okay i've been meaning to do this post for awhile and finally remembered to take pictures while i was doing the laundry.
i don't know about some of you, but my babies onesies basically get TRASHED every time they wear them. between feedings and blowouts they seem to get stained really fast.
see example below:
i tried every kind of stain remover out there until my mom recommended this awesome trick.
see example below:
i tried every kind of stain remover out there until my mom recommended this awesome trick.
( NOTE: i DO NOT recommend doing this to anything that's not completely white! i mostly do this for onesies, washrags and any clothing that's totally white. please don't hate me if you try this and ruin something nice!)
so the first step is to put your laundry into a big GLASS bowl and fill it with water until it's almost covering everything.
then you need to put in some bleach (i eyeball it but it usually ends up being about 1-2 cups) and some dishwashing detergent (again i eyeball it but it's probably about 1-2 cups). it should be the dry kind not the liquid.
mix it all around with a wooden spoon and let it sit for about a half an hour to an hour. then dump the whole thing into your washing machine, add any other white laundry you need to wash and do a load of laundry like you normally would (including any laundry soap you might use).
your whites will come out looking sparkly clean!
35 comments:
Awesome, I'll have to try that.
Holy cow! I have been wondering how I'd ever have kids with the dinginess of my own whites... I will have to test it! Thanks for sharing!
With three boys you KNOW I will use this laundry tip! Thanks!!
Oh good. I need a trick. Will blows out constantly. Thanks
Fabulous tip! I'll have to keep this in mind.
I have been using this and loving it Laura. Thanks!!!!
I just saw this on pinterest And will definitely be trying it! The dirty baby onesies have been driving me crazy. I have one question though. Why does it have to be a glass bowl? I don't know if I have one big enough for all that!
Hi Chelsea!
I'm not sure if it HAS to be glass but that's what I've always used. I just don't know how the bleach and detergent would react with a metal bowl... I wouldn't want it to ruin a bowl of yours. I'm guessing you could do ceramic...
You could try it with a different bowl, I just know that there's no weird chemical reactions with glass :)
I have been using this method for a while, for large amounts of clothes I soak mine in the bathtub. Then I transfer in a bucket with some of the liquid. I also use it to clean the tub after... ;)
Are you saying 2 or 3 cups of bleach? Or two thirds (2/3) cup of bleach? And 1 or 2 cups of dishwasher powder or 1/2 cup? Just trying to be clear! Thanks!
2 or 3
1 or 2
:)
My daughter has white pants with a pink waist and cuffs. The bum got mud on it and I cannot get it white. Do you have any suggestions to keep the pink from bleaching?
Quick question: Does this only turn the presoaked item(s) more white? Or does it also affect the whole load?
Hi Amie!
It should give the rest of the load a little boost but not as much as what you put in the mix to soak... :)
Does the dish soap foam a lot? I worry about pouring it into the front loader, and making a huge foamy mess!
Hi Julie!
It shouldn't foam at all. The dishwasher soap is the DRY kind (not the liquid). When you mix it with the bleach it will get kind of fizzy and bubble but it won't be a foamy mess :)
this might be a dumb question but why couldn't you just soak it in the washer??
Tenika-
I'm sure you could, some people have front loading washers though instead of top loading :)
I tried it with color-safe bleach instead of regular bleach so I could do some colored items, too and it worked great! Nothing got ruined :)
Nice tip but would not recommend doing this if you have a septic system. The bleach isn't good for it.
Definitely works! Tried it yesterday!
Could u do this with pillows too
what temp water do you recommend?
Works great - just tried on my son's white baseball pants. Removed old dirt, grass stains and lingering dinginess.
I've used this method for years and experienced many oops moments but also yay moments! Be careful when soaking items with color areas, sometimes it works fine but other times it doesn't. ( Khakis turned PINK!! A beautiful lovely baby pink!!) I use my panic as "it's garbage if I don't so what if doesn't work" then I try. Sometimes with success and other times not. I've had many comments over the years though about my whites being so white ;) I share my secret. I soak my whole whites load every once in a while, it gets rid of the dingies. Great for mildew spots! Takes mildew out and leaves NO trace!
does the temp of the water matter?
I believe that the life of the fabric would be shorter because that much bleach would weaken the fibers. Better than being stained and dingy or throwing the items away but don't do it to the same items repeatedly. Any comments?
Be careful with the amount of bleach and dishwashing detergent. My son tried this with some of his chef jackets, let them soak too long and it ate holes in them.
That much bleach will destroy the fibers in the fabric. Soon you won't have to worry about the whites because they will have disintegrated.
That much bleach will destroy the fibers in the fabric. Soon you won't have to worry about the whites because they will have disintegrated.
A real Tupperware bowl would work. Any round Tupperware bowl, make sure the seal is tight I have some that are a little loose, is air AND water tight. I use my Fix-N-Mix bowl to wash my lingerie all the time. The bleach will also deodorize and brighten the inside of the bowl. Personally I'm only going to try one cup of bleach.
You could use a real Tupperware bowl. Any round Tupperware is air AND water tight, just make sure the seal is tight, you can agitate the items inside by shaking the bowl. Great arm workout. ;) I use my Fix-N-Mix bowl to wash my lingerie. Personally, I plan on using one cup of bleach and see how it goes.
You could use a real Tupperware bowl. Any round Tupperware is air AND water tight, just make sure the seal is tight, you can agitate the items inside by shaking the bowl. Great arm workout. ;) I use my Fix-N-Mix bowl to wash my lingerie. Personally, I plan on using one cup of bleach and see how it goes.
A real Tupperware bowl would work. Any round Tupperware bowl, make sure the seal is tight I have some that are a little loose, is air AND water tight. I use my Fix-N-Mix bowl to wash my lingerie all the time. The bleach will also deodorize and brighten the inside of the bowl. Personally I'm only going to try one cup of bleach.
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