It’s probably iron mould, most likely from a stray coin or screw left in a pocket that got trapped between the drums.

Check the drum holes; if you think there’s something inside that you can’t get to, you’ll need to call an engineer.

It could also be iron in the water from roadworks nearby. Check by running tap water through a white cloth for a few minutes; if there’s iron, you’ll see it.

To treat, wash as normal or if stubborn rub with lemon juice and salt, leave a few hours then rinse and wash as normal.

Iron mould spreads between clothes, so treat straight away.

It’s easy to forget about drains…until they get blocked or damaged. Chances are your household insurance will cover you, but prevention is always better than cure.

Here are a few tips:

don’t pour any cooking fat down the sink – it can harden and you risk clogging drains.

Clean off as much grease as you can with kitchen paper before washing up.

Ditto paint or paint thinners – take them to your recycling centre instead of putting down the sink.

In the bathroom, flush only loo paper – never baby wipes; they cause thousands of blockages a year (always check the pack).

In the bath, a drain screen will stop hair and other solids escaping down the plughole.

Outside, check gutters are not clogged with leaves.

Once a fortnight, chase a handful of soda crystals down the plughole with a kettle of boiling water to keep everything healthy.

Depends how bad it is, but if not too drastic, this is worth a try.

Dunk the sorry-looking item in a sinkful of warm water with plenty of fabric conditioner and while it’s wet gently but firmly pull the jumper back into shape as much as you can.

Rinse and dry flat.

Get some of the finest grade wire wool (from a hardware shop), dampen it and go at the marks. It’ll get rid of them and won’t scratch the glass.

If collars and cuffs have that ground-in grey look, squirt some concentrated washing up liquid on the grubby bits, dampen the area and rub fabric to fabric before washing as normal.

All timber will darken with age, though you notice it more on lighter woods.

This is caused by the sun reacting with the resins in the wood (like a newspaper yellows), and this happens even out of direct sunlight.

There’s no easy way around this: you need to remove the finish, sand down to the natural wood and start again.

Soak the stained area in a solution of two aspirins to every 100ml water for a couple of hours then wash as normal.

No more white tops in the bin!

Deodorise a whiffy washing-up cloth by putting it into a large bowl of hot soapy water in the microwave and running on High for five minutes. Leave until cool enough to handle.

Make sure you have mudguards on your tyres – it drastically cuts down on the amount of mud and grot that would otherwise attach itself to your trousers.

When you set out on a long car journey, with lots of snacks on board, make sure that you include a waste bag for all your wrappings and banana skins!

Simple, but also easy to forget…