• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Recipes with Essential Oils

Powering your Essential Oil Living

  • Get Started
    • Order Essential Oils
    • Strategies & Tips for Using Essential Oils
    • Getting to Know Your Essential Oils
    • Videos
    • Blog
  • Essential Oil Recipes
    • Beauty Recipes
    • Diffuser Recipes
    • Household Recipes
    • Cooking Recipes
    • Search Recipes
  • Shop
    • Amazon Shop
    • Recommended Supplies
    • eBook: Essential Oil Recipes for Toddlers to Teens
    • eBook: Healthy Hair and Skin Care
    • Make & Take Party Sets
      • Make & Take Party Set #2: Moisturizing Beauty, Ready for Romance, and Kitchen & Laundry
      • Make & Take Party Set #3: Natural Beauty and Household Cleaning
      • Make & Take Party Set #4: Emotional Support Roller Blends
  • About
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Store
    • View Your Shopping Cart

How to Strip Towels with Essential Oils

January 30, 2021 Updated on January 30, 2021 By Diana M Leave a Comment This post contains affiliate links.

1.1K shares

If you have stinky, musty towels that never seem to smell clean, it may be time to strip them. Over time hard water can deposit minerals, dirt, and bacteria on your towels and clothes. Renew and refresh your laundry in just three easy steps! Learn how to strip towels with essential oils. 

How to Strip Towels with Essential Oils

I wouldn’t call myself a hoarder, but I like to get my money’s worth out of things. I love a good deal, but I am always willing to spend more on quality items that will last. Especially when it comes to nice sheets and towels. 

Towels should be replaced about every two years, but with regular stripping, they can last much longer. Residue can remain after each wash and little by little that residue builds up, leaving towels stiff and stinky. 

Regularly cleaning your washing machine and using a natural laundry detergent will help extend the life of your towels.

You might even notice that towels start to feel heavier when they are wet, and they become less effective at drying. That is a clear sign that it’s time to strip your towels! 

What is Laundry Stripping?

Laundry stripping is the process of removing build-up from towels and laundry. It’s easy to do with hot water and a detergent mixture. 

Simply soak your towels or laundry in a bathtub with a mixture of washing soda, borax, and detergent. This effortless process leaves towels feeling soft, fluffy, and smelling amazing!

Towel Stripping Using Essential Oils

Laundry Stripping Ingredients 

  • Borax is an underrated, lesser-known household cleaning product. It’s a natural mineral also known as sodium tetraborate. Its uses include stain removal, treating mold and mildew, and neutralizing odors. It’s a wonderful addition to any laundry routine
  • Washing soda, or soda ash, is similar in composition to borax. It can be used as a laundry additive to degrease and deep-clean clothes and towels
  • Detergent is added to cleanse and sanitize. A powered detergent is preferred since it will dissolve easier in the water. You can use liquid detergent if you are in a pinch, just be sure to stir well before the soaking stage
  • Essential oils are added due to their antibacterial and antifungal properties. They are great at removing odors. Essential oil like tea tree, lemon, purification, thieves, and eucalyptus are wonderful choices for cleaning

Renew and refresh your laundry in just three easy steps!

How to Strip Towels using Essential Oils

What you’ll need: 

  • ¼ cup borax
  • ¼ washing soda
  • ½ cup powdered free & clear detergent
  • 30 drops essential oil (I used Purification) 

Towel Stripping Soak

Step 1: Prep the tub – fill a bathtub or a large bucket with hot water. Combine borax, washing soda, detergent, and essential oils in a glass measuring cup or bowl (essential oils are added to the dry mixture so they disperse evenly into the water). Stir with a large wooden spoon until the powders dissolve

Towel Stripping Soaking Process

Step 2: Soak the laundry – add clean towels or laundry to the tub. Press towels down with the wooden spoon to fully submerge. Let soak for 4 hours, or until the water cools to room temperature

Towel Stripping Dirty Water

Step 3: Rinse and dry – drain the bath and remove towels. You’ll be amazed by how much gunk will be left behind in the tub water. Wash in a water-only cycle and dry as normal. Once towels are dry they will be softer, brighter, and smell fresh!

How to Strip Towels using Essential Oills

More Essential Oil Laundry Recipes: 

  • Musty Towel Cleaning Hack
  • Reusable Dryer Sheets
  • Wool Dryer Balls
  • Laundry Stain Spray
  • DIY Fabric Softener
        Stay in touch! Sign up for our free newsletter filled with tips & tricks for this oily journey!
        No spam, we promise! Your information will never be sold or shared.
        1.1K shares

        Filed Under: Cleaning, Household, Recipes Tagged With: purification

        Previous Post: « Diffuser Recipes for Every Month of the Year
        Next Post: Essential Oil Substitutions for All Your Favorites »

        Reader Interactions

        Related

        Top 10 Best Essential Oils for Cleaning
        April 2, 2022
        Tags: citrus fresh, eucalyptus radiata, lavender, lemon, lemongrass, orange, pine, purification, tea tree, thieves
        Categories: Basics, Recipes
        Natural Dryer Ball Spray
        Fresh & Clean Dryer Ball Spray
        February 26, 2022
        Tags: lavender, purification
        Categories: Household, Recipes
        homemade essential oil candle
        Easy Homemade Essential Oil Candle
        May 30, 2020
        Tags: citronella, lavender, purification
        Categories: Household, Recipes

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Primary Sidebar

        • Facebook
        • Instagram
        • Pinterest
        Essential Oil Recipes Hair and Skin Care
        Essential Oil Storage and Supplies
        Essential Oil Make and Take Party Packs
        Join Young Living

        Looking for a particular recipe? Search here:

        Hi! I'm Diana. I'm a naturally minded mother of two and essential oil educator. Oils don't have to be complicated! Let me show you how to use essential oils in real life, in your home, every day. I share tried-and-tested recipes to help you live a more natural life.

        YL Independent Distributor

        Copyright © 2022 · Recipes with Essential Oils · Design by SharonHujik.com

        Privacy Policy and Disclaimer

        Recipes with Essential Oils is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.

        Stay in touch! Sign up for our free newsletter filled with tips & tricks for this oily journey!
        No spam, we promise! Your information will never be sold or shared.
        Stay in touch! Sign up for our free newsletter filled with tips & tricks for this oily journey!
        No spam, we promise! Your information will never be sold or shared.