Laundry Stripping?

Jem

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Has anyone heard of laundry stripping? and has anyone tried it?
What’s laundry stripping? The ‘gross’ way to remove dirt

One article I read about it, mentioned that it can cause the dye to run, but I wonder how bad. They also mention not to do it delicates as you need to use hot water, but again, what type of delicates? Would it ruin clothes with rayon?

Anyway, if anyone has done this or looked into it, I would love to hear your experiences, as I'm always trying to find a better way to get "pit stains" out of my clothes.
 

susanm9006

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Haven’t heard of it but some washers, mine included have a soak cycle where I can soak items for an hour before washing.
 

catapault

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I looked at the link. Not so sure laundry stripping removes "dirt" as it removes any excess detergent. You are also using double the energy and double the water. Not so good for septic systems.

I'm with susanm9006 susanm9006 Use a pre-soak cycle for very dirty clothes. I use an extra end-of-rinse cycle for underwear to be sure any residue is rinsed away.
 

susanm9006

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And what a nuisance/big job to have to hand wring all those clothes and then carry them dripping all over to the washer.
 
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Jem

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So I've tried the soaking before. Using vinegar, vinegar and baking soda, stain remover, etc...
One thing I have not tried is Borax, which is one of the ingredients for this stripping thing. Has anyone ever used Borax? Is it effective at removing gunk from clothes?
When I say gunk, I'm referring to antiperspirant build up on clothing, and the yellowing in white clothes.
 

susanm9006

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Yes, I have a big box of Borax in the laundry room most of the time. It is a great supplement to detergent and helps clean and remove odors.
 

MoochNNoodles

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I think this is what someone I know did. Her dad passed away and she wanted to save some of his shirts but he had been a heavy smoker. She said they looked great and there was no more smoke smell to them. She'd washed them first and they still smelled of smoke too. Let me see if I can find where she told me what she used. I'm thinking it was Borax and Persil but I could be wrong. I know I read you should use Persil to help get old odors out of clothing. Especially the smell that builds in the armpit area. I've used oxyclean and had good results too.
 

Willowy

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I knew I had heard the term. . .it's used for cloth diapers, that's why. My mom was really into cloth diapers with my youngest brother and I guess I was old enough to absorb the terminology. But even with diapers it's generally considered that if you use proper maintenance and a good commercial detergent it shouldn't be necessary.

If you have some badly stained items I think running a sinkful might be worth it. Otherwise, adding some borax or white vinegar to a regular wash might do the trick.

What detergent do you use? Do you use liquid softener?
 
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Jem

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I currently use Tide Cold Water liquid for HE machines, have used many others as well. And no, I don't use softener. Most of my clothes I hang to dry.
I've added vinegar to my loads before...not much help. I currently have taken to pre-scrubbing my shirts with either vinegar and baking soda, or a stain remover before putting items in the wash. I have also soaked my clothes before washing as well.
I do have hard water, so I'm sure that plays a role, but we have to save up to get a softener and unfortunately, more pressing things have come up that have needed our money.
It's just so frustrating, and I can't just stop using antiperspirant...and FYI the natural stuff does NOT work...those who say it does just can't smell themselves at the end of the day! (At least those I've come across anyway) LOL! Besides, I'm not a smelly person, just sweaty so the natural stuff and deodorant aren't what I'm after.
I've been thinking about switching to a different antiperspirant (I currently use the Dove brand) and see if that helps...Perhaps the reason it's so bad is because of all the moisturizers and what not that are in there on top of everything else. It seems like this has only been an issue in my adult life, and if I really think about it, has been a bigger issue when I started using it.
 

MoochNNoodles

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I haven't found a natural one that gets me 24 hours of stink free. I'm tempted to try the Lume one. DD is using the Dove and I question how well it works. I'm going to have her try Ivory's new line. But I had to go back to Secret. I do soak my bras in oxyclean sometimes before washing. The material they are made of is almost spongy and it builds up. So I soak them and then use a toothbrush to get rid of the build up. Then I put them on the extra rinse cycle.

When the kids were little I added some powdered Oxyclean to wash their bibs and spit-up cloths too. It really took out the odors. Baby formula (especially soy or sensitive ones) stinks!
 

Lari

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I've soaked clothes with pit stains in a bucket of hot water with oxiclean and it works fairly well. I think there's been a bit of running, byt only on reds if I recall correctly.
 

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Boy, I sure read the thread title the wrong way, LOL! :lol:
 

Willowy

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Boy, I sure read the thread title the wrong way, LOL! :lol:
:flail:

I've never had antiperspirant stains, and I just use Suave; being the "cheap brand" you wouldn't think they'd make a whole lot of effort to reduce staining. I use Tide Pods. . .maybe get a pack and give them a try. Oh and I also use warm water, maybe that will "melt" the antiperspirant a bit to make the stains come out. Warm shouldn't harm most fabrics.
 
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Jem

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