Laundry

Baby Clothes

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To make baby clothes smell fresh, add ½ cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to the baby's laundry.

• 20 Mule Team Borax. To deodorize baby clothes and eliminate stains, wash baby clothes, linens, bibs, slips, and cotton crib liners in hot water, adding ½ cup 20 Mule Team Borax and detergent.

• Clorox Bleach. To remove stains from baby clothes, mix ¼ cup Clorox Bleach to one gallon of water in a plastic bucket. Soak the clothes in the solution for five minutes. Rinse well, then launder as usual.

Bleach

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To boost the power of bleach and freshen the clothes, add ½ cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda to the wash, along with the normal amount of liquid bleach.

• Hydrogen Peroxide. Instead of using bleach in to wash white clothes, add one cup of Hydrogen Peroxide to a load of whites and launder as usual.

Colors

• Heinz White Vinegar. To prevent bright colored clothes from fading or bleeding, before putting the article in the washing machine, soak it in a bucket of Heinz White Vinegar for ten minutes. The vinegar locks in the color.

• McCormick Black Pepper. To stop colors in cotton clothes from running, add a teaspoon of McCormick Black Pepper to the first suds in the washing machine.

• Morton Salt. To prevent bright colored clothes from fading or bleeding, add one cup coarse Morton Salt to your detergent in the washing machine.

Delicate Hand Washables

• 20 Mule Team Borax. To wash delicate hand washables, dissolve ¼ cup 20 Mule Team Borax and two tablespoons detergent in a basin of warm water. Soak the hand washables for ten minutes, rinse in clear, cool water, blot with a towel, lay flat (woolens) or hang to dry (away from sunlight and direct heat).

Deodorize

• Heinz White Vinegar. To deodorize smelly clothes, add one cup Heinz White Vinegar to the wash cycle.

Detergent

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To boost the power of your regular laundry detergent, add ½ cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda with the usual amount of detergent in your regular wash cycle.

• Johnson's Baby Shampoo. If you're all out of regular detergent, use one capful of Johnson's Baby Shampoo in your regular wash cycle. The baby shampoo gets clothes just as clean as Tide or Cheer, and makes clothes smell fresh.

• Parsons' Ammonia. To clean clothes with half the detergent, add one cup Parsons' Ammonia and half the usual amount of laundry detergent to your wash load. (Remember, never use ammonia with chlorine bleach.)

• 20 Mule Team Borax. To boost the strength of your regular laundry detergent, add ½ cup 20 Mule Team Borax to each wash load along with the usual amount of detergent. For a large capacity or front-loading machine, add three-quarter cup borax. Borax acts as a water conditioner, boosts the cleaning power of detergent by controlling alkalinity, deodorizes the clothes, and helps remove stains and soil.

Diapers

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To deodorize cloth diapers, mix ½ cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and two quarts of water in a bucket, soak the diapers in the solution for one hour, then launder as usual.

• 20 Mule Team Borax. Flush out dirty diapers and soak immediately in a diaper pail filled with warm water and ½ cup 20 Mule Team Borax. Let soak for thirty minutes (or longer), and then wash the diapers in warm water, adding ½ cup borax with the usual amount of detergent. Borax helps deodorize the diapers, eliminate stains, and make the diapers more absorbent.

Disinfectant

• Heinz White Vinegar. To kill bacteria in the laundry without using harsh chemicals, add ¼ cup of Heinz White Vinegar during the rinse cycle.

• Listerine. To disinfect a washing machine to avoid getting germs from a sick family member, wipe off the surface of the machine with Listerine and add ½ cup Listerine to the wash cycle.

Down Jackets

• Wilson Tennis Balls. To fluff a down jacket tumbling in the dryer, toss a handful of Wilson Tennis Balls into the dryer along with the down jacket. The bouncing balls do all the work.

Gum

• Cutex Nail Polish Remover. To clean chewing gum from clothes, saturate a cotton ball with Cutex Nail Polish Remover and use it to dab the gum. The acetone in the nail polish remover dissolves the adhesives in the chewing gum. (Be sure to test an inconspicuous spot on the clothing to make certain the fabric is colorfast.)

• Jif Peanut Butter. To remove chewing gum from clothes, rub a dab of Jif Peanut Butter over the spot, let sit for a few minutes, and then work out the gum with a comb. The oils in the peanut butter dissolve the gums in the chewing gum.

• Noxzema Deep Cleansing Cream. Rub a dollop of Noxzema Deep Cleansing Cream into chewing gum stuck in clothes, let sit for a few minutes, and then work out the gum with a comb. The cold cream dissolves the gums in the chewing gum.

• WD-40. To get chewing gum out of clothes, spray WD-40 on the spot, wait a few minutes, and wipe clean. The petroleum distillates in the WD-40 dissolve the gums in the chewing gum. Then launder as usual.

Lint

• Heinz White Vinegar. To prevent lint from clinging to clothes, add one cup Heinz White Vinegar to each wash load.

• Jet-Dry. To prevent lint from clinging to clothes, add four ounces Jet-Dry to each wash load in lieu of fabric softener. Jet-Dry also removes the soap from the clothes, which helps people who have allergic reactions to detergent. The Jet-Dry does double duty in the washing machine, simultaneously cleaning soap scum from the tubes and pipes in the washing machine.

• L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose. Toss a pair of L'eggs Sheer Energy Panty Hose into the dryer with your wet clothes to prevent lint from clinging to clothes.

Mold and Mildew

• Coca-Cola. To clean mold and mildew from clothes, pour a two liter bottle of Coca-Cola into the washing machine, add your regular detergent, let the machine fill with water, and let the clothes soak for thirty minutes before running them through the regular cycle.

Static Cling

• Wilson Tennis Balls. To reduce static cling, throw in a couple of Wilson Tennis Balls into the dryer while the clothes are tumbling.

Suds

• Downy Fabric Softener. If you accidentally pour too much detergent in your washer, creating excessive suds, add one capful of Downy Fabric Softener to the wash load.

• Heinz White Vinegar. To remove excess soap from clothes in the washing machine, add one cup Heinz White Vinegar to the rinse cycle.

• Jet-Dry. To dissolve excess soapsuds in your washing machine, add one tablespoon of Jet-Dry to the wash load.

Whiter Whites

• Arm & Hammer Baking Soda. To whiten whites, add ½ cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, along with the normal amount of regular detergent. The baking soda boosts the power for the detergent.

• Cascade. To whiten white polyester, mix one cup Cascade and one gallon warm water in a plastic bucket. Soak the clothes in this mixture overnight, and then launder as usual. The phosphates in Cascade remove the gray soap build-up from white polyester.

• Cascade, Clorox Bleach, and Heinz White Vinegar. To get your whites whiter than white, mix ½ cup Cascade, and ½ cup Clorox, and one gallon hot water in a plastic bucket, and soak the white clothing in this solution overnight. In the morning, pour the entire contents of the bucket into the washing machine, and launder as usual, adding ½ cup Heinz White Vinegar to the rinse water.

• Nestlé Carnation NonFat Dry Milk. To whiten white clothes, mix one cup Nestlé Carnation NonFat Dry Milk in a bucket of hot water, and soak the clothes in the milky solution overnight. In the morning, discard the liquid and launder the clothes as usual.

Wool

• Heinz White Vinegar. To deodorize a wool sweater, wash then sweater, then rinse in equal parts Heinz White Vinegar and water to eliminate the odor.