I Tried This TikTok Hack to Test How Clean My Clothes Are, and I'll Never Look at Them the Same Way Again

I couldn’t help myself!!!! #cleaninghack #borax #bakingsoda #laundryhack #fyp

Like many others, I've spent much of my recent time at home scrolling through TikTok and getting hooked on the numerous life hacks and tips its users share. And while there are tons of great ones for everything from baking to home organization, there was one I found especially fascinating and knew I had to try it for myself.

Have you seen the videos on "stripping" your laundry? If you haven't, it goes something like this: fill your bathtub with water and then add some baking soda, laundry detergent, and borax. Stir it up, add some of your clean clothes, and let them soak for a bit. When you take your clothes out, the water left in the tub is a gnarly color that proves your washed clothes might actually not be all that clean. Gross, right? Of course I had to try it.

I started with a pile of my kids' clean clothes, and by clean, I mean they went straight from the washer to the dryer to my bathtub. I didn't have borax, so I grabbed a scoop of OxiClean, dumped it into a tub full of hot water, and stirred. Does the water have to be hot? I'm not sure, but that's what I went with.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Marisa Hillman

Next, I added the "clean" dry clothes and stirred them up as well. Then, I let them soak for about four hours and didn't stir them again. They probably don't have to sit for that long; I just happened to forget they were in there.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Marisa Hillman

Finally, I removed the clothes, wrung them out, and put them back into the washing machine for another — apparently useless — laundry cycle, because get a load (see what I did there?) of this.

Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography / Marisa HillmanAnd there you have it. I was pretty shocked how well this hack worked, especially because I always thought my washed clothes were clean! While I will never look at my laundry the same way again, I'll definitely be doing this hack more often to give my clothes a deeper clean.