Sometimes the dirt on the linen is so great that removing every stain is just a waste of time. Or, after numerous washings, things have acquired a yellowish, grayish tint. Ordinary washing in this case is not a helper, but boiling can be a real salvation. It is not necessary to use grandmother’s decoction for this, smaller dishes are also suitable. Then it is important to find out how to boil laundry in a pot at home using improvised means.

Why and what can be boiled?

You can boil only cotton and linen. Light denim fabrics are also boiling.

White must be boiled separately from colored.

Do not boil wool, silk, synthetics, lace and other delicate fabrics.

How to boil laundry in a pot

Boiling is necessary in the following situations:

  • disinfection of underwear of patients with various infectious diseases;
  • removal of greasy stains (for example, from kitchen cloths and towels, as well as oil stains from work clothes);
  • removal of stains of organic origin (feces, urine, etc.);
  • bleaching of natural fabrics (cotton and linen);
  • washing newborn clothes (to kill germs and at the same time do without washing powder).

It is also recommended to boil the underwear of people with allergies who do not want contact with chemicals usually used in washing.

The boiling time depends on the purpose of the laundry and the purpose of its treatment.

What can you boil?

Boiling requires a special container. A large saucepan will do, and if there is no saucepan, then a bucket. The container must be enameled inside and have no rusty or chipped areas.

To determine the volume of the pan needed, you need to multiply the mass of dry laundry that will be washed at a time by 10 times. The resulting value will reflect the required capacity of the container.

In addition to the pan itself, you will need wooden tongs. In the absence of such, you can use any stick or spatula (the main thing is smooth and clean), which will be convenient to stir the laundry to avoid welding to the bottom.

What means to use

To boil things, use:

  • soap (children’s and household);
  • washing powders for hand washing;
  • bleaches;
  • soap-soda solution. This is the safest (and at the same time effective) tool, which allows it to be used for diapers of newborns and things of people suffering from allergies.

In addition, to wash away dirt, disinfect or bleach linen, improvised means are used: borax, hydroperite, peroxide, etc.

Here are some recommendations for choosing an active substance when boiling laundry :

  • White cotton and linen fabric can be boiled using chlorine bleaches. The amount is added according to the instructions for the amount of laundry. But so that the fabric does not become fragile, you can do this only after every 5 washes.
  • Effective disinfection for fungal diseases – boiling for an hour in a solution of liquid borax (7 tsp / 10 l of water).
  • Chlorine bleaches are not used for children’s items. For them, either a solution of soda and soap is used (40 g of soap, 4 spoons of soda per 10 liters of water), or one baby soap (powder). It is also recommended to wash things for people with allergies.
  • To remove dirt on work clothes, for example, from machine oil and fuel oil, you should mix 0.5 kg of household soap, soda ash and silicate glue (300 g of each component). Then add 2 spoons of kerosene and boil for 1.5 hours in 10-20 liters of water, then pour into a soapy solution and boil for another half hour, then wash in warm water and rinse with cold.

How to properly boil laundry

Step-by-step instructions

When boiling, follow the following algorithm, which will help make the process as efficient as possible:

  1. Wash or soak the contaminated item.
  2. Shake her out.
  3. Sort things by colors and materials.
  4. When adding any agent (soap, powder, etc.) to water, it is necessary to stir it completely until the water boils.
  5. Calculate the load of laundry: if things are tight, the dirt will not be washed away.
  6. Boil linen in a pot: from 15 minutes (disinfection of linen for babies) to 2 hours (for serious contamination).
  7. Rinse in the washing machine.

Boiling refreshes things, gives whiteness and cleanliness. In this way, you can return a decent look to a kitchen towel or bed linen.

Washing machines can also have a washing mode at 90-95 °C. With this regime, pollution can be eliminated, but it does not fully replace boiling.

How to boil laundry in a pot