I keep a glass jar by the sink for my 8 year old daughter's really grimy socks. I quickly rinse the socks out in water and then put them in the jar with dish washing detergent like Dawn and really hot tap water. I am trying the bleach alternative dawn right now. I shake it up and and let it sit all day or for a few hours depending on how dirty they are.
I empty the jar leaving the socks in and fill it with hot water and rinse twice. Then I pull them out and rinse in cold water. I might have to scrub a very little bit and the grime comes out. I squeeze excess water out and dry on a peg by the window. They come out so clean.
I will not use regular laundry detergent because it is so harsh on my hands. The socks have never been whiter, and it is so easy to get them done in a hurry this way. Also when they are strewn around the house I just put one in at a time and wash it this way and then hang it up, before long I will have another one and walla! There is a match. I have heard vinegar in the soap helps, haven't tried that yet.
Blessings
Source: My obsession to get socks cleaner.
By Robyn Fed from Hampton TN
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I wash socks separately. I select the longest wash cycle, use warm or hot water depending how dirty - I add a little dish soap to the machine as well! But my trick is I use two rinse cycles: the first, I put about a half cup of vinegar into it then the second rinse, I use my fabric softener.
Not an obsession for me anyway. I found that using the white vinegar in the rinse cycle will remove odors from clothing. My husband works in a restaurant and this helps me remove odors from his shirts. Even mine, sometimes perfume can linger, so this really works and is so cheap to use.
What size JAR do you use? That's a great tip ! It seems a large peanutbutter jar would be excellent for the size socks I usually wear (in winter IF I wear them at all!) But the only PB jars I have been getting here of late are always plastic. (I wonder if that is OK to add such cleaners to & be safe)
I hesitate using hot water for anything with elasticity such as socks,undergarments ect.The hot water will damage the elastic or the elastic threads or even the stretchy cloth. If you want your clothes to outlive their usage wash in cold (possibly warm) water settings.
An old diaper pail with a lid is ideal at my house for soaking embroidered tea Towels & undergarments in a TBSP of each: 40 Mule Team Borax & dishwashing powder.My mom read that little recipe years ago in a FRUGAL newspaper she got in the snail mail (I forgot the name of it now but the woman & her husband had 6 kids I think & they made a fortune with their frugality sharing!)
Or you can recycle bleach water 3 times :
from
1) Laundry soak to
2) floor mopping to
3) toilet
Just take the clothes from the diaper pail & wring them out & toss in the washer then grab your mop & do the floor real quick then tump it into the toilet & either allow it to sit a little while & swish or swish it right then (depending how busy your bathrooms are at your house- mine aren't really busy since there's just me right now)
I am going to try all the above things. I use a jar that is more tall than wide, I stuff one sock in at a time. It seems to work well, I am going to get borax and try that. It is good for flea control too. Thanks and I didn't know that about hot water and elastic. Robyn :)
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