Use these essential oils to remove stains, brighten fabrics, remove odors, disinfect and add fragrance to your laundry.
Laundry can be a dreary chore. For many people, laundry is an less than enjoyable household chore that just need to be done, and be done correctly. With essential oils it is possible to clean your clothes, disinfect them and help your clothing last longer without using harsh chemicals. Just a few different oils are necessary to help you put together a complete kit of laundry care treatments and cleaners to take care of all your laundering needs. Adding these to your washing machines (as indicated below), should be safe (barring allergies), and friendlier to the water system than harsher detergents or fabric softeners.
Please remember to always test the fabrics in a small spot before using an essential on a larger area. And do check for allergies. Sometimes an essential oil just doesn’t work for everyone.
● Tea tree essential oil
is a great prewash stain remover, but you should always test it on fabrics before applying to any large areas. If there is any fungal or mildew on fabric, tea tree oil can be an effective way to kill that mold too, in addition to removing the stains these molds leave behind.
● For whatever reason clothing seems to attract grease stains, and most people are exasperated with basic chemistry when the oil stays on the fabric after a good washing. Using Lemon Essential Oil to soak fabrics in before washing is a great way to pull the oil from threads and degreases even the oldest stains.
● Lavender Essential Oil is one of the most preferred essential oils for fragrance, and the scent is light enough after washing that it doesn’t appear floral at all. You can add any essential oil to your DIY laundry formula for fragrance, but Lavender Essential Oil is one of the most commonly used because the lavender scent promotes a sense of calm.
● This essential oil added to linens and whites will help whiten and brighten the dingiest colors up with just one wash. Old stains have that haven’t budged in the past can also be treated with Grapefruit Essential Oil to help improve color. Anything that you need to wash after an illness may benefit from this oil as well, as it is a great sanitizer.
● To soften stiff starches and fabrics, add Lemongrass Essential Oil to the mix as a fabric softener. Lemongrass Essential Oil may help fabrics retain their soft fibers in a safe way so that you do not experience any discomfort.
● For those of you that have sweaty, really worn clothing that needs a strong fragrance to get out the odor and leave the clothing smelling fresh, Spruce Essential Oil may be the answer. After a day of manual labor, clothing can really smell ripe. Spruce Essential Oil can help combat that eau de fragrance.
Do you have any essential oils you use in your laundry? If so, what are they!?
Note: None of this is meant as medical advice. I am not a doctor, and do not play one on the internet. Please consult a physician if you have any questions about using essential oils so your doctor can better explain to you the benefits, possible side effects, and any warnings about essential oils.
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Jessica Lippe says
Great post! I only started using tea tree oil a few months ago, and now I use it for just about EVERYTHING! I especially love how it eliminates body odor from clothes!
I’m glad I stumbled across your website, and I hope you visit mine as well. In fact, I’m currently running a giveaway that includes several prizes, including gear to help you do laundry on-the-go!