You know you’re an adult when you’re excited to post cleaning hacks for people to read on the internet. If you’ve been around social media during the last few years (a.k.a TikTok), I’m sure you’ve witnessed the miracles of stripping laundry! If you’re confused and think “Rebecca, have you lost your marbles??”, let me fill you in on my new hyperfixation!
During quarantine, I had nothing better to do than put this method to the test and strip every couch cushion, towel, and sheet in my home (yay!). Now I’m hooked!
WHAT CAN YOU “STRIP”?
I have tried this method on SEVERAL items and have had success with all of them. In this case, “success” is the satisfying amount of dirty water left behind! 😂 Check out what I’ve stripped:
- Sheets
- Comforters, duvets
- Pillows, pillowcases
- Couch covers
- Shoes
- Towels
Note: For couch cushions, check out the care instructions first. Some manufacturers recommend against putting them in the dryer.
I have a ton of white towels and sheets in the apartment and have always added bleach to the laundry cycle to try and keep the whites brighter. To my surprise, I learned laundry soaps, scent beads, and detergents can build-up and cling onto dirt, which keep the towels from being as absorbent! After a little research, I discovered “laundry stripping”, which uses a combination of detergent, baking soda, Oxiclean, and borax to remove build up from linens.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- Arm & Hammer washing soda (or use regular baking soda)
- Oxiclean
- Borax
- Detergent
- White vinegar
- A large spoon (or something to stir the laundry with)
- Large bowls/ tub
HOW TO STRIP (no, not like that):
- Fill up your bowl/ tub with hot water.
- Add a full cap of detergent, a scoop of Oxicelan, ~1/4 cup of Borax, and ~1/4 cup of washing soda.
- Stir your mixture with your spoon (that won’t be used for eating or cooking ever again! lol).
- Throw in the laundry you’d like to strip.
- Let everything soak between 5-8 hours. Sometimes, I do this at night so everything is ready to go in the morning!
- Drain the water and squeeze out as much as you can before using a bucket to transport the wet items to the washing machine.
- Add detergent and ~1/2 a cup of white vinegar, then wash everything on a hot cycle. This will help deodorize the laundry and tends to make the clothes a little softer!
IS OXICLEAN ONLY FOR WHITE ITEMS?
Yes and no. You can use Oxiclean White on your dark clothes, however, you risk staining your whites if you soak them together. To avoid this, you should strip lights and darks separately. I did have a few shirts that were predominantly white, but also had darker sections (e.g. stripes, polka dots). In my experience, Oxiclean White was safe to use on these items and did not bleed onto the white portions.
Note: If you decide to strip darker items (e.g. heavily dyed jeans), there is a chance the item will come out less vibrant than before (this is just Oxiclean doing its job!). I would only strip these items as a last resort (e.g. very soiled items) to avoid ruining clothes! Sometimes, the washer is all you need!
WHAT ABOUT HATS?
Tristan had some DIRTY golf hats and I had to see if I could rid them of their grime through the same method. I chose three victims (hats) and started preparing the space for the experiment.
Look at that water after only an HOUR! Let me tell you… I WAS AMAZED.
To maintain the shape of the hat, I left a bowl under each until they were dry.
Enjoy your extra clean clothes! I know I am!
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