January 29, 2025
Fabrics that get heavy use, like towels, tend to collect soil, detergents and body oils, making them dingy and smelly over time. That's why some people turn to laundry stripping – and post about it on social media.
It's just as extreme as it sounds. Strip washing involves submerging laundry items in a bathtub of hot water, pouring in a home-made mix of powder agents and stirring occasionally until the water cools – and turns grayish-brown.
"Doing or watching the physical task of cleaning can be satisfying in the same way putting a puzzle together can be satisfying and serene – we're transforming chaos into order and tidiness," Caroline Given, a therapist and CEO of Therapy for Busy People, told Consumer Reports. "With laundry stripping, I think we're also comforted by this idea that we are visually guaranteeing freshness and disinfection."
Good Housekeeping offers the following instructions:
• Fill your bathtub, sink or a large bucket with hot water. Add borax, washing soda (sodium carbonate — not baking soda) and laundry detergent in a 1:1:2 ratio. For a bathtub, add 1/4 cup borax, 1/4 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup laundry detergent. Stir until all three ingredients dissolve completely.
• Submerge your "clean" towels or sheets in the mixture and soak until the water has cooled, which usually takes at least four hours. Stir them occasionally to help dissolve and release the buildup from the fabrics into the water.
• Drain the murky water, wring your items and run them through a full wash cycle without detergent or softener. If not a full wash cycle, put them through at least a rinse and spin cycle in your washing machine. Tumble dry the items without dryer sheets.
Strip washing fabrics can lead them to bleed. So don't mix whites with colors. Also, make sure not to put in delicate fabrics or clothes whose labels say "dry clean only."
Because it is a heavy-duty method, some people prefer to stick to strip washing white towels and sheets or only colorfast items.
Using too much detergent and shoving too many clothes in the washer at once can cause unwanted buildup in fabric. Hard water and insufficient rinsing can lead to dingy, smelly towels and clothes. Strip washing extracts the heavy soil and oils, even unseen buildup, giving fabrics new life.
"While it does take some extra effort, laundry stripping actually works … because the chemical solution of borax, powdered detergent, washing soda, and hot water works to break down buildup," according to Real Simple.
Also, for some people, all that residue can cause itching and rashes.
"For most people (clothes residue) isn’t an issue, and it may even give your garments a pleasant fragrance," said Richard Handel, who runs the Consumer Reports laundry lab. "For others with allergies or skin sensitivities, it may present a problem."
According to Good Housekeeping Institute Cleaning Lab Executive Director Carolyn Forté, no.
If you wash your sheets and towels correctly, you shouldn't have to make laundry stripping a regular part of your routine, she told Yahoo last year. At times, laundry stripping may be necessary, but for the most part, it takes too long and too much work.
Borax, also known as sodium borate, is a salt of white crystals that acts as a detergent and bleach. It can slow the growth of bacteria, neutralize mold and mildew, and neutralize odors. Borax is not safe to ingest, but using a scoop of it in a hot wash cycle should keep laundry fresh, according to Wirecutter.
"If you have a lot of towels or sheets that need help, laundry stripping is a good way to tackle them quickly," Forté said. "Make sure to follow good laundering habits afterward, so you don't have to do it again!"
Reader's Digest offers this exhaustive step-by-step guide to doing laundry.