The Beauty of the Collective Mind

We had a rather unfortunate event occur with the laundry yesterday. I pulled a load of darks out of the dryer to find them covered in red streaks and blotches. Three pairs of SP's school pants (one of which had a rather incriminating amount of red on the pocket suggesting the point of origin), one school shirt, a favorite pair of the Mister's jeans, his new pullover from work, three other work shirts and assorted other items.

I felt a little sick.

So I called Sillya because I was sure that she had some experience with this type of thing and could perhaps offer some advice. In her wisdom, she suggested checking the internet. Folks, there is an answer to everything on the internet! I'm not sure how we solved problems before the internet! We found a cleaning solution concoction that promised success. I tried it out and the clothes were saved. It wasn't a perfect success - the offending pocket is still quite red and a pair of NT's jeans has a few marks which look like he tried to draw on his pants with a crayon but the crucial items are completely clean. I did spend about $20 on cleaning stuff but at least I don't have to replace all that clothing!

Here is the magic recipe in case you should ever find yourself in a similiar situation -




2) large load size cups of liquid Tide (I used the concentrated stuff)

1) cup 20 Mule Team Borax (it's a powdered laundry detergent booster)

1) cup liquid Shout

1) cup liquid OxiClean (the original recipe calls for 2 scoops of OxiClean powder but I didn't have that)

1) cup white vinegar

Set your washer on the hot water wash cycle. Add all of the above ingredients and let the washtub fill with water. Once it's full of water, let it agitate for a minute to mix it up nicely and then add the clothes. Soak the clothes for 2 hours, say a couple of prayers and then finish the wash cycle. Wash again with one cup of Tide and one cup of OxiClean and then run it through the rinse cycle one more time (to help wash out all the cleaning product residue). After that, the clothes should be clean and ready to dry.

Hopefully you never have to use this but if you do, know that there is hope!