NATURAL LAUNDRY

• CLEANING TIPS HOME
• BATHROOM CLEANING
• NATURAL KITCHEN CLEANING
• DISHES, POTS, FLATWARE
• NATURAL INDOOR CLEANING
• NATURAL OUTDOOR CLEANING
• NATURAL LAUNDRY
• NATURAL ODOR CONTROL
• ARTICLES

Natural Washing

* Never combine chlorine bleach with ammonia, vinegar, or lemon juice. Extremely toxic fumes will be produced.

* Baking soda may fade colors. And, don't test these tips on your favorite clothes or bedspreads.

Eliminate soap residue by adding 1 cup of white vinegar to the final rinse.

Adding 1 cup of vinegar to the final rinse gets out urine from baby clothes.

Do not wash permanent press items in hot water. This will cause them to be wrinkled permanently.

Wash jeans inside out to prevent fading. To prevent fading of any clothes, wash and dry them inside out. This even makes a difference in clothes washed in cold water, and if you hang clothes on the line instead of putting them in the dryer. (See Natural Clothing Tips for more tips.)

Make blankets of wool or cotton extra soft and fluffy by adding 2 cups of white vinegar to the final rinse.

Wash clothes with a "rubber" decoration inside out to prevent the rubber from melting or the picture from flaking off.

Washing clothes with zippers zipped will keep the zippers working longer.

Small items should be wahsed in a laundry bag to keep them from going down the drain, which would mean lost clothing and a plugged washer drain.

Bras should be washed in a laundry bag or bra ball to prevent their hooks from snagging other items.

Reduce static cling by adding baking soda, borax or 1/2 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle.

Whiten laundry by adding 1/2 cup of 20 Mule Team Borax or Arm & Hammer Washing Soda to the wash cycle.

Using too much detergent will leave laundry feeling very heavy and less soft, especially towels. Run heavy towels through the washer and without adding deteregent. (You may not need as much detergent as label directions say to use.)

Add a can of Coca-Cola to the wash cycle for extra greasy stains. Then wash as usual.

Hard water is hard on laundry. Add 1/2 cup of borax to soften water and get clothes cleaner and whiter.

Make your own fabric softener for the washer. Add 4 cups of water to 2 cups of baking soda. Add 2 cups of vinegar very slowly or the mixture will foam up.

Leather items can be cleaned with a mixture of distilled vinegar and linseed oil. Rub the mixture into the leather, then polish with a soft cloth.

Drying Tips

Sunshine whitens cotton and linen. Dry whites outside in the sun for extra whitening. You can get them wet again and put them through the dryer if you don't like the stiffness caused by drying them on the line.

Dryer Balls eliminate static cling and soften clothes without chemicals. They also separate the clothes as they are drying to cut the time, and energy costs.

Make your own dryer ball with a ball of aluminum foil. Add it to the dryer to reduce static cling without adding chemicals. These will only work once (the store-bought Dryer Balls are reusable).

Turn clothes inside out before putting them in the dryer or hanging on them on the clothesline to prevent fading.

When drying a down comforter, jacket, or pillows, add two towels and several Dryer Balls to the load. The towels help the items dry faster, and the dryer balls prevent the down from clumping.

Always underdry. Overdrying of clothing causes wrinkling.

Underdry your shirts and hang them immediately on a hanger to air dry.

Add a few dry towels when drying blankets or heavy items to absorb some of the water. This will cut down on drying time and cost.

Special Laundry Tips

Add vinegar to new towels or rugs, let them set for 10 minutes, then add laundry soap and wash as usual. Their colors will be set, and you can later wash all colors of towels together with no running.

Adding Mrs. Stewart's Bluing to your wash will make clothes look whiter than white. You have free "bluing" when you get a new pair of jeans. Put them in with your load of whites, and the extra blue color from the new jeans will work on all the whites.

Always wash new clothes before wearing and towels and bedding before using to remove any chemicals used in manufacturing.

Black clothing can look brown after several washings. Restore the black color by adding coffee or strong tea to the rinse water.

Clean the washer hoses and unclog soap scum from a washing machine with vinegar. Pour 1 cup of white vinegar once a month into the washing machine and run the machine through a normal cycle, without clothes. This will make every load cleaner and the washer more efficient, and it may even last longer.

Natural Ironing Tips

To clean the bottom of your iron, turn it to its highest setting. Pour a small amount of salt onto a sheet of wax paper, and run the hot iron back and forth over the salted wax paper. This will not make your iron glide like new and clean off any melted fabric.

For clothes with heavy wrinkles, steam them. Lay a damp towel on the board, lay the clothese on the towel, and iron. This gets steam coming from the iron and from the hot wet towel underneath.

Iron delicate fabrics like polyester inside out. Then, if you get a spot too hot so it turns shiny, it will not show on the outside.

For shirts or dresses: iron the collar first, then the sleeves, then the bodice, and then body. This will cause the least amount of unwanted creasing.

When you lengthen the hem on an item of clothing, use vinegar to remove the old hem fold. Mix equal parts vinegar and water, and use this mixture to dampen a cloth. Place the damp cloth over the old hem, and iron over the cloth.

Make your own laundry starch with cornstarch. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 1 pint of cold water. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, and shake it before using.

Make starch for dark clothes: Mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of black tea. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle, and shake it before using.

Remove dark spots from the bottom of your iron with salt and vinegar. Mix equal parts of vinegar and salt, rub the mixture onto the iron, and rinse off with a wet towel.