What Is Laundry Stripping?

Over time, it can seem like your clothing, bedding and towels look increasingly dirty despite being freshly laundered. They might even feel rough or sticky. While you might know that your laundry is clean, you also want it look and feel clean.

Many fabrics hang onto things like oil, soap residue and other elements that traditional laundry detergents can’t remove. By stripping your laundry periodically, you can remove the grime and enjoy fresher laundry. So, what is laundry stripping, and how does it work?

Why Would You Need to Strip Laundry?

Laundry stripping, which is also called strip washing, is the process of removing oil and residue that build up in fabrics. This residue can cause discoloration, and it can change the texture of the material. You might assume that you simply need to use more laundry detergent and fabric softener to strip your laundry of the residue, but this isn’t the case.

Residue left behind by detergent and fabric softener isn’t removed through traditional washing methods. This means that using more soap and fabric softener can actually worse the problem. More than that, this residue can actually collect more dust and dirt over time.

How Does Laundry Stripping Work?

Laundry stripping is the process of removing this residue from your garments, bedding and towels.

It involves using special cleaning ingredients that are more effective at removing residue than traditional laundry detergent. This process takes several hours to complete. However, the time and effort are worthwhile.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Strip Your Laundry

While stripping your laundry is a long process, the steps are relatively easy. Here’s what you should do for cleaner laundry:

• Fill your bathtub or washing machine with hot water.
• After the basin is full, add the usual amount of laundry detergent to the water. In addition, add washing soda and borax to the water. The amount of these items needed is roughly half the amount of laundry detergent used.
• Add your laundry to the soapy water.
• Let the laundry soak for at least four hours. Periodically, use your hand or a large spoon to stir the laundry and water.
• Then, drain the soapy water from the basin.
• Refill the basin with clean, warm water to rinse out the soapy solution.

What Items Can (and Can’t) Be Stripped?

While some clothing won’t bleed when using traditional laundering practices, the use of these ingredients and the long soaking period can make the dyes in these clothes bleed. Therefore, you should not strip wash dark colors.

Instead, use this process to wash white clothes, sheets and towels. If you need to strip a darker load of laundry, ensure that no light colored materials are in the load. In addition, don’t strip wash laundry that is not safe to wash in hot water.

FAQs

Can I strip colored clothes, or will the color fade?

The strip washing method can cause colored clothes to bleed. Because of this, the color could fade permanently. In addition, as the dyes in clothing bleed, damage to other materials in the load is possible.

How Often Should You Strip Laundry?

While laundry stripping is beneficial, frequent laundry stripping can weaken fabric. This results in shorter longevity and the need to replace items soon.

Generally, laundry stripping is recommended once every six months. If your items don’t look dingy or feel rough, delay your laundry stripping project until a later date when your items show signs of accumulated residue.

Can I use a washing machine instead of soaking in a tub?

Almost any large container can be used to strip laundry. If you only have an item or two in need of deep cleaning, you can use a large bucket. For a larger load, both the bathtub and washing machine are most beneficial. Some washing machines have a long soak cycle.

If your washing machine has this cycle, you can take advantage of the convenience offered by the appliance. Without a soak cycle, you must manually start and stop the machine as necessary to accommodate the long soaking period.

Are housekeeping chores getting out of control? While there are tips, tricks and techniques available to resolve most cleaning challenges around the house, many people lack the energy and time required to research and implement them. At Cleanzen, our experienced professionals are knowledgeable in all aspects of housekeeping. Learn more about services today.