Laundry is a part of our lives and I happen to enjoy doing it. Have you ever heard of "Laundry Stripping"? I had never heard of it before until I saw a few Instagram stories of ladies doing it to their clothes. My white bathroom towels were starting to have an unpleasant smell and you could see some color on them. We live in west Texas and the fine, red dirt somehow gets into our home and water heater. We do have a water filtration system, but nothing is 100% perfect.
So what is Laundry Stripping? It is a cleaning method designed to remove built-up soil, laundry detergent and fabric softener from “clean” laundry with a solution and either a 6 hour or overnight hot water soak. This popular technique is often done in a bathtub, allowing you to watch the soaking water slowly become dark and murky as substances are stripped out of fabric.
I used the following:
- 1/4 C. Borax
- 1/4 C. Washing Soda
- 6 pumps of doTERRA On Guard Laundry Detergent
I placed these ingredients into a tub of hot water and then added my towels. Every hour for six hours I would move the towels around in the bathtub. I underestimated the weight of these bath towels water soaked. They were very heavy and hard to wring out! I did my best and then took the towels to the washing machine. I did add 1 cup of white vinegar and 30 drops of Lemon essential oil to the machine because they were white towels and let it run in hot water and a high spin. I also use wool dryer balls and the towels came out with absolutely NO smell and the fibers seemed to be alive again!
Check out my pictures and video!
Laundry Stripping Begins | Dirty water after the stripping process | Towel ~ After Picture |