Use a ball of aluminum foil in the washing maching or in the dishwasher: discover this useful and effective trick

When we do the laundry or take out dishes, pots and glasses from the dishwasher, we always want our clothes and linens to be clean and soft, while we also expect that the dishes will be well washed and shiny. We do not always achieve the desired optimal result, and sometimes this is due to some basic underlying problems: the way in which we have loaded the appliances, the overuse of detergents, or the lack of maintenance of the appliance. But when we have not made mistakes like this and just want to try to improve the usual results of these appliances, what can we do?

You can try the aluminum ball trick, where you just need to have a sheet of kitchen foil handy.

Creativo

Take any clean sheet of aluminum foil and roll it into a ball, rolling it into shape with your hands. It doesn't have to be overly compact, just squeeze it and give the foil a spherical shape.

In the dryer

Inserting a ball (or even two) between the clothes you put in the dryer is one of the most common tricks to reduce static electricity that is created between rubbing fabrics. This will ensure that the fabrics retain their ideal texture, and you can reuse the same aluminum ball over and over again for up to two months (one month if you tumble dry often). There is no risk of your clothes getting stained, but to make sure, you can first try with a load of laundry that you care less about, like towels or bathmats or similar.

In the dishwasher

This trick became famous thanks to a video on TikTok, in which the user (Carolina Mccauley) is seen inserting an aluminum ball into the cutlery basket, before closing the full dishwasher and starting a wash cycle. At the end of the program, the cutlery shines like new.

In reality, it is not just the ball of aluminum foil that achieves this result, but the chemical reaction between the aluminum film and the dishwasher tablet used in this type of appliance. This is something very similar to another DIY trick that is used for silver and metal cutlery, and involves using very hot water, baking soda and aluminum foil.

In fact, at very high temperatures (and dishwasher water certainly reaches the necessary temperature level), the bicarbonate contained in many tablets reacts with the aluminum and the result is the removal of many stains and blemishes from the metal of the cutlery and other washed items.

Have you ever tried these methods?