Time to strip the laundry!

Several months ago a friend of mine told me about this apparently old-fashioned process called laundry stripping.  It's getting a lot of attention online but I confess I was pretty skeptical.  After all, I wash all our clothes, towels, and bedding in the best non-toxic laundry products available. 

I know there are no harmful chemicals in the wash.  But I was curious.  Plus there were a few items that just had a bit of an off smell, even though I "knew" they were clean.  Well, guess what?  Now that I've tried laundry stripping I totally understand why so many people are raving about it.

The very first time I tried it I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I was both disgusted and fascinated at how very brown the water in the tub became. Even though I had just washed everything that was in there!  After the first trial run I became a fan and I've never looked back. Plus the items that get stripped smell so good!

When to strip

I have a large bucket that I keep in my laundry room.  When I have items that don’t smell great even after washing, they go in the bucket. When the bucket is full, I strip a load of laundry.

It is unbelievable how much gunk comes out of my “clean” laundry.  I was curious as to why this was and did a little research.  It turns out that even though we wash our fabrics, there can still be a buildup of bacteria and body oils that don’t come out completely. This happens even if you wash your clothes on a regular basis (and I do...I know you do too).  

How to strip your laundry

There are a number of different formulas out there.  Many of them use a mainstream laundry detergent that I can't use in my house due to some of the ingredients (surfactants, fragrances, and artificial colors among them).  So I did a little research and found this non-toxic version from my friends at My Green Fills (they said I could share it with you

• 1 cap MyGreenFills Laundry Wash
• 3 scoops of MyGreenFills Enzyme Stain Remover
• 1/2 Cup Distilled Vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons Borax
• 3 Tablespoons Washing Soda (NOT baking soda)*
• HOT, HOT, HOT water

Be prepared to watch your soaking water turn grey or even black depending on how much buildup is on your laundry. It’s best to do this with clean laundry.

1. Put the hottest water you can stand into a bathtub. If you don’t have a tub you can use a large 10-gallon bucket but you’ll want to adjust the amounts – start with 2/3 of the above amounts
2. Add the ingredients and swish to fully dissolve
3. Add the clothes, dunking them in to make sure they are completely wet and mostly submerged
4. Leave for 4 hours, stirring every 45-ish minutes
5. Wring out the clothes
6. Drain that nasty looking water out of the tub
7. Wash your items in warm water with no detergent
8. Run the items through the dryer as normal
9. Be amazed!
10. Repeat as needed

*Washing soda is different than baking soda.  While you can use baking soda in the wash, you cannot bake with washing soda.  It's stronger/harsher than baking soda.  If you're not used to having it in your laundry room you'll find it, usually on the bottom shelf, in the laundry detergent section somewhere near the borax.