Laundry stripping is not nearly as risqué as it sounds LOL.
Like many people, I stumbled upon the Goclean IG during the pandemic and they’ve inspired me to up my cleaning game. Which was basically non-existent except for paying a cleaning person every 2 weeks, so anything is an improvement, especially with all 4 of us living her during WFH.
I have very hard water and while I don’t use fabric softener, I do notice some dinginess and yellowing in linens, particularly pillowcases. I have tried soaking them in Oxyclean for a few days which only worked a tiny bit. I’m ready to give this a try.
Also curious about other cleaning hacks you might have? Years ago I followed the Organized Home Grand Plan and lately I have gotten out of the habit of reviewing a room at a time. https://organizedhome.com/christmas/holiday-grand-plan
I’m trying to imagine what a chore it would be to wring out all that laundry by hand and get it down a flight and a half of stairs to the washing machine. I believe I’ll just give myself an extra spritz of cologne!
I’ve done sheets in my top loader and seen improvement. I haven’t done anything else. Gocleanco is getting ready to issue their laundry handbook next week. I bought the cleaning handbook in May and it was okay and I felt like I was supporting a small business. I really get more out of their Instagram stories as they try new things. This week they were trying Dawn Power spray on glass shower doors with good results.
No way. This is what my mom forced us to help with back in the day… soaking the darn laundry. BTW… is anyone here starching their sheets?! Been there. Remember hiding for 6 hours in the attic waiting for my mom to cool off her anger after I forgot to take down the starched laundry off the clothesline before it got rock solid. Ironing pillowcases, anyone?! ?
I’ve been known to iron sheets and pillowcases. Nothing like that feel. But it comes from a college laundry service that did this for us. (Those were the days.) And frankly, I’ve never had the energy to iron more than one set. Ha.
Ya know, Martha Stewart makes her staff also iron sheets when they’re fresh on the bed.
Workout clothes get really stinky, especially the “wicking” fabrics. I’ve noticed a huge difference since I started using Lysol laundry sanitizer in the rinse cycle. It’s not easy to find on a regular basis, so I reserve it for things that get really nasty. There is no way I’m soaking my clothes in the bathtub.
And while I’m sure stripping would be beneficial, I do wonder if it’s necessary. Every time I read something about how nasty clothes, washers, countertops, sinks, etc., get, I think sure, but does that bacteria cause illness or degrade my quality of life? For me, the answer is no, so while I do routinely clean and disinfect high touch and food prep areas, I’m not going to obsess over whether my laundry is sterile.
@Joblue – Interesting that it is Tide being used. We went on a tour of a big baseball stadium once and the main question from the women was how do they get those uniforms clean with ground in red clay? The answer was Tide detergent but it was a different product formulation that was not available to the public.
So to clarify, I am not obsessed with germs and sanitizing, like @Massmomm indicates. I don’t like how dingy my towels are and the discolored residue on pillowcases and fitted sheets, from body oils and our hard water. It would be nice to have fresh looking sheets for me.
Y’all are making me feel much better about the state of my house. Some of these IG accounts make me feel like a slacker for not doing a weekly deep clean with Q tips and polishing of every surface. Sometimes I get the impression everyone is doing that!’
As for a very minor hack, I did do some decluttering and removed a lot of things from my kitchen counters. (I like them clear, but my DH thinks it makes sense to leave a lot of things out for convenience ). Anyway, they look much cleaner and I think they are because it is so much easier to wipe them down quickly, so I do it much more often.
My washer has a soak cycle. I think you can probably make any washer do a soak.
For athletic wear that just never got fully clean before, I use Rockin Green Activewear (buy on amazon). You can use it in the tub to soak clothes, which is kind of what the Laundry stripping article above does, or you can just add it to the soak cycle. Then run a wash cycle. It does waste more energy and water I suppose, but the clothes are very fresh and it’s not like it is much extra effort for me.
Uh no. I generally don’t worry about stuff like that. However, younger S struggled for years with athlete’s foot. We’d get prescriptions, do all kinds of treatments and it’d always come back. One kid suggested it was stuck in his socks. Did some googling and high efficiency machines are not efficient at killing fungus. I started separating his socks and washing them on hot, ultra clean, stain boosting, double rinse, etc. then I would dry on hot. That finally worked and even once it was gone, I kept it up for years (until he left for college). It never came back.
For smelly workout clothes, I add distilled white vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser (I never ever use fabric softener) of my washing machine. I also sometimes use it with other things as well. Vinegar not only removes any smell in our laundry, but it also does not leave any lingering vinegar smell.
Tradionally, folks spread wet linens out flat outside to let the sun bleach them. I know some still doing that today with vintage or antique yellowed linen and cotton fabric. It usually works.
My best time saving hack is an adjustable long handled swifter duster. Now I don’t have to bend to dust chair and table legs.
I have a stack of white washcloths that I use for removing my makeup. We recently switched laundry detergents to one that is easier on our septic system and I’ve notice significant brightening to my washcloths. Currently using Meyers laundry detergent, FYI
). Anyway, they look much cleaner and I think they are because it is so much easier to wipe them down quickly, so I do it much more often.