ask stylebook: oxiclean?
Renee: You mentioned in a previous post your frequent use of OxiClean. I haven’t had much luck with the product–what’s your secret?
Alicia, The Tulle Box: There is definitely a process to my success with OxiClean. I never deviate from following these steps.
1. I separate laundry by color and use OxiClean on my whites only – not because it won’t work on other loads but because it’s most effective on whites (basically I save it for whites).
2. I soak the whites in HOT water for 1-2 hours before starting the machine. Having moved recently, we now have a front load machine which has made this step tricky. We do have a utility sink and so I soak the whites in the sink now and then move them to the washer.
3. Then I run the load as I would any other load – adding detergent and following with a normal cycle.
4. If I have an extra difficult stain I will boil water, add the OxiClean (carefully…this is similar to a shaken soda can!), and let it soak for the same 1-2 hours and follow with a normal wash.
I’ve tried to just add OxiClean to a load of wash (especially when confronted with the front load machine) and it does not have the same effect as the soak.
One word of advice ~ a particular pair of white denim I own has a leather label on the back waistband and the OxiClean caused the leather to “bleed” into the white denim. I’ve been able to correct it but I no longer soak that pair of white denim in OxiClean.
