The Easy Laundry Stripping Recipe (get the gross out of your towels and sheets)

My easy laundry stripping recipe, how long to soak, what to skip, and the gross water that proves it works.

Your towels aren’t dirty because you’re doing laundry wrong. They’re just lived in, and that’s a lot of detergent, fabric softener and real life soaked into them.

I’d been reading about laundry stripping for a while before I finally tried it back in 2021. We had a front loader and extremely hard well water, and my white sheets were starting to look not-quite-white.

I first tried this at our Rainbow Ranch house but even though we’ve moved, we still have a front loader and extremely hard water.

I started small with my kitchen towels and a load of socks, because a tub full of wet king sheets sounded like a workout I wasn’t ready for.

My husband wandered in to stir the tub every time he had a break, and he asked me if those towels had been clean when I put them in. Yes, they were clean, and they still turned that water brown. He walked out shaking his head, and I’m sure he was wondering if I was actually doing laundry.

Turns out it’s easy, a little gross and a lot satisfying. Here’s my recipe, how it worked and what I’d do differently now.

My Laundry Stripping Recipe

The recipe is a 1 to 1 to 2 ratio of Borax, washing soda and powdered laundry detergent. For a standard bathtub about half full of hot water, that’s:

• 1/4 cup Borax (any brand)
• 1/4 cup washing soda (not the same as baking soda)
• 1/2 cup powdered laundry detergent (one with oxygen bleach works best)

Soak for at least 4 hours, stirring about once an hour, then run everything through a rinse and spin cycle and dry as usual.

Using a sink or a big bucket instead? Keep the same ratio and just use less of each powder.

What Is Laundry Stripping?

Laundry stripping is a long, hot soak that pulls built-up residue out of your towels, sheets and clothes. That residue is usually a mix of detergent (go figure), fabric softener, body oils and minerals from hard water.

I wasn’t totally surprised by how much came off our towels, but it was still a pretty gross experiment, even when I knew what to expect.

Why Does Laundry Get Buildup?

Most store-bought detergents do a good job, so this isn’t about your laundry being dirty. A few everyday habits just add up over time.

Too much detergent or fabric softener builds up in the fibers, so towels stop absorbing and some fabrics start to feel a little sticky. That residue actually helps your laundry grab more dirt and dust.

Fabric softener is the sneaky one. It works by leaving a coating on your clothes so they smell good, wrinkle less and don’t cling, and that coating is exactly what builds up. Some people are also sensitive to it, so skipping it is an easy way to slow the buildup down.

Hard water makes it worse, because the minerals keep your detergent from doing its job and leave deposits of their own. If you see water spots on your faucets and shower doors, your towels are probably dealing with the same thing.

If you’ve got an afternoon and some whites you’d like whiter, give it a try.

What to Strip (and What I’d Skip)

The best candidates for laundry stripping are towels, sheets, socks, kitchen towels and that blanket that never quite smells fresh are the best candidates for laundry stripping There are a few things I wouldn’t try it on:

• Spandex workout clothes. Very hot water breaks down spandex. If you want to strip them, use warm water and take extra time dissolving the powders.
• Delicate or precious items. If you’re afraid of ruining it, have it professionally cleaned.
• Anything that can’t be washed on hot. Check the care label first.
• Silk, wool and leather. I’m not sure I even need to say this one.

Can You Strip Colored Towels?

You can, but sort them by color first so nothing bleeds onto anything else. And don’t panic if the water from a colorful load looks extra murky, because some of that is dye, not just dirt.

I’m all for colorful towels, so of course I had to know how mine would do. I sorted them by color and they all did great. I don’t have any photo evidence of this side of the experiment but you can take my word for it. Or you can test it out.

How to Strip Laundry, Step by Step

1. Gather your laundry

Pull together everything you want to strip before you start, and make sure it’s already clean. I started with dish towels and socks because they’re easy to handle. Wet sheets are so much bigger and heavier than they have any right to be, so I worked up to those.

2. Clean your washer first

The same gunk that builds up in your towels builds up in your machine too. Run your washer’s cleaning cycle first, so you’re not rinsing freshly stripped laundry in a dirty drum.

3. Fill the tub with hot water

A bathtub is easiest because everything fits under the water and you get a front-row seat to the gross part. A sink or a big bucket works too. Just remember it’ll be tied up for hours. I filled our tub between 1/3 and 1/2 full of very hot water.

4. Add the powders

I add the powders while the tub is filling so they have time to dissolve, then give it a good stir before any laundry goes in.

5. Add your laundry and stir

Push everything under the water (some of it will float back up, and that’s fine). Stir about once an hour so the floaters get their turn. I’m not saying set an alarm for 2 a.m., but it does need a little attention while it soaks.

6. Wring, rinse and dry

Squeeze out as much water as you can and move everything to the washer. You don’t have to wash it again. Just run a rinse and spin cycle to get rid of anything still clinging to the fabric, then dry as usual.

7. Rinse out the tub

Drain the tub (after you take your gross-water photo, of course) and rinse it well, so nobody ends up taking a bath in leftover stripping solution. These days that’s a big deal at my house, because my tub is the size of a small swimming pool and the grandkids swim in it.

Did Laundry Stripping Work?

Judging by the color of that water, yes. A few stains didn’t come all the way out, but everything looked noticeably brighter, and the lingering smells were gone, which is a huge plus in my book.

My dish towels were the biggest win. They used to smell great one day and not so great the next, even though I change them often, and stripping helped with that.

And the Sheets?

When I first wrote this, I said the king sheets were next. I’m definitely a fan of this process and the sheets were nice and fresh after a strip. It prolongs the life of our sheets even though giant wet sheets are no fun to handle.

In my last house I had to use the bathtub for this project but now I’m blessed with a giant laundry sink so it’s a much shorter trip to the washing machine.

Laundry Stripping Questions

How often should you strip laundry?

Every few months is plenty for towels, sheets and socks. This is a deep clean, not part of your weekly routine, and doing it too often is hard on fabric.

Is laundry stripping safe for a septic system?

I haven’t found a reason this would be harmful to our septic system. I’m always careful about what goes down our drains, and honestly we all should be, septic or not. (That’s all I’ve got for that soapbox.).

Can I strip laundry in a front-loading washer?

If your machine has a soak cycle, you can add everything to it and skip carrying wet laundry through the house. You just won’t get the satisfaction of seeing all that yucky water.

And while you’re looking at your machine, did you know most front loaders can use powder detergent? I always thought they only took liquid, but mine has a liquid insert you just pull out for powder.

Do I need Calgon too?

Some recipes add Calgon, which is a water softener. I think it’s repetitive if you’re already using washing soda, because washing soda softens water too and helps whiten. Some people swear by both, and since I haven’t tried it with Calgon I can’t say they’re wrong. If you have soft water, I’d skip it.

Is Borax safe?

Borax is an alkaline cleaner that helps neutralize acids in your linens so they brighten. If you’re concerned about its safety, this article on whether Borax is safe has good information and resources.

Is washing soda the same as baking soda?

No. They’re related, but washing soda is stronger and has extra whitening power. Don’t swap one for the other in this recipe.

Go Ahead and Try It

Your towels aren’t a lost cause and you don’t need to replace them. Start with something small, like your dish towels, and work your way up to the sheets once you’re hooked.

Have you tried laundry stripping yet? Tell me what you stripped and how gross your water got. I really want to know.

If your bathroom needs more than fresh towels, here’s how I’d make a bathroom work for real life without it looking like a hospital.