You may think you have a while yet but if you're preparing yourself for sending your child into the world on their own, either to university or if they are just planning to take the step to live on their own, it pays to be prepared. By teaching your children these simple steps to laundry now they will have plenty of time to perfect their skills before they venture into the unknown.

1. Inspection & Stain Removal

Stains can be easily missed during a quick wash, so teaching your children the art of inspecting clothes for stains is a very important step. By teaching your children about the importance of using stain removal products you will be saving them, and no doubt yourself, a lot of money. The Dr. Beckmann Stain Devils Survival Kit could mean that your child will never have to throw away clothes because they are stained. This simple kit contains 3 of the most popular Stain Devils meaning by having this little kit in their cupboard they can remove over 40 of the toughest stains in just 3 minutes, the time it takes to make a cup of tea. The kit even comes with a handy fridge magnet to tell them which Stain Devil to use for their stain, so never again need your child be confused about stain removal.

2. The importance of sorting

To keep colours from bleeding and ruining clothing, the general rule is to sort lights from darks, colours from whites. Explain the potential hazards of mixing new fabrics with old, red fabric with lights and then introduce them to the wonder that is Dr. Beckmann Colour & Dirt Collector. A product that will save even the best of us from colour runs caused by those unwanted garments that find their way into our wash and mixed colour washes, whilst also collecting all the stray dirt. These ingenious sheets mean that your child wont have to wait till they have a full wash load of one colour or waste water by doing small loads of washing, these sheets mean they can wash mixed colours with confidence.

3. Laundry boosters

As well as teaching your children to add products such as fabric softeners to their laundry its a good idea to teach them about adding whiteners to keep their whites looking like new for longer. Adding laundry boosters such as Dr. Beckmann Glowhite, can help their whites stay white and also restore whiteness to clothes that have gone that inevitable grey colour. To keep clothes white whilst also removing stains Dr. Beckmann Whitener with Stain Remover is the ideal product.

4. Fixing Color Runs

Colour runs is something every laundress will have to deal with at some point and by teaching your children that it does not necessarily spell the end for their favourite dress or t. shirt you can save them a lot of disappointment. Dr. Beckmann Colour Run Remover can help rescue clothes from unwanted dye runs, for example if the red from a red and white striped t. shirt runs and they now have a red and pink striped t. shirt, or that naughty black sock invades the white wash and turns everything grey. This product is available for colours, whites and as a hand-wash meaning they are covered whatever their colour run crisis.

5. Timing and temperature

There are a lot of dials, buttons and options to choose, making the washing machine look a lot like a NASA space shuttle to a teenager or someone who has never had to do their own laundry before, and if you’re not a seasoned laundress with years of experience, it may be overwhelming. Make sure you use your expert knowledge and know how to install confidence into your children that they're making the right selections even for delicates and woolens. When it comes to using the tumble dryer it is also a good idea to introduce them to drying sheets such as Dr. Beckmann Tumble Fresh, a product that keeps your clothes feeling soft and makes them easy to iron, meaning if your child is about to rush out of the door to a party or important job interview they don't need to worry about how long the ironing will take them.

By teaching your children these 5 simple steps you are building a foundation of life skills alongside those such as table manners. You can feel confident that your child is equip with the knowledge of how to carry out, what can sometimes be, a daunting task . However if you're not quite ready to shut down the 'Mums Hotline' just yet then may be leave a step out, ensuring your darling son or daughter will always have something to consult your expert knowledge on.

They are either too small, the wrong colour or too racy, according to a nationwide survey of British women by UK laundry specialist Dr Beckmann.

And it is all men’s fault.

In a nutshell, men are pants at choosing pants for their partner, and they’re most guilty during the Christmas period – the season when they are most likely to impulse buy underwear for their lady. The worst offenders are men who buy red lacy underwear or other items they consider ‘sexy’, say Britain’s women. Male-bought racy underwear is twice as likely as any other kind never to be worn by women, according to the study.

Women say they will put an astonishing 48% of all knickers, bought for them as Christmas presents, directly into their underwear drawer and will never, ever, wear or wash them. Of those remaining knickers that are worn, just 20% will be worn more than once before being hidden at the bottom of underwear drawers across the nation.

Why?

Because men are useless when it comes to choosing female underwear, it seems.

Some 31% of all Christmas knickers bought by men for their lovers is the wrong size, often too small but sometimes, unforgivably, too big. A further 12% are too racy and some 10% are a colour that their lady-love would never wear.

Dr Beckmann spokesman Susan Fermor said:

“Women love new underwear but it seems that their men often get it wrong when it comes to buying lingerie for their loved ones. This seems especially true at Christmas, when men are most likely to buy their women underwear. Men’s opinion of what their women would like seems to be way off the mark in many, many cases.

Britain’s women clearly prefer their own lingerie choices. Like men, many have a few pairs of ‘favourite’ pants, which they prefer to wear on a regular basis. Men rarely play it safe when buying ladies underwear – they seem to go for risqué or racy undies which rarely, if ever, get worn.”

Recent reports show that Marks & Spencer sells an incredible 61 million pairs of knickers in the UK every year and the UK lingerie market is worth a staggering £2.48 billion annually.

This amazing new product is a one of a kind that will revolutionise laundry for fake tan users, no longer will they have to put up with stained clothes, bedding and towels.

After testing on some of the most popular fake tan brands Dr Beckmann have managed to come up with a formula that will eradicate those unsightly brown stains.

Take a look at our new Fake Tan Stain Remover page for more information.

We are currently raising money for Children in Need;

£3 could pay for a bullied child to attend an after school club.

£5 could prevent a child from going hungry at breakfast time for a whole month

£22 could pay for a 2hr therapy session for a child suffering from extreme trauma

£100 could buy a bed for a child and prevent them from sleeping on a cold, hard floor

By doing your bit and donating just £1 you could be making a real difference to the lives of children in the UK.

By making a donation to Children in Need via Dr. Beckmann you will also be entered into a prize draw to WIN a year’s supply of Dr. Beckmann products*. The winner will be drawn on Monday 21st November, two runners up will receive a copy of Rio on Triple Play and DVD.

Just click on the button to make a difference.

*A selection of products, one for every month.

Dr. Beckmann Colour and Dirt Collector TV advert

Almost eight out of every 10 women (78.89%) admit they feel the pressure of having to perform at work and at home ‘overbearing’.

MORE than half (50.83%) of British women admit they feel more pressurised at home than work a national study reveals today. 

And instead of winding down when they leave work after an eight-hour day, 44% of British women begin a five and a half -hour shift of domestic duties at home. After a 13.5 hour working day women of all ages eventually get to have an hour or less of ‘me’ time at about 10.30pm in the evening when they have finished cooking dinner, loading the dishwasher, ironing clothes and preparing lunches for the rest of the family for the following day, according to the report by laundry specialists Dr. Beckmann.

Six out of 10 women who work say keeping the house clean and tidy while maintaining a full or part-time job is ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’.

Half of those questioned were not in full time employment, either working part time or not working and they admit keeping up with household tasks can be difficult.

79% of those questioned said that they had more qualifications than their mothers, and so had taken on more pressurised jobs as a result – whilst also trying to keep up domestic standards in the home. Yet, only 5% of working women employ a cleaner to help around the house and reduce some of their workload and almost seven out of 10 (68.11%) say they perform all the housework without the help of their partner.

Dr Beckmann spokeswoman Susan Fermor said:

“Despite the fact that we are in the 21st Century and much has been made of the role of the new modern man, it seems women are now expected to do more than they have in generations past.   Women are saying to us that their dual responsibility – to perform in the workplace and to be a domestic goddess at home – is ‘stressful’ or ‘very stressful’ as well as women who don’t work finding their domestic duties hard going.

Our findings suggest that today’s female generation are cracking under the pressure of their combined work and home lives, and not asking for help with their household tasks, despite working the equivalent of a 13.5 hour day.”

Rachel Morris of Brazn PR also added:

“These statistics suggest that the modern woman doesn’t so much have it all as do it all.  Women are work-horses; we work till we drop and that’s the problem. If we don’t accept our limitations we could end up failing at everything we’ve worked so hard for.

Our children and our relationships require time and effort from us if they are to thrive. If we’re too tired to give them what they need, then we have to ask ourselves the question – what, or who are we working for?  If we want more equality in the home, we have to be prepared to give up control.  Equal opportunities supposedly give women the chance to compete with men on a level playing field but starting the race already run ragged with domestic exhaustion hardly feels like fair play.”

The competition has now closed. Thank you for all your entries.

Terms and Conditions

Almost half the UK are living under the cloud of a thoroughly modern condition called Compulsive Laundry Organising & Unwashed Deficit (CLOUD), a new national study has revealed.

And we can't help ourselves, it seems.

Despite the fact we know it makes no difference to the quality of the end result, a worrying 49% of us admit we can't help but quickly stuff worn clothes directly into the washing machine the very moment we take them off.

This compulsion is often the result of people incorrectly believing that clothes smell better if washed immediately, laundry experts Dr. Beckmann, the manufacturers of Glowhite, report.

A national study of Britain's washing habits carried out by Dr. Beckmann polled over 1,000 householders across the UK and discovered that the nation's washing routines are, apart from rare exceptional circumstances, guided by routine.

More than one in three British households (35%) do a weekly marathon clothes washing session - usually on a Sunday. And we are slaves to habit, with 57% of us rarely or never changing our washing powder brand for the simple reason that "we know what we are getting".

More concerning is that, for a large number of us, washing clothes has become compulsive.

Many Brits can't stand the thought thaty dirty clothes are left in the washing machine basket and refuse to live life happily unless dirty washing is immediately thrown into the washing machine the very second we take our clothes off.

It is those people living in and around London and South-east who are most likely to be affected with CLOUD disorder, according to the study.

Almost six out of 10 householders in the South-east admit they 'often' or 'always' wash clothes immediately as they come off because it makes them uncomfortable to think of them 'festering' in the laundry basket.

Of this group, almost 45% admitted that they also have to change into clean clothes 'at least twice a day' to avoid feeling grubby and unwashed.

Dr. Beckmann spokeswomen Susan Fermor said:

We were shocked to see just how many people seem to be living with this compulsive laundry disorder. Generally, the UK likes to do its washing once a week on a Sunday but, this new group of laundry addicts can't function unless dirty clothes are dealt with the second we take them off.

Six out of 10 Brits regularly wear stained or smelly clothes to work and are not embarrassed about it, a new national study has revealed.

The survey of more than 1,500 adults across the UK found that people who wear uniforms are the worst culprits, with over 70% claiming to regularly wear stained or smelly uniforms to work.

More men than women admit to the social no-no, with more than 45% admitting they've often worn a stained tie to work.

But we clearly are a nation that doesn't like to point out people's imperfections. More than half of the UK (54%) admit they wouldn't tell their colleagues that their clothes smell or are stained, preferring to keep quiet and not cause a fuss in the workplace.

The survey found that going on a date is the one occasion where dirty clothes are not acceptable. Incredibly though, the same rule doesn't apply to attending a job interview or socialising. Both are seen as two instances where wearing stained clothes is tolerated, with two-thirds of those surveyed, aged between 19-30, saying they have worn stained shirts/blouses when going for a new job.

It is young adults in Wales who are the worst culprits, followed by East Anglia and London. Some 78% of Welsh respondents admitted to regularly 'getting away' with stained clothes, while 69% of those living in Norwich and East Anglia admitted the same. And Londoners (64%) are also in the habit of wearing stained clothes to work.

The study by Dr. Beckmann, the laundry specialist, has revealed that despite first impressions counting, over 40% of male and females said they are not embarrassed when they realise they are wearing stained clothes.

Dr. Beckmann spokesperson Susan Fermor commented:

As a nation we seem to think that our personal appearance is more important when going on a date rather than to a job interview. It's interesting that we wouldn't tell our colleagues if they were wearing a stained item of clothing - maybe our famous British reserve stops us from commenting, knowing that people actually don't care what they look like.