Buzz
Laundry stripping eliminates accumulated detergent, fabric softener, and other residues from your laundry by soaking them in a mixture of simple ingredients for an extended period. faridan hadi rukmana/ShutterstockKey Takeaways
- Laundry stripping is a thorough cleaning technique designed to remove layers of residue — including detergent, fabric softener, body oils, and minerals from hard water — that accumulate in fabrics over time.
- This method involves soaking your clean laundry in a blend of hot water, borax, washing soda, and laundry detergent for several hours, allowing the dirt to emerge as the water cools.
- Although effective, laundry stripping should be used cautiously since it can be rough on fabrics and is not recommended for delicate items or those that require cold washes or dry cleaning.
There’s nothing like undeniable visual proof, which is why people are so captivated by impressive before-and-after pictures. A recent trend that has taken the internet by storm is laundry stripping, a deep-cleaning method that’s been gaining traction on TikTok. But while it’s become a viral sensation, this practice has actually been around far longer than social media.
Referred to as an "intensive cleaning technique" by the experts at Maytag, laundry stripping is aimed at eliminating any hidden residues that clean laundry might still hold onto, such as minerals from hard water, body oils, excess detergent, or fabric softener. These buildups can cause white or light-colored fabrics to lose their brightness and look dull.
After a thorough laundry-stripping soak, the water often turns visibly dirty — a striking and satisfying sight for those who believed their laundry was already pristine!
Clear Indicators That It's Time for Laundry Stripping
Laundry stripping shouldn’t be performed too frequently, just a few times a year. Over-stripping can weaken fabrics. Some key signs that indicate it’s time to strip your laundry include towels losing their absorbency or softness, fabrics feeling sticky, or any musty odors or yellow/brown discoloration — all clear signs of buildup that’s getting out of hand.
How to Perform Laundry Stripping
Always wear protective gloves when performing laundry stripping, as some of the ingredients can be tough on your skin. Some experts even suggest using a mask to avoid inhaling any harsh chemicals.
- Start by filling a bathtub or large sink with hot water.
- Mix in borax, washing soda (sodium carbonate), and laundry detergent in a 1:1:2 ratio, in that order. For example, you’ll need 1/4 cup of borax, 1/4 cup of washing soda, and 1/2 cup of laundry detergent. Stir the mixture until it dissolves.
- Then, add clean laundry into the tub and stir occasionally. Let it soak until the water cools down, which can take about four or five hours.
- After soaking, drain the water (and enjoy the sight of the dirty water!) and wring out the excess liquid from the laundry.
- Lastly, run the stripped laundry through the washing machine without detergent or fabric softener, using a full wash cycle. Then, dry them without dryer sheets.
If you don’t want to go through all this effort, you can also strip laundry in the washing machine. The downside is you won’t get to witness the dirty water, but it’s a much quicker and less messy method than using the bathtub.
To strip laundry in the washing machine, select the "deep soak-and-spin" option (for top-loading machines), or the "rinse-and-spin cycle" (for front loaders), and follow the same steps as above. This method will give you the same clean results, without the dirty water and cleanup involved in the tub process.
Borax is one of the essential ingredients you'll need for laundry stripping.
Alexander Oganezov/ShutterstockWhich Items Are Best and Worst for Laundry Stripping?
As mentioned earlier, laundry stripping is a more aggressive cleaning technique than most fabrics are built to handle. As such, it’s not suitable for delicate or high-end clothing. Avoid using this method on lingerie or items that are labeled as "gentle" or "hand-wash only" on the care tag.
Naturally, items marked as "dry-clean only" should never undergo laundry stripping. Similarly, wool, workout clothes, and fabrics that should only be washed in cold water should never be stripped under any circumstances.
When laundry stripping other clothing items, make sure to separate darks and lights as you would in a typical machine wash. Stripping dark clothes with lighter ones will almost certainly result in color contamination. However, laundry stripping is best suited for textiles like light-colored sheets and towels that are showing signs of wear and tear too soon.
How to Prevent the Need for Laundry Stripping
Most experts argue that laundry stripping isn't truly necessary if you're following the right laundry practices from the start and preventing buildup. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
- Avoid overloading the washer. If the drum is more than 3/4 full, the water and detergent won’t circulate properly. If the final rinse can’t do its job, detergent and other residues will cling to the clothes.
- For extra measure, add an additional rinse for particularly stubborn items.
- Be mindful of detergent usage. Follow the guidelines on the detergent packaging for each load size. The same goes for fabric softener — only use it in the designated compartment if the machine allows, or during the last rinse. If possible, skip fabric softener altogether!
- Wash items according to their level of dirtiness. Don’t mix heavily soiled clothes with lightly soiled ones.
These straightforward steps are typically enough to prevent unwanted buildup. However, if you’re still drawn to laundry stripping, it’s simple enough to do when needed.
After allowing your clothes to soak for several hours, simply run them through a regular washing cycle, dry them, and fold them. They will come out cleaner than ever.
Rick Gayle Studio/Getty ImagesTikTok has provided some fantastic laundry hacks, but not all of them are a success. One woman attempted a hack using sponges soaked in fabric softener and water instead of regular dryer sheets. Unfortunately, her dryer caught fire during the process! Thankfully, no one was harmed.
