I'm not about to bend over the bath and start scrubbing. (I did this every weekend for six months in Russia, by the way, and it still makes my back ache just thinking about it).

Turning the temperature down on your washing machine to 30° is a good place to start as this saves on energy.

You might want to soak white socks in a bucket though if the sole looks dirty. Admittedly I've been washing whites on alternate 30° and 40° washes, as I find the bobbles that show up on the bottom of white socks don't come off as easily in a lower temperature wash, even after being soaked.

Leaving things to soak over night is a great trick for getting rid of stains without resorting to chemicals.

I once forgot I had left a top soaking in a bucket over the weekend. When I lifted it out an old stain that even my mother couldn't get out (the queen of washing at 60° with an extra measure of washing liquid 'just to make them smell really fresh') had completely vanished.

I tried a certain brand name washing powder, famous for its eco washing and cleaning products, and I'm loathed to say that it's a tad expensive and my clothes don't come out smelling fresh, and whites don't come out looking very clean.

You can add a tiny drop of jasmine oil into the wash, which gives a wonderfully fresh smell, but I can't say for certain if it will spoil your clothes after a period of time (although I can't imagine it would do).

All in all, I'd say washing at a lower temperature and using eco friendly powders are fine for colour washes, especially in summer when you can stick the clothes out on the line and make them smell naturally fresh.

Bad odours are removed by these products, but they just don't leave them smelling as fresh as other products do. (Remember though, that it's chemicals giving you that 'just off the washing line' smell. Not great for allergy sufferers).

For whites, there's an argument for turning up the heat on occasion, but let's be honest, I've never noticed if another person has bobbles on the sole of their socks before. Have you? Maybe I should stop worrying about these things and keep the temperature permanently low….