Trouble Disinfecting Laundry

Laundry has been an issue for many who fight Collembola. Here's an approach that works for Cheryl in Florida.

For resistant problems with laundry, I created a soap that works great for me after many failed attempts. I use an empty bottle of NG shampoo and the base of the soap is Dr Bronners hemp castille-any kind (fill almost halfway.) I add 15 drops lavender, 15 oregano, 5-10 black cumin, 15 clove, 15 tee tree, a squirt of Super MSM gel, a capful of NG 50 percent concentrate, a splash of witch hazel, and fill up the rest with Fabuloso.

Yes, it's a bit complicated, but you can always tweak it if you don't have all the essential oils. Lavender, clove, and oregano are important. Black cumin is a GREAT anti-everything, but a little more expensive. Substitute peppermint if you like (my mom hates the smell, so I don't, but as you know, peppermint is also a disinfectant.) I also sometimes put Fabuloso direct on the clothes in the machine. I use the soap mixed with a tiny bit of regular laundry soap, and I fill up the softener area with my soap (my laundry machine is fancy, so if you have a regular one just use mostly my soap and a little bit of regular. Definitely separate blacks and whites.

Most importantly, use the soap on dryer sheets in the dryer. I used in the beginning 4-5 sheets, and you don't have to completely soak the sheets, but you use my soap with a squirt or two over the sheets, and just rub them together. The multiple sheets are key: it pulls the stuff up off the clothes somehow. I have a steamer, and I always steam after drying for 20 min. If you don't have a steamer, I recommend doing a soak in the laundry machine first, then a regular load, then the dryer. Hope that make sense and helps someone. I have been using this mixture for months, and it helps greatly. I do still use a lint roller before I put my clothes away (mostly on the blacks.) It's time consuming as hell, yes, but I am no longer terrified of my own clothes. You can order these oils on amazon and they are relatively inexpensive. If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to answer.

Sincerely,

Cheryl from Florida

I thank Cheryl for sharing her experience and hope it's of value to others with resistant Collembola or mites. Yes, it's quite extensive, and you might try using a cap full of our Nature's Gift™ Laundry soap in place of Dr. Bronners soap and in place of Fabuloso, our Nature's Gift All Purpose Cleaner and fill the bottle with water and shake well. Following are two more methods for doing laundry that were shared in response to the above one.

"Richard, I've been putting diatomaceous earth (food grade) into my loads directly on the clothes about 3/4 cup to start. I soak cycle the load with also 1/2 dropper of peppermint oil, pco choice capful (concentrated cedar oil made for outside bugs), and a capful of Fabiossa. Then when the soak cycle is complete I run the wash cycle with only a capful of Nature's Gift laundry soap. It is awesome. I also am not afraid of my clothes any longer. I hope this idea is of some use.

Actually I'm doing pretty darn good. I've definitely got my life back. But it's like freedom...it is definitely 'constant vigilance.' When I got the idea of food grade diatomaceous earth from you it was turning point for me as well as the incredible NG. Thank you so much for your dedication and determination to assist us all in our journey."

Karen

Rita, who is at the tale end of dealing with mites, writes,
"I have been able to fully clean laundry successfully. I only do laundry every two weeks. I have 2 large plastic bags, one for clothing, one for sheets and towels. I keep them sealed. When its laundry time, I put arm and hammer packets and a cup of borax too in hot water with extra rinse and spin. After I dry with 4 bounce per load and I saturate a hand towel with ammonia. Everything goes into large clear plastic bags, sometimes they get put away most times they stay in bags even in drawers I have never been infected by my laundry. I also sleep in silk sleep sacks I have a few and I use them for 3 nights only shaking them in my bathtub daily then put in plastic bag till sleep time, if I am having a bad night I also use lint roller the sleep sack goes over clean sheets I have a synthetic comforter same one for years and I wash it every other laundry time.. All the soaking and craziness seems drastic. I got all my tips from your site and they work. Borax is KING!

I thank everyone for taking the time to share their experiences and hopefully you'll get some important tips.