In the past, grandmothers and great-grandmothers used boiling to whiten, disinfect and clean things. This method is especially suitable for natural materials that cannot be cleaned with ordinary powder. Now boiling is becoming relevant for washing children’s clothes and for people who suffer from allergies to modern chemicals. Let’s consider how to properly boil laundry.
Why boil laundry
Processing at a high temperature allows you to disinfect clothes for newborns, doctors’ gowns, bed linen, as well as other cotton and linen products.
Boiling is used in the following situations:
- whitening ;
- removal of heavy stains of fat, blood, children’s feces, oil pollution;
- disinfection of personal underwear of infectious patients;
- reducing the risk of allergies (this especially applies to clothing for infants).
Thanks to boiling, it is possible to return practically the original freshness and snow-white appearance of things that seemed already irreversibly washed.
What you need to know
Some fabrics do not tolerate high temperatures. So that the thing does not spoil, it is necessary to find out whether it can be boiled. To do this, you should study the product label. In most cases, all the necessary conditions are placed on it. If the temperature is 90 degrees, then such clothes are suitable for boiling. These are mainly fabrics made of natural fibers of cotton and linen.
- White things with any pattern should be boiled separately from plain clothes.
- It is better not to boil colored things at all, otherwise they may fade or run together.
Tools for boiling
Capacity . When choosing dishes, the material of manufacture, condition and volume should be taken into account. It is recommended to stop at stainless or enameled dishes, because when boiling in a galvanized or aluminum container, oxides are formed, which can give clothes a rust tone. It should also be free of chips, stains and similar defects.
Tongs. They are used for periodic mixing of laundry. If such tongs are not available, you can use an ordinary stick.
Means. You can take ordinary powder or bleach. For better cleaning, you should mix several components. The specified number of components is calculated for 10 liters of water.
For white linen:
- Chlorine and salt. Any chlorine bleach will do. Take half a kilo of components, mix together in one dish. The mixture bleaches well and gives the fabric a shiny look.
- Powder and potassium permanganate. It is used to disinfect bedding. Half a glass of powder is combined with several crystals of potassium permanganate (enough to make the liquid slightly pink).
- Nasathyr and peroxide. The solution allows you to remove dirt and whiten the fabric. To prepare it, mix 4 tbsp. l. ammonia and peroxide. Boil for no more than 50 minutes.
For colored products:
- Soda and soap. 40 g of shavings of household soap are mixed with 4 tbsp. of soda The laundry is left in the resulting solution for 20-30 minutes, after which it is boiled.
- Soda and salt. You can use the mixture only for pre-washed clothes. 250 g of components are poured into the dishes and mixed thoroughly. After that, the laundry is put on and boiled for about half an hour.
Boiling technology
The whole process consists of several stages:
- A little more than half of clean water (preferably room temperature) is poured into the selected dishes.
- Add the required amount of the selected product.
- Put the water to heat. At this time, you can stir the solution (especially if it contains laundry soap)
- Load laundry. It is recommended to straighten it and completely lower it into the prepared solution – so boiling will occur evenly.
- Leave on low heat, stirring occasionally. Things should be completely in the water and not burn.
- Boiling can last up to 2 hours for dense materials, and no more than 30 minutes for thin ones.
- At the end of the process, you should not rush to get the laundry. It is recommended to remove things from a slightly warm solution.
- It is good to wring things out, rinse twice in clean water and hang to dry. The ideal option for this will be the street and sunny weather – so the clothes will acquire an incomparable freshness.
The smell of freshly boiled laundry cannot be compared with the chemical smells of ordinary products, and saving on expensive powders will be a pleasant bonus.