How to Remove Commercial Laundry Products from Clothing

I have found the best way to rid laundry of scents or remnants of commercial laundering products is this:

1. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and add a handful of each of the following to the wash cycle:  washing soda, borax and baking soda.  If you have the ability to soak the clothes for 2 hours before washing, this helps a lot.
2. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and put distilled white vinegar into the washing machine and soak for 1 – 2 hours before laundering.
3. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and add a handful of each of the following to the wash cycle: washing soda, borax and baking soda.  If you have the ability to soak the clothes for 2 hours before washing, this helps a lot.
4. Wash the load with my Homemade Laundry Detergent on a vigorous cycle and put distilled white vinegar into the the washing machine and soak for 1 -2 hours before laundering.

I realize that steps one and three are the same as well as steps two and four.   This is the best process that I have found to completely rid the synthetic fragrances and chemicals from laundry.   Soaking longer doesn’t necessarily get out the fragrances and other synthetic chemicals that are toxic.  This is a bit time consuming, but it is a much better method than others that I have tried.  (I have washed the clothes in up to 8 or 9 different cycles and still not gotten all of the smell out!)  Your lungs will thank you!

*NOTE*  Do not put the washing soda directly onto clothing as it acts as a mild bleaching agent.  [Your clothes will look cloudy as they didn’t get completely bleached, just in random light spots.]  Wait for the soaking cycle to stop before adding the washing soda, borax and baking soda to the load of laundry.  [I’ve accidentally ruined favorite shirts this way, and that’s not a good thing!]