5 Days of Spring Cleaning: Day 5 – Laundry Stripping

I love topping off a clean house with having clean sheets on the beds. My husband and I have a good routine of washing the sheets every Sunday pretty much without fail. A few years ago, I came across something called laundry stripping.

Being someone who loves cleaning and learning new hacks, I was immediately intrigued. I had never heard of this process before. At first take, what I learned is that it is supposed to be a method to deep clean laundry unlike anything else. You soak the items to get extra dirt out that a regular washing process can’t do.

I tried it and immediately became a fan. It was incredible and a little disturbing at the same time. It wasn’t just the dirt that I saw come off of my laundry that made me a believer. I can’t see what comes off in the washing machine so I initially thought this was perhaps a normal amount of grime coming off. I have never thought my washing machine wasn’t doing its job. I still think this and remain happy with it. However, this laundry stripping takes it to a new level and here is how I know; my sheets have never been brighter or smelled cleaner.

I had to try more.

My husband had a couple of shirts that no matter how much I washed or on what cycle or with what products, they literally just had a bit of odor to them. I honestly cannot believe I hadn’t just thrown them away. Laundry stripping honestly got them smelling good and I cannot believe that would ever have happened.

Here are the steps I followed but the video will give you the play by play and a great visual. Watch till the very end because I tried this on my husband’s laundry after the sheets!

You will need:

Laundry sink or bath tub- something you can soak laundry in
Powder Tide- One full scoop
Borax- ¼ cup
Baking Soda or Washing Soda- ¼ cup
Very hot water
Something to stir it with other than your hands
Cleaning gloves- optional but recommended

Steps:

Fill the sink/tub with very hot water (as hot as you can get it)
Add all three ingredients into running water and mix gently around
Toss in the load of laundry and stir them around in the water to ensure they get into the mixture
- Note, it is recommended that the laundry is clean. I typically do a speed wash in my washing machine before laundry stripping
Every 30-60 minutes, stir it around
Depending on how gross the laundry is will determine the time. I’d say anywhere from 2-6 hours.
With cleaning gloves on, wring out laundry and transfer to the washing machine.
I put mine on a sanitize cycle. If you don’t have that, just do a normal cycle.
Dry laundry as you normally would (for me, this is a dryer versus hanging laundry)
Enjoy the cleanest laundry you have ever had!
(Note, it left a ring in our bathtub so prepare to also clean the tub following!)

I hope you are enjoying the season of Spring cleaning! We’d love to hear tips and tricks that you have.

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