HOUSTON – Bad news y’all! Your towels, bedsheets, and other garments may not be quite as clean as you think!
That’s according to the latest viral trend on TikTok called ‘laundry stripping.’
@mrslaurenelms Who’s here for the towel stripping? 🙋♀️ #laundry #cleanfreak #laundrymagic #laundrystripping #tide #borax #armandhammer #diycleaning
♬ original sound - MrsLaurenElms
Cheryl Nelson, lifestyle expert and owner of Prepare with Cher, explains all you need to know about this cleaning hack.
“Laundry stripping is a deep cleaning process that rids clothing and linens of all the nasty gunk, body oil, dirt, fabric softener, and other residues that may not be removed by regular washing machines,” said Nelson, who shared one of the easiest recipes available online using ingredients you probably already have at home.
Laundry Stripping Recipe
- ½ cup detergent
- ¼ cup borax
- ¼ cup baking soda
- Sink/container full of hot water
Laundry Stripping Instructions:
• Start by filling a container or a large sink with hot water.
• Add the detergent, borax, and baking soda.
• Stir the water (you can use a large spoon).
• Toss your laundry in, making sure you don’t overflow the sink, then stir the water again to make sure your laundry is submerged.
• You can check on your laundry’s progress every few hours, but you’ll want to soak garments for at least five hours. By then, the water should be a dark, murky color.
• Afterwards, wring all the dirty water out of the laundry, drain the water, toss the items into the washing machine, and run them through the rinse cycle without any detergent.
• Dry and fold as normal.
According to Nelson, “borax and baking soda help release hard-water minerals trapped in fabrics; the detergent breaks down and removes any buildup, and the hot water helps to loosen residues and other dirt,” she said.
To see Nelson’s complete interview, watch the video above.
To see Nelson’s recommendations on the do’s and don’ts of laundry stripping, you can visit her website, here.