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Best Way To Remove Laundry Stains After Drying (Works On Old Stains)

This EASY recipe is the ONLY ONE I’ve tried THAT WORKS on my dingy set in stains. Here’s the best way to remove laundry stains after drying.

The Best Way To Remove Laundry Stains After Drying

Last week, I spent a day testing three possible ways to remove old laundry stains after drying them. My stains were at least a year, if not 2 years old. So, they had been dried many, many times.

I wasn’t actually sure that anything could get rid of them. But, after doing some research I decided to test my version of a Laundry Stripping recipe, vinegar, and OxiClean Versatile.

Image of options to remove old laundry stains for a post about how to remove laundry stains after drying.

At the end of those tests, my laundry stripping recipe was the clear winner. This post includes my recipe and the exact steps I followed to get those old laundry stains out of my hand towels.

How To Remove Set In Laundry Stains After Drying

If any of the written steps to remove laundry stains after drying aren’t clear, watch this quick video to see how I do it. Sometimes seeing things done help me understand things better.

How To Remove Laundry Stains After Drying (Testing 3 Ways) - Laundry Stripping Before And After

How To Remove Laundry Stains After Drying

Supplies

Steps

Fill a sink with about 2 gallons of hot water. Use the hottest water you can get. Then mix in the 1/3 cup of Borax, Tide, and Washing Soda.

Give it a good stir to help dissolve everything before adding your laundry. Then drop in the stained laundry and stir it up a bit, to get the cleaning liquid into the fabric.

Using washing soda with Borax and Tide to remove set in laundry stains after drying.

For large items, like bedding or multiple items you can use a tub. Just double or triple the hot water and cleaners, as needed.

You can see in the video above that I first tested this after letting it soak in the stain removers for 3 hours. That ended up getting most of my set in laundry stains out.

BUT, to get the best results, I’d leave your stained laundry to soak overnight. Then, in the morning, wear dish gloves to agitate your laundry for a few minutes. Really get that liquid moving through your stain and the fabric.

Using a laundry stain remover recipe made from washing soda, Borax and Tide to remove old laundry stains after drying.

I feel like that helps to move the loosened stain particles away from the laundry. Next, ring out the excess liquid and wash the laundry as normal in your washing machine.

Add your normal amount of detergent to the machine. Once the washing machine finishes, check your laundry to see how the stains turned out before drying. If your stains are gone, dry as normal.

If you still see some of the stains, but feel like you have seen improvement, you can repeat with a new hot water and detergent mix soak.

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Don’t forget to save how to remove old laundry stains.

That’s it! That’s how to remove laundry stains after drying!

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Feeling inspired? Now you know how to remove old laundry stains after drying. Have fun and let me know if you have questions.