5 Ways to Boost Your Laundry Naturally

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. 

All opinions are mine alone. #BoostWithBorax  #CollectiveBias

When I became a mom, I became increasingly aware of what the products we used around our house. I began looking for alternatives to harsh chemical cleaning agents and because I, as well as my babies, have pretty sensitive skin, I started removing scents from everything we used. It just wasn't worth it and after a while, I felt like I was just covering up the smells instead of removing them anyway. Now, it's not that I don't like scents. I just don't associate clean with certain scents anymore.

Now that I've found a good natural routine that works for our clothing, sheets, and towels I started looking for ways to get a better clean, neutral odors, remove stains and even add some scent and softness back into our laundry because it is enjoyable! So, here's a list of 5 ways you can use 20 Mule Team® Borax and other natural products to boost your laundry routine.

1. Natural Stain Removal. Dissolve 1/2 cup of Borax for every gallon of warm water. For any stain, just pre-soak your laundry items for about 30 minutes in the borax solution. For tougher stains, rinse the items with water first before pre-soaking in hot water. 

The reason why borax is so effective is because of its pH. Stains are often acidic in nature, and borax brings acids closer to base. Borax breaks down stains on a molecular level. Borax is best on grease or oil stains, fatty or protein based dirt stains. 


2. Naturally Boost your Laundry Detergent.  Borax softens and neutralizes water, and reduces damage to your fabrics and clothing by adjusting your water's pH balance. You can condition your water easily – just add ½ cup of 20 Mule Team® Borax to each laundry load during the wash cycle. If you use a large capacity machine, bump it up to ¾ cup. This is even great for your delicates, and fabrics that require hand washing! So, just skip the fabric softener with all its binding agents and heavy scents. 

3. Naturally get rid of static and dry faster! I am so glad I FINALLY decided to ditch the dryer sheets and invest in Wool Dryer balls. I will never go back. Using Wool Dryer balls creates more separation of laundry allowing heat to dry more parts of your towels especially more quickly. Wool also naturally gets rid of static and won't cling to the inside of your pant leg (or coat your clothes in chemical scents). 

4. Naturally add scent to your laundry. If you love scents and really who doesn't love the light smell of lavender on their sheets or the fresh smell of citrus on freshly laundered towels, then adding natural scents like those of your favorite essential oils to your laundry is the perfect way to achieve fresh scented laundry naturally. I add one drop of lavender to each dryer ball to dry my sheets. I also love the calming combination of orange and lavender. Using Scent free detergent and Borax to clean my clothes the odors are neutralized so there's no competing smells. IF you find your washing machine smelling a little stale or if you are washing towels that have been wet for a while, add a few drops of purification to your washing machine before you start the laundry to rid your laundry room of that stale smell! 

** NOTE I use purification blend but it's simply Citronella, Lemongrass, Lavandin, Rosemary, Tea Tree and Myrtle. 

5. Create a Natural Linen Spray. Using a 2-ounce bottle add 2 tablespoons witch hazel, 6-10 drops essential oil, and fill almost to the top with water. Shake before each use. This is great for using on pillows, to freshen your closet, and to help with pet smells.

You can also use Borax as an odor neutralizer for rugs and mattresses and SO many other uses you can find here on the Borax Usages Page. What are you favorite natural cleaning hacks? 

You can find Borax at your local retailer. We picked ours up at Walmart. You can find it in the additives section in the Laundry aisle!