And with the kids back to school, for many of you, your laundry basket is even fuller. Who has time to press all those clothes? We decided to test several wrinkle releasers to see which one is the best for your budget.
It's a multi-billion dollar industry and the choices in the laundry aisle are endless. There are boosters, three-in-one kits and products that promise to save your time, like Downy's Wrinkle Releaser. It's $6.99 a bottle, but that price is pretty steep for most people.
"For $7, I don't think so," shopper Hattie Hamilton said.
"I am definitely a budget conscious person," shopper Samantha Cibelli said.
But some moms would consider this product if it works.
"I have three children, so I have to watch my budget, so definitely anything that is going to save me," shopper Danielle Mitchell said.
So we set out to test out the downy wrinkle releaser plus other do it yourself ideas. We picked a pile of laundry that was wrinkled from an array of cotton fabrics. First up, the Downy product. We follow directions and spray, tug, and smooth. We tested it on a wrinkled shirt and hanged it to dry for a few minutes. The product did smooth out most of the wrinkles.
So on the market, there are several wrinkle releasers but they are pretty pricey, but we made our own using fabric softener and distilled water for a fraction on the cost.
We made our own wrinkle releaser by using a tablespoon of fabric softener and one cup of water. We shake it up and for pennies on the dollar we have our own recipe and it works! Our homemade concoction on our school uniform top and skirt scored an A+.
Many modern appliances now have a steam option that promises to freshen up your clothes and smooth out the wrinkles, but our light cotton blue top still had plenty of wrinkles.
If you don't have a fancy dryer that has a steam option, that's OK, because if you wet a wash rag just like this, put it in your wrinkled clothing, it has the same effect of steaming your fabrics.
We left our wash rag in our dryer for about seven minutes, and our red top was wrinkle free and it didn't cost us anything but a few minutes in the dryer.
The bottom line is our homemade recipe worked just as well as the $7 bottle so make the recipe at home. It takes a minute!
Wrinkle Releaser Recipe:
- 1 Cup of Distilled Water
- 1 Tablespoon of Fabric Softener
- Add both ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up and spray. Spray "wrinkle releaser" on clothing, smoothing out any wrinkles, then hand to dry.
