Wednesday: DIY OxyClean at Home!

This DIY OxyClean is inexpensive, works well, and is simple. It is definitely something that, once you know it, you'll want to continue using it for the rest of your life. It is especially perfect for whitening without bleach when you need to whiten a delicate fabric that you wouldn't dare to bleach with any kind of harsh chemicals. It is a very gentle cleaner for stains, too. There are two ways to use it and only two ingredients.

*Hydrogen peroxide
*Baking soda

For spot cleaning, mix hydrogen peroxide and baking soda together until they have a paste-like consistency and then apply it to the area you want cleaned/whitened. Scrub it into the fabric with a sponge or cloth, then rinse with water once it's cleaned.

For INTENSIVE cleaning action, mix 1 baking soda with 3 parts hydrogen peroxide (enough to cover the article of clothing you want to clean/whiten) in a pan on the stove over medium high heat.

Boil the clothing in this mixture, stirring often to prevent the bubbles from boiling over. Continue to stir until the fabric is white/stains are gone, etc. Then, wash the clothing as normal.

For my example, I used the boiling method on a piece of antique lace that had yellowed. In the picture (kinda hard to tell), I put it next to another piece of antique lace that was the same color it had been, so that you could get kind of a before-after view of it. I was very, VERY pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. Honestly, I'd say this DIY is better than Oxy Clean. I already have a big batch of un-cleanable stained clothes ready to go for round of boiling clean!




UPDATE
Used the paste form on my laundry today. I just mixed the soda and peroxide until paste-like, then used my hands (use gloves, I would say) to massage it into the cloth. I let it sit about an hour or so, then washed it like normal. If it seemed like the it became dried out or too powdery, I'd squirt some more peroxide right on the clothes.

Enjoy the before and afters!

Dirt on the back of my shirt from playing in the grass outside

Raspberries on my baby's onesie (and yes, this is the DIY baby onesie bikini-
I have to say, it washes really well and looks awesome even after months of use!)
DIY Baby Onesie Bikini

Sorry for the weird angle- these two spots were in my shirt for months- you
can see one is gone completely, while the other one is smaller and faded. I
think if I do it again but let it sit a few hours longer, it will take out the second one.
I hope, at least!