You can dry clean anything from smelly coats to couch cushions with this simple 49p trick

YOU can't just chuck everything in the washing machine, but that doesn't mean you need to deal with grim smells. The cleaning pros known as The Fixit Chicks have shared a simple way to give just about fabric in your home or wardrobe a refresh. Taking to Instagram, they explained that a little bit of vodka is all you need. No, you won't be drinking it, but rather spraying it on the fabric. And if you don't already have a bottle of vodka at home, or don't want to waste the good stuff, you can buy a bottle for as little as £6.98 from Asda, which means this hack works out at just 49p.

Simply mix equal parts of vodka and water and add to equal parts of vodka and water to a spray bottle. According to the pros, a finer spray mist is best, but you could reuse old cleaning bottles – just clean them thoroughly first. Then you can simply spray lightly on any smelly coats, shoes or even couch cushions. Hang the clothes in a well-ventilated area to dry, or open the windows if you cannot hang the sprayed fabric.

"The alcohol in vodka evaporates quickly and can help neutralize odour-causing bacteria," the cleaning pros explained. "It’s most effective on light odours like smoke, body odour, or musty smells," they added. This, unfortunately, means this hack won't clean your clothes if they're dirty, but it will sanitise and deodorise them. So, while this hack doesn't get you out of doing laundry completely, it is a good trick to go longer in between washes, especially with items which aren't simple to wash.

The pros also noted that the hack works best on "natural fibres like cotton, linen, and wool" but should be avoided on fabrics like suede, leather or silk. After sharing the hack on Instagram cleaning fans were amazed by how simple it is. One commented: "I’ll add this to my cool cleaning arsenal of tricks.". And a second agreed: "You know it’s a good tip when the costume department of most national ballet companies do it.".

"Been using vodka on my son’s karate gear for a long time," a third chimed in. Australian cleaning guru Shannon Lush says it’s important to realise that more soap doesn't mean your clothes will be cleaner. She says: “That's not how it works because soap is fat based. “If you impact the fibres with too much fat it attracts dirt - you know what it's like when you put a cake of soap on the window sill?.

“It gets dirty really quickly and that's because it contains fat.”. Clothes become dirtier quicker. She said: “Do you know how your towels go all prickly and nasty?. “That's because too much soap is left behind, and because it's fat-based. “For example, if you put butter in a frying pan it melts and then when it goes cold it gets hard again. “When you put your towel in the dryer you are melting the fat so the towels come out all nice and fluffy but a day later they are all dry and hard again.”.

Shannon added that when using a front-loading washing machine people should use just one-eighth of the recommended amount of powder or liquid, while for a top-loading machine, one-quarter of the recommended quantity should be used. For the best results, two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and two tablespoons of white vinegar should be added to each wash. She added: “Fabric softener is just oil based and all it is doing is sticking oil in the wash.