Alternatives to Chemical Goods
Laundry Products
WHITE VINEGAR
Eliminate soap reside by adding 1 cup of white vinegar to the washer’s final rinse. Vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics but strong enough to dissolve alkalines in soaps and detergents. Vinegar also breaks down uric acid, so adding 1 cup vinegar to the rinse water is especially good for babies’ clothes. To get wool and cotton blankets soft and fluffy as new, add 2 cups white vinegar to a tub of rinse water.
DO NOT USE VINEGAR IF YOU ADD CHLORINE BLEACH TO YOUR RINSE WATER. IT WILL PRODUCE HARMFUL VAPORS.
ARM & HAMMER BAKING SODA
¼ to ½ cup baking soda per wash load makes clothes feel soft and smell fresh. You can also cut the amount of chlorine bleach used in your wash by half when you add ½ cup baking soda to top loading machines or ¼ cup to front loaders.
PROTEIN SHAMPOO
When hand-washing silk, use a protein shampoo to “feed” the protein in the silk.
VINEGAR
To remove smoky odor from clothes, fill your bathtub with hot water. Add 1 cup white vinegar. Hang garments above the steaming bath water.
CORNSTARCH
For homemade laundry starch, dissolve 1 tablespoon cornstarch in 1 pint cold water. Place in a spray bottle. Shake before using. Clearly label the contents of the spray bottle.
