Laundry Stripping Guide - How I Saved My FAV Yoga Pants

I love to work out and especially love a hot, sweaty yoga class. I teach yoga too, so as you can imagine, there are a lot of workout clothes in my closet. Unfortunately, there is a point where your clothes start to smell not so fresh, even before your class begins, which can be so frustrating and sometimes embarrassing! 
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I felt like I had experimented with everything from adding baking soda or vinegar to the wash and even ordering specialty laundry detergent to rid my clothes of the odor and grime. Nothing seemed to work. Since I try to avoid as many synthetic fragrances as possible, using a scent to mask the smell was not an option - plus, it would have probably made it worse! Just when I was ready to give up and toss these stinky clothes out, a friend mentioned Laundry Stripping. She said it was relatively easy and used a few products I hadn't yet tried. I decided to give it a whirl to save my favorite green animal print yoga pants just a little longer. 

​A few things to note:

1. The process is easy to do but time-consuming! The clothes take several hours to soak, so plan to do it while you're home. 
2. Make sure you have all of the supplies on hand. A few of the ingredients aren't "everyday items." I ordered mine from Amazon (links for the same items I used are below)
3. You won't regret it! You'll be happy you took the time to save your favorite yoga pants - I was! ​​

Supplies
• ¼ cup Borax Detergent Booster
• ¼ cup Washing Soda
• ½ cup Powdered Laundry Detergent 
*Optional ¼ cup Calgon, recommended if you desire added softness

Begin by filling the tup with hot water. The hotter, the better! I turned the spigot as far as it could go. 
Fill the tub halfway and add the ingredients. Remember, the water is steaming hot, so I recommend using something other than your hand to swish the water around. I used a plastic mop handle to help stir up the mix. When the tub was ¾ full, I added the clothes.

I was stripping primarily dark colors, so initially, I did see the water discolor from the dye in the clothing. I was happy I didn't have any lighter shades in this batch. I recommend keeping similar colors together to avoid any dye transfer. ​

Next is the easy part: you let your clothes soak for up to six hours in the tub with the mixture. I set a timer and swished the clothes around with the mop handle every hour, but I don't suppose this is necessary - it just helped pass the time. 
I emptied the tub at the six-hour mark and wrung out the clothes. From there, I transferred them to my washing machine, where I used the "rinse and spin" cycle. Once finished, I moved them to my dryer, and voila!

My first real test was my hot yoga class, and I'm happy to report that at this time, my workout clothes are still odor-free!


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*Note that I take part in the Amazon Affiliate (Associate) program where I may earn a small commission from sales made through affiliate links.