How to add in Borax to your laundry for super clean clothes

(FOX 2) - This week, Jill Washburn, our Jill of All Trades, shows us the wonders of Borax in the laundry room.

While Borax has several uses in and around the house, most people associate it with laundry, although it's not commonly found in many modern day laundry rooms. Many of us remember our grandmothers using it. Jill says it's a life-saver when it comes to really dirty and/or really stinky laundry. Borax doesn't replace your laundry soap, says Jill, it enhances it.

Jill of All Trades teaches us how to do laundry with Borax

In this episode of Jill of All Trades, we learn how to incorporate Borax into our laundry.

Here's how Jill uses it.

First, she starts the washer to get water filling the tub. Then she adds her favorite laundry soap and a healthy sprinkle of Borax to the tub (maybe a ¼ to ½ cup, depending on what she's washing). Then she adds the laundry.

Once the tub is full, she drops the lid and lets it agitate for 30 - 60 seconds. Then she lifts the lid and lets it sit and soak for a bit. That can be anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours. Depending on what Jill is washing, and how dirty it is, she may repeat that process 2 or 3 times. Then, she'll drop the lid for good and let it wash through the entire cycle.

There have been occasions where the water was then so dirty after a couple of rounds of soaking that Jill didn't even want the load to go the rest of the way and wash in water that dirty. In those cases, she will then advance to a spin cycle to drain the dirty water and then start the load over with fresh water and soap. That is only necessary for the dirtiest of loads, though, says Jill.

Once you drop the lid for good, your work is done. The washer does the rest.

Jill says that you will be amazed at what Borax can do, especially when it comes to removing smells. Anybody who wears the new tech fabrics for working out knows how stinky they can get and how much those pieces hang onto odors. Borax will wipe those smells out. Jill had a down jacket that a friend had asked her to wash. The smell of it was so bad. She tried vinegar, peroxide, alcohol, OxyClean, bleach, everything! Even Thieves Oil Laundry Soap (another one of Jill's favorites) could not completely get the smell out. The only thing that truly worked was Borax.

So, there you go! Another tool in your laundry arsenal! Happy washing!

PROJECT RATING: Super Easy

To watch Jill take you through the process, just click on the video player above.