Scrub with me if you want to live.

As much as we love our pets, sometimes our furry friends provide us with more than love and affection: They also leave hair all over our homes and clothing. And while there are ways to deal with the fur coating everything you own, somehow, no matter what you do, some always ends up in the laundry.

There are a few reasons for this, including the fact that your washing machine and dryer probably need to be cleaned. Here’s how to do that, along with some other ways to remove pet hair from your laundry.

How to remove pet hair from your washing machine

Let’s start with your washer. Even when you shake your clothes and linens out before putting them in, there always seems to be fur when it comes out. Here’s how to deal with that:

Clean the machine

Before anything else, try cleaning your washer. You can do this by putting 1/2 cup of white vinegar into the empty drum, and running it through a complete cycle. When it’s finished, wipe it down with a clean, damp, lint-free cloth.

Put them in the dryer first

Another option is to pop your laundry in the dryer before washing it. The idea here is to loosen the pet hair on the fabric so it ends up in the lint trap. It only needs to tumble for about 10 minutes on a low-heat or no-heat setting. Adding a slightly damp clean cloth to the load, along with a dryer sheet or wool dryer balls can help remove more of the fur that’s stuck to everything else.

Rinse your clothes with vinegar

Add 1/2 cup white vinegar during the rinse cycle when washing a load of laundry that you know is coated in pet hair or lint. This softens the fabric, which can help release trapped fur.

How to remove pet hair from your dryer

Even if you take steps to get rid of pet hair in your washer, you know that somehow, at least a bit of it is going to make its way into your dryer. Here are a few ways to keep it from getting on your clothes:

Clean it

Again, it’s best to start out with a clean dryer. In addition to cleaning out the lint trap after every load, take a minute to wipe down the drum of the dryer using a damp, lint-free cloth to get rid of any hair in there.

Use dryer sheets

Drying your laundry using dryer sheets can make a difference, as their antistatic properties help pull pet hair off the fabric and into the lint trap. Though any dryer sheet will work, you can also opt to purchase ones specifically made for removing pet hair and lint, which tend to be around the same price.

Use wool dryer balls

Not into dryer sheets? Reusable wool dryer balls are a great alternative, providing the same hair-loosening power as sheets, but without the scent and creating waste. Plus, they increase airflow in the dryer, which also helps remove fur from your laundry.

The post How to Remove Pet Hair From Your Washing Machine and Dryer appeared first on Lifehacker Australia .

Last year absolutely sucked, so this year you deserve to be a little bit selfish. A positive way to be selfish is to attend PEDESTRIAN.TV’ s Selfish Sessions. Yep, their usual fun and games have gone virtual this year, so you can join in from the comfort of your couch (wine in hand).

Running from February 24 to 26, this year’s lineup is seriously stacked. Listen to panel sessions from big names like Gen Z feminist and writer, Florence Given ; comedian and former triple j host Gen Fricker ; Today Entertainment Reporter and proud Gamilaroi Gomeroi woman Brooke Boney ; tennis legend Dylan Alcott, reality TV Gemini, author and podcaster Abbie Chatfield ; sexologist Chantelle Otten ; and the realest of the Real Housewives , New York’s Leah McSweeney … to name a few.

Tickets are selling for just $20+ booking fees for access to all three days, and Sydney and Melbourne residents will also score a $100 voucher from Urban Company . (Sorry, folks, they’re currently only available in Syd and Melbs).

Urban Company offers a range of home cleaning and handyman services at super affordable prices. With these guys, you can pay per room, which means you can completely customise your booking! Just want your bedroom cleaned (housemates be damned)? It’ll set you back $15, or $22 for a deep clean of that bad boy. Bigger common areas like your lounge room or kitchen start at $19 and $25 respectively, so just imagine what $100 will get you?!

Each aspect of Urban Company’s service is customisable, so you’re guaranteed to stay on budget. Their offerings range from cleaning specific rooms right through to balcony cleaning, window cleaning, bed linen changing and ironing. And just to make the service even sweeter, you can conveniently book it all from the palm of your hand. Simply download the app, load in your details and book your service stress-free.

The app matches you with quality controlled, UC-approved cleaners near you, and if you’re happy with the service you can set and forget a recurring booking with that specific cleaner, so you’ll never have to lift a finger again. Heaven!

Urban Company is now available to Sydney residents and will launch in Melbourne by April, pending COVID-19 and border restrictions.

Now, all you have to do is purchase your Selfish ticket and put your feet up.

You can check out the stacked lineup of speakers for Selfish Sessions here.

GET YOUR SELFISH SESSIONS TIX HERE .

The post How You Can Score A $100 Voucher For A Professional Clean Of Your Place appeared first on Lifehacker Australia .

When it comes to life skills worth mastering, laundry is pretty high on the list. Taking a ‘meh, whatever will work’ approach is a recipe for disaster – along with pinky-hued whites, probably.

Now, if you’ve been doing your laundry thing for some time now, chances are you’ll be aware that some items should be separated. (Whether or not you actually separate them is another thing, but understanding the concept is pretty common.) Whites go with whites, delicates should probably be hand-washed, and towels go with towels, right?

Kind of.

As the Lifehacker team has come to learn, it’s not widely understood that not all towels play nicely together. The reason for that is pretty damn gross, too.

Why can’t I throw my towels with everything else?

As Better Homes & Gardens writes, bath towels should always be treated as a separate entity. Washing those bad boys with tea towels or clothes puts you at risk of transferring bacteria between those items.

And if you’re talking about bathroom towels, the bacteria we’re dealing with is often faecal matter. Some studies have found traces of coliform bacteria and E. coli on bathroom towels. Which, y’know, makes sense – as nasty as it sounds.

Time magazine has reported recently that poor hand hygiene (though we’re better with that in the COVID era) often means that after washing our hands, we’re transferring bacteria onto damp, dark surfaces (our towels) where bacteria’s likely to thrive. It’s the perfect environment for a germ party.

Kitchen tea towels also have a tendency to get pretty nasty over time with food products and random spills, so mixing the two towel varieties means you may be creating something of a bacteria cocktail. As well as mixing faecal matter with kitchen items. (Spew.) Although, as Time writes, Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona has also found traces of E. coli on kitchen towels . This just depends on how often they’re cleaned.

How to properly wash your towels

If you’d like to avoid any nastiness in your laundry, separate all your items according to purpose (kitchen, bathroom, clothing), and make sure you’re washing your towels on a hot setting. Southern Living writes that pre-rinsing can be a good idea for particularly dirty towels. The outlet also shared that adding bleach to bleach-safe towels can be a good way to dial up the intensity of the clean. Just don’t pour bleach directly onto your towels, okay?

The post Why You Should Never Wash Tea Towels With Bath Towels appeared first on Lifehacker Australia .

I don’t know about you, but the ridiculously high stress levels of 2020 have made one thing clear to me going forward. I don’t want to deal with unnecessary difficulties where I can avoid them.

If my mind and body are going to have to handle the weight of a global pandemic, then you better believe I’m not going to let some stupid annoyance like running out of toilet paper further mess up my cognitive load. No, sir.

One way to help streamline your everyday life is to sign up to a bunch of set-and-forget subscriptions that’ll have your boring ol’ life admin running like clockwork. If you too are looking to de-stress in 2021, here is a list of options to consider.

Health and hygiene subscriptions:

This is a very popular area. There are oodles (wow, haven’t used that word like, ever before) of options in this space, so know there are loads more where these came from.

Amazon

It’s worth noting that when buying products from Amazon (like body wash , hand soap and so on) you can select a subscription option for the product. You can choose the frequency of the deliveries, and sweet bonus: it’ll get you a discounted price.

Vitable

Knowing exactly what vitamins to take can be a tricky task. This clever company allows you to take a quiz to find out which vitamins are right for your body. Once you’ve done that, you’ll then have the vitamins delivered to your door monthly. It couldn’t be easier.

Toothcrush

These cute, eco-friendly toothbrushes are delivered as a timely reminder that your old brush is past its prime. Because admit it, you’d forget otherwise. You can choose to have your deliveries sent quarterly or every two months, and memberships can be tailored to the number of people living in your home.

Prices start at $35 per year for one adult.

Kin Fertility

Kin offers a fully virtual contraceptive prescription experience, which is pretty incredible if you’re a time-poor modern individual. You’ll be paired up with a GP for an online consultation, and they’ll talk you through contraceptive options like the pill before setting you up with a prescription. You’ll then have your prescription delivered to you (usually it’s quarterly).

I personally use this (not for review or part of an affiliate partnership) and find it very convenient. However, it’s with checking in with your personal GP about any new medications and what’s right for you.

Pilot

This company is connected to Kin fertility (they exist under the same parent business, Eucalyptus) but focuses on men’s health. Here, you can sign up for subscriptions to treatments for sexual health and hair loss treatment options.

These involve an assessment with an Aussie doctor and are discreetly shipped to your home. Again, please be sure to chat with your personal GP whenever it comes to new medications.

Software

Okay, this is another Eucalyptus health brand. I know it’s a lot, but they offer some really cool services. This is a skincare subscription where you get a skin consultation online with a dermatologist, then can have your skincare shipped to you regularly from that point. Same as above, just chat with your doctor first if you have any reservations.

Who Gives A Crap

Never worry about empty shelves at the supermarket again. Who Gives A Crap is a subscription service for TP that happens to be plastic-free. The company also donates 50 per cent of their profits towards building toilets in communities that need them.

How We Roll

These guys also deal in eco-friendly TP , but also stock paper towels; compostable dog poop bags; bin liners and tissues. They’ll also plant one tree for every box of product sold. Pretty sweet, no?

Dollar Shave Club

When was the last time you updated your razor? These guys will quiz you on your shaving needs (on all parts of the body – so it’s not gender-specific) and from there will give you a recommendation on razor and product combos for your bod. Delivery dates are flexible and you can cancel whenever. More here .

Juuni

Period products regularly delivered to you? Tell me more. Design your perfect period pack, place your order and have it shipped free on the reg.

Jonny

Get condoms and other sex-related bits (like lube) discreetly delivered to your casa so you never need to do a late-night run to 7/11 again. These guys also come with biodegradable bags for disposals, and they donate $1 from every pack sold online.

Home subscriptions:

This list could go on forever, but here are a few useful subscriptions that’ll help around the house.

Zero Co

These guys deliver eco-friendly cleaning products to your door. The cleaning products are housed in bottles made of plastic waste taken from the ocean, and with your order, you’ll receive a refill bottle made from recycled materials. Once you’ve poured the contents of your refill bottle into the main container, return the empty refill bottle to Zero Co who will top it up for next time (and the time after that, and the time after that).

Koh Cleaning

Okay not technically a set-and-forget subscription, but these guys will also send eco-friendly cleaning products to your door, as well as refill packs for when you’re running low.

Coffee subscriptions:

There are loads of these available, so here’s a few to get you started.

Nespresso

You can sign up for 1, 2 or 3 capsule per day monthly subscriptions, each of which will offer you your 4th month free (at the time of publishing) when you sign up.

The tiers are priced at $25, $50 and $75 per month.

AllPress

Choose your coffee type, size and grind, then you can either buy your brew once-off or sign up for a subscription at a discounted price. This can be as often as weekly deliveries or as spread out as once a month.

Wine subscriptions:

Vinomofo

These guys offer two clubs : the MOFO club ($179 per pack) and the Black Market club ($139 per pack). You can choose how often you’d like the wine to be delivered, and have the boxes tailored to your tastes.

And there you have it. Our list of nifty subscriptions to help 2021 become more of a breeze for you all.

Got any other useful subscriptions we should know about? Let us know in the comments section.

The post The Best Subscription Services That’ll Save You Hours of Shopping Time appeared first on Lifehacker Australia .