Laundry tips

this is a page from my website, however I felt it may be useful to reproduce it here as the recipes and tips are useful to more than just people wanting to wash baby clothes, they don't stay babies for long and you can't keep having them!

Caring for woolens is not difficult, follow these steps to get a good result every time.

1: never ever rub at a stain, this may cause felting and pilling, instead spray the stain with white vinegar mixed 1/2 and 1/2 with warm water or mix a little wool wash with warm water and spread over the stain. and leave for an hour before washing.

2: to wash: fill a basin with handwarm water, add detergent as per directions, place your garment in the water, keep it submerged and gently press down repeatedly until it stays under the water by itself. Leave to soak for an hour or so, then press the water through the garment to get rid of any remaining grime, lift out of water squeeze well but don't wring,  let the water out of the basin and fill again with clear water to rinse., repeat the previous actions until the water runs clear.

Let the water out and  gently press the garment to remove excess water, place in a dry towel, roll it up and press hard to remove more water ( I stand on mine!) remove the garment and place on a dry towel or sweater dryer out of the sun to dry.

3: use lavender, peppermint, pennyroyal essential oil in your detergent,  alone or in combination with other oils to deter moths.

4: don't stress! there is nothing stressful about leaving something to soak for an hour or two - go off and play with baby, read a book, have a sleep!

Recipes:

Liquid Woolwash   

Ingredients:

4 cups soap flakes , 4 cups boiling water, 1/2 cup methylated spirits, 1.5 Tablespoons of lavender, eucalyptus or peppermint essential oil.

Method:

mix soap flakes and boiling water (you can use a food processor) then add the meths and oil. Pour into a large glass jar, this will set to a jellylike consistency. Use by adding 1 T to a basin of warm water, soak the garment and rinse in clean water.

Powder laundry detergent

Ingredients: 1/2 cup washing soda (crush before use) 1 cup grated soap, 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup borax, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1/2T essential oil of your choice.

Method:

Mix all ingredients together, place in a large jar, dissolve 1T in warm water for small loads, 2T for larger loads, rinse in clean water.