Chantel Mila: Mama Mila reveals her top tips to make clothes smell fresher after washing

Australia’s favourite ‘cleaning queen’ Chantel Mila has revealed her top three tips to make that ‘fresh laundry smell last longer’.

The Melbourne mum-of-two, who posts online as ‘Mama Mila’ advised her millions of followers to clean your detergent tray, empty and clean the drain filter, and wash your clothes with a home-made softener and deodouriser.

Chantel’s first tip was to remove the detergent tray, and soak it to ‘remove all that hidden build up that make clothes smell musty’. 

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Her tricks include making sure the washing machine is clean by emptying the drain filter (left) and cleaning the detergent tray. She also adds a home-made mixture (right) to soften and deodourise clothes

Chantel’s first tip was to remove the detergent tray, and soak it to ‘remove all that hidden build up that make clothes smell musty’.

She then advised people to empty the little-known drain filter at the bottom of the washing machine regularly, as the stagnant water can also ’cause musty smells’.

‘Try typing your model number into Google and you may find an electronic copy of your manual if you can’t find it,’ she said. 

When emptying the filter, the mum advised making sure you give it a good clean.

‘You never know what you could find in there,’ she said.

Her final tip was to put together a home-made natural deodouriser and softener using pantry ingredients.

‘Next mix half a cup of baking soda with about five drops of tea tree oil. Add this to your load to deodoriser and soften clothes, and it also helps remove stains as well,’ she said.

The mum advised putting liquid detergent in the washing tray as well, but said the baking soda ‘works better’ when put directly into the drum.

Mama Mila’s followers love her latest tips and tricks for keeping their home clean and smelling fresh

Followers of the cleaning and styling guru were impressed with the mum’s tips.

‘Well I know what I’m trying tomorrow,’ one mum said.

‘Need to try this!’ another wrote.

Another follower advised others in the comment to empty the filter on the washer and dryer regularly ‘to prevent fires.’

How to cut the cost of your laundry by $500 per year

1. Run full loads of washing – A full load is only 3.5 kg and it’s much better to do a full load of washing every two days than it is to do half a load of washing every day. 

2. Wash on a cold setting – Cold water uses less electricity and offers similar cleaning power. Washing a full load every two days on a cold wash, you could save yourself an impressive $135.854 per year.

3. Switch to cheaper detergent – Expensive doesn’t mean better. Choice recently found that the top performing laundry detergents range all the way from 13 cents per wash all the way up to 86 cents per wash.

4. Use less detergent – Using a third of the recommended power can result in just as clean clothes according to Choice.

5. Ditch fabric softener – Choice says that softeners often reduce the moisture absorbency of your laundry. You could save as much as $73 per year by skipping this step.

6. Use your dryer sparingly – According to Choice, by using your dryer sparingly and instead opting to dry your clothes on a washing line, you can save $153 over the course of the year.

Choice has outlined how you can save over $500 per year through adopting more conscientious laundry habits 

(source: Choice)