My Laundry's Dirty Little Secret

Have you ever had one of those stains that no matter what you put on it, it just will NOT come out? Welcome to my laundry room! My husband is a farmer, and most days I don't even bother asking what the stain is. It's not coming out whether I know what it is or not. So, when a friend posted the link to this blog, where the author claimed she got out several different stains with a bar of Ivory soap and a wacky little product called Eco Nuts, I was intrigued. 


I had heard of Eco Nuts before, (if you haven't check this out) They are biodegradable, hypoallergenic, nut allergy safe, reusable (yes, really) and fragrance free. I like that last one, I HATE it when every cleaner has to smell like some fake rain forest. I'm allergic to a lot of the chemicals they use to make artificial fragrances (they give me a major headache). So the fact that these have no fragrance? OK, let's give it a try! 


I've been using the Eco Nuts for a week or two now and I must say my laundry comes out equally as clean as it does with traditional laundry detergent, with the added benefits of Eco Nuts being free of chemicals, artificial fragrance and artificial color (I mean, really! Who cares what color their laundry soap is anyhow?) Also, Eco Nuts are fairly cheap (and quite pack-able for ski vacation this winter, a bag with 4 Eco Nuts can be used for 10, yes T-E-N, loads of laundry!) so I'll skip the standard harsh detergents and use these. Also, you don't have to use fabric softener (even less funky fake smells!) and your clothes will still be soft. We'll see how it works without dryer sheets this winter. 


Now, you must understand that clothes in this house are either not going to have any stains, or they will be one large stain (obviously there are exceptions, but one of those options is the norm). I've tried just about every stain remover you can name (and some of the best known ones are the ones that work the least!) so I was more than a little skeptical by this blogger's claim that something as common as Ivory soap could get out stains. So I gave it a try on a BBQ sauce stain on my new pair of khakis (grrrr) and a blood stain (don't ask) on a pair of jean shorts. The results? Bye-bye stains! What?! Really? Hmmm, this just might be worth a try on my husband's work jeans. 


And so I present to you:


                          Exhibit A:                                                 Exhibit B:

The stains: Probably oil and grease of some kind, along with mud/dirt, maybe some diesel fuel. By the way, I'm talking machinery grease and oil here, you know, from tractors and grain trucks and combines, that sort of grease. I realize that in these pictures, these stains look like just dirt, but believe me, these jeans have looked pretty much exactly like this through several washes now. And yes, they've been through the dryer.

Here's what you'll need: 

Spray bottle and Ivory soap (clearly this is not a new bar of soap)

Because jeans absorb water, I had to kind of spray the stains and rub with the soap at the same time. You want it to kind of lather, it should look soapy (if that made sense).

Isn't it nice that I'm left-handed and shoot photos with my right hand?
I'm just ambidextrous like that :)

Here's what the jeans looked like all Ivory-ed up:

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

And, just for the fun of it, here's Exhibit C: (it's going into the wash without Ivory for comparison)

Into the wash they all go!

Along with the baggie of Eco Nuts

Alta needs to use the grass. Que Jeopardy music while you wait!

I hung the jeans outside to dry, so if they look a little stiff, that's why.

Ready?

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

And, last but not least, the control (yes, I watch Mythbusters, what's your point?) Exhibit C:

The stains on Exhibit C are somewhat lighter, but compared to A & B, they look like they need to be scrubbed with Ivory and put back in the wash! 

Conclusion: Even if you don't try the Eco Nuts, definitely give the Ivory soap a try! You've probably got a bar or two around somewhere. Shockingly cheap stain remover that actually WORKS! Thanks to Tonya at 4littlefergusons for posting the link to ChemicallyInclined! 

PS: I have an HE washer, but EcoNuts can be used in regular top-loaders as well!