Get Your Whites Looking WHITE Again by Stripping Their Stains

6 Materials
$10
4 Hours
Easy

It’s normal for towels to absorb some of the soap and skin oils that get rubbed on them over time.


When they reach the point where the stains are noticeable or they’re not drying properly anymore, it’s time to strip them. Follow along to see how I do it.

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Tools and materials:

  • 2 cups powdered laundry detergent
  • 1/4 cup borax laundry
  • 1/4 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
  • 1/4 cup Calgon
  • Rubber gloves
  • Bucket
Soaking towels

1. Soak

Wash the towels first, if necessary.


Half fill a tub with hot water and add the towels. Don’t mix different colors in case they run.

Adding ingredients

2. Add ingredients

Add all the ingredients listed to the water and mix them well until they’re dissolved.


You might even see some dirt coming off the towels immediately!

Soaking towels

3. Soak

Leave the towels to soak for 4 hours.


Check back in every after to give them another mix.


After 4 hours, give any stubborn stains a quick scrub.

Putting towels in washing machine

4. Wash

Squeeze out the excess water and transfer the towels to a bucket.


Put them in the washing machine without adding any more detergent.


Use a hot wash and dry as normal.

Clean white towels

Get your whites looking WHITE again

Not only are my towels a lot cleaner, they’re much softer too and they dry better.


Nearly all the stains have disappeared and the towels really look and feel like new.


It’s something that’s definitely worth doing on a regular basis.


Did you find this useful? Comment down below.


Next, learn how to Keep Your Clothes Smelling Cleaner and Feeling Softer.

Suggested materials:
  • 2 cups powdered laundry detergent
  • 1/4 cup borax laundry
  • 1/4 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
See all materials

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Comments
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3 of 47 comments
  • Charise. Charise. on Mar 28, 2025

    I just need to know how the hotels do it. Their whites are the best I've ever! I use a ton of bleach and my water temperature is set at Hades, but I'm not at that hotel-white level. I need an AHLA insider...ASAP!

    • Gin167837191 Gin167837191 on Nov 23, 2025

      Clorox chemist told me to only use warm water with bleach because the hotter the water the faster the chlorine breaks down & dissipates therefore you aren't getting the full bleaching effect if you use hot water. Try it, it worked better for me.


      I use bleach sparingly though because where I live we have super hard water with tons of iron in the water so bleach tends to turn my whites yellow.


      The one product I totally, absolutely swear by is "OUT White Brite Laundry Whitener." It leaves your whites extremely bright white with a slight hint of a bluish undertone. Beware though it smells awful, like sulfur, & it's got to be toxic as all get out, but one wash of your nastiest whites & you're good to go until nasty comes back around. I can usually find it at Walmart for about $6. I use it with my regular laundry detergent (Biocleen liquid citrus scent or the newer Sport Formula; the best laundry detergent ever created in the history of mankind. No joke!), a handful of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (I mentioned the super hard water earlier & this softens the water enough to allow the other stuff to work their magic!), & of course "OUT."


      I also NEVER ever use dryer sheets! They are most likely why everyone's clothes & towels are holding grease & grime. All these things do is coat anything in the dryer with them in an invisible layer of wax. Feel their texture before & after a dry, all that wax coating that's gone has been transferred to the items you've just dried. Now just imagine how many times those items have been in that dryer with those sheets of wax, no wonder they're not absorbent or soft anymore. There's a reason why the laundry instructions for anything microfiber says "Do NOT Use Dryer Sheets." What about static? I use 3 wool balls that I've had now for 7 years & they are as good as new. I'll wash them about once a year, but they don't really get dirty unless they're accidentally transported from the laundry & get dropped on a dirty floor. Then I just rinse them off.


      Sorry for the long-winded answer, I'm waiting for my grocery pickup & I must be last.




  • Carol Parsons Carol Parsons on Sep 27, 2025

    I didn’t use Calgon just the other ingredients. I was blown away with how much whiter my towels were!! And my dish cloths had become smelly when they were wet but after stripping they smelled much better and looked really great !!

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