Whitening Plus Stain Remover Soak

My family greatly enjoys creating sweaty, grimy, greasy stains on their clothes! This, coupled with a modest budget for replacing clothes, has motivated me to look for an all-in-one stain removal process that's easy and efficient. I've used this recipe on jeans, brightly colored clothing and whites. I haven't applied it on many delicate fabrics, but if the garment was unusable due to an unattractive stain, I would give it a try. From time to time, I'll run across a stain so firmly embedded into the fabric that it remains. In this instance, the garment either gets dyed darker or sent to the scrap bin.

You will need two 5-gallon buckets with lids.

Combine:

- 1 c. hydrogen peroxide
- 2 c. vinegar
- 2 c. borax
- 2 c. washing soda
- 1 c. OxiClean®
- 1 c. Cascade Complete All-in-One Gel
- 1-2 gals of HOT water

Gradually add 1 or 2 gallons of HOT water while stirring the mixture. Be sure you stir well or the powder will clump into hard lumps. If this happens, you will be able to mash the clumps up against the side of the bucket with a wooden spoon. Put the stained fabric into a five gallon bucket. In the event that this fills the bucket in excess of 2/3 full, you may wish to divide the clothing between the two buckets. For example, the whites and colors could possibly be separated. Pour the liquid onto the fabric in the bucket. If using two buckets, equally divide the formula among them. To boost the water level so that the garments are submerged, add more hot water. Place the lid on the bucket and allow it to sit all night.

After soaking for 7 hours (or overnight), pour the contents of the bucket into your washer (or wash tub) and run the garments through a rinse and spin cycle. Next, wash the clothing just like you generally would. I've had great success turning soiled socks into white socks, as well as cleaning linens and dingy undershirts. It would even be useful on yard and garage sale finds.

This is a formulation which has been improved over time for me. You can adjust it to suit your own unique requirements.