Laundry and Washing Machine - Page 2

• Fabric Softener
  Add 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to rinse as a fabric softener. For a whitener, use hydrogen peroxide rather than bleach. Soak your dingy white clothes for 30 minutes in the washer with 1/2 cup 20% peroxide. Launder as usual. 

• static cling
  A good way to control static cling is to add 2/3-1 cup (150-225ml) of vinegar to the last rinse cycle of your wash.  

• preventing colors from running
  Use white vinegar if washing something that will bleed. Pour some white vinegar in the washing machine, fill with cold water, and then add soap and clothes. 

• laundry odor tamer
  1 16-ounce box (454g) baking soda
  
  If your busy schedule doesn't afford enough room tackling laundry during the week, you might start noticing the scent of exercise clothes and other well-worn garments long before you're able to wash them. To minimize sour laundry smells, keep a box of baking soda near the hamper. Add a small handful whenever a potentially pungent item is added to the mix. The baking soda will also boost the effectiveness of your detergent in the wash after neutralizing the smell. 

• Laundry Brighten
  Pour one-half cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution into the washer to help brighten whites (pour into water, not directly on clothes)    

• Laundry Detergent
  1 cup soap flakes
  1/2 cup washing soda
  1/2 cup baking soda
  1-2 tbsp. oxygen bleach (optional for extra whitening power)
  
  Soap flakes can be made by grating your favorite pure vegetable soap with a cheese grater. Mix ingredients together and store in a glass container.
  
  Use 1 tablespoon per load (2 for heavily soiled laundry), wash in warm or cold water
  
  For soft water: use 1 cup soap flakes, 1/4 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup baking soda.
  For hard water: use 1 cup soap flakes, 1 cup washing soda, and 1 cup baking soda. 

• Collars and cuffs
  Vinegar
  Baking soda
  
  Collars and cuffs can be cleaned by rubbing a thick paste of baking soda and vinegar onto the stains before washing in the usual way.    

• pre-treatment for kid stains
  1 tablespoon (14g) baking soda
  1 teaspoon (5ml) vinegar
  
  Ridding children's clothes of grass stains and crayon marks can feel like an uphill battle, unless you decide to rely on a trusty baking soda and vinegar combo to help lift the stains. To use, mix a paste of the baking soda and vinegar. When the fizzing subsides, dip an old toothbrush in the mixture and use to gently work the paste into the stain. Let teh mixture sit for a few minutes and then launder as usual.  

• Mothball Odor Remover
  1 Cup of Lemon Juice
  
  Mothballs are made from naphthalene or paradichlorobenzene, chemicals that give off a noxious gas but that also prevents moths from chewing on woolen clothes. To rid your clothes of this strong, lingering scent, add 1 cup (250ml) lemon juice to the wash cycle when you launder them. Dry them outside, if possible, for best results. 

• Pet bed cleaner
  1/2 cup (150g) salt
  
  To give the cleaning process a boost without adding a lot of artificial fragrances, try adding a 1/2 cup (150g) salt to the laundry. For best results during warmer weather, make sure to air-dry the bedding in the sun. 

• fabric softener
  Use white vinegar as you would use a liquid fabric softener.

• terry diapers 1
  Use 1 cup (225ml) of vinegar in 7.5 liters of water in the diaper bucket to neutralize the urine in cloth diapers. It also helps to keep them from staining.