The Telegraph reports that a fake Persil smuggler has been jailed.

Richard Brayford of Whiston, Staff was part of the smuggling operation in which tons of fake Persil washing detergent, which had no bleach, was shipped from China along with fake Persil cardboard boxes.

Brayford was found guilty after a trial at Chester Crown Court and will be sentenced with 5 other offenders next month.

Excuse the pun but I wonder if they’ll be hung out to dry!

Parents of young children are being warned to keep washing detergent capsules away from children to avoid eye injuries.

Several manufacturers make the washing liquid capsules – we sometimes use them in our dishwasher – and they are becoming more popular. The packaging does indicate that all detergents should be handled with care whether it be liquid capsules or tablets.

Apparently, doctors at the Western Eye Hospital in London have seen a rise in the number of cases of eye injuries in children. Children who have played with the liquid capsules have accidently popped the capsules and the spilt detergent has managed to get in to their eyes. The chemicals can burn or cause permanent vision problems.

So prevention is better than cure – keep all detergents away from children and pets too.

Before Christmas a garden centre chain found itself on the receiving end of some adverse publicity as a result of their advertising campaign.

Why? Because the company called Hillier suggested that men should buy their wives a rotary washing line to make her feel special this Christmas.

Having sent out a 4 page brochure to 900,000 homes the washing line gift suggestion generated more than 100 complaints. Many people complained on equality issues saying the promotion of the Vento rotary clothes – buy here –  as a perfect gift was like something from the 70′s.

Hilliers had to admit that their joke promotion had backfired and offered an apology.

Let’s hope that they don’t choose to promote an ironing board as an ideal gift this Christmas!

A recent survey has disclosed that half a million people in the UK wash their bedding only three times a year.

The survey for Sheilas Wheels highlighted that one in six of us wash our bedding at intervals of a month or more – 12 times a year or less.

If you’re one of these people then these statistics might make you get your bedding on the washing line more often:

• up to ten per cent of the weight of an unwashed pillow can be made up of dead skin and mites
• a dirty bed has about ten million bedbugs
• your bed can become a minefield of bacteria, viruses, sweat and hair which can cause or exacerbate asthma.
• teenagers who tend to eat snacks on their bed will be dropping crumbs on to the bed …it could stay in there for weeks.
• America’s Environment Health and Safety Online found a typical used mattress had anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million mites inside.

That’s all pretty yucky

But by washing your bedding regularly you’ll combat all these bedtime nasties. You should try changing your bedding at least once a fortnight and ideally every week. Other habits to get into are leaving the duvet or blankets pulled back to air the bed or even air your bedding on the line or on a maiden. You’ll still the odd home owner hanging a duvet out of the window …they’re not as daft as you thought!