gaps, not in the machine. Clothes pile up because nowhere was ever decided on for them, and half-dry things end up over a chair for the same reason. Give each stage a place to stand and the washing mostly looks after itself.
Five stages, and every one of them needs somewhere to happen:
Match the liquid to the machine
Front-load detergent is low-suds on purpose. Top-load powder in a front loader foams up, coats the drum and works on the door seal until it goes.
Clean the machine monthly
A descaler through an empty hot cycle, then leave the door open between washes. Almost every machine that smells is a machine that is kept shut.
Buy the hamper you will leave out
A basket hidden inside a cupboard collects nothing, because nobody opens a cupboard door with an armful of clothes.
More home finds
