Hi guys!
I just wanted to share a quick laundry tip with you today.
A few years ago, just before we moved in together, The Hubs had a house fire and lost pretty much everything. What clothes he could salvage smelled…well, not so nice.
At the time, it wasn’t in the budget to replace everything so I had to salvage what I could. I wanted to save his clothing so he’d at least have more than one set (that he was washing nightly – I felt so bad for him!) until we could get out and get him some new things. So, I did what any nerdy girlfriend would do. I did a little research online and discovered an awesome way to get rid of the nasty, sooty smoke and ick.
Check it out:
You’ll need some Arm & Hammer powder laundry detergent in “Free” and a giant jug of distilled white vinegar.
That’s it. Really!
Follow the directions on the detergent box and add in one cup of the vinegar to the water.
A few notes:
- It has to be the powdered kind of detergent – not the liquid.
- It has to be the free of dyes and perfumes kind. I’ve tried it with the “powder fresh” or whatever and those scents just latch on to the smoke smell and it’s kind of gag worthy.
- It may take more than one wash. When I was cleaning all of his clothes, I washed each load on heavy cycle twice.
- While the A&H is great, the baking soda in it can be harsh on really dark colors, so be careful.
It really does work like a charm!
I have to confess that I am the daughter of former smokers. Had I known about this trick in high school, you can bet I would have used it. I only mention it now because my Dad brought me all of my mother’s table linens to go through and keep/toss/donate. While they haven’t been in a house with smokers in well over ten years (my mother has passed on and my father gave up smoking after a heart attack years ago), they do smell stale since they’ve been in storage and most of the linens had been used around smokers at one point or another. You can believe I’ve stocked up on Arm and Hammer and vinegar. Everything will be aired out and washed thoroughly (twice or more!) until I’m satisfied they are OK to keep or donate.
1 Comment
I had a house fire several months ago…this would have really came in handy. Thanks for sharing this.