Part 4: How to make your own healthy, safe laundry stain remover for the health of your dog!

This is the final post as part of our focus this month on how to clean your laundry the healthier and safer way for the health of your dog and the environment.

Today we are focusing on how to remove those nasty stains in your clothes when your regular detergent just isn't enough.

I'm a dog and I get dirty, especially running around like a crazy dog around our cabin, hiking in the woods, and running at agility trials. That's my sis Gracie after a nice romp in the yard, can you imagine how Mum looked after playing with her?

Mum seems to always have dirt on her after our activities. And almost always needs to treat her clothes and our beds before washing to make sure and get all that tough Georgia red clay out.

The best way to get out the stains in your laundry is by pre-treating. But be careful what you pre-treat with! Many of those commercial stain and pre-treaters contain a wide variety of dangerous chemicals and toxins, including:

• Surfactants that can be harmful to aquatic life
• Borates that have been shown to be endocrine disrupters and pose allergic and skin reactions
• Colorants that pose general systemic/organ effects, damage to DNA, and cancer
• Optical brighteners and bleaches that may cause developmental and reproductive effects, kidney and vision damage, and cancer
• Fragrances that are unlisted and undefined that have been proven to create respiratory illnesses, allergies affect the nervous system and more.

So what's a dog to do?

Here's our favorite homemade laundry stain remover recipe. To make it you'll need:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
• 1 cup washing soda or baking soda

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together and stir. Store in a spray bottle and you can spray those nasty stains before putting into your wash.

Our favorite homemade simulated bleach recipe includes:

• 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 15 cups of filtered or boiled water

Directions:

Mix together and place in a dark spray bottle. You may want to use a sprayer from another bottle and add to the hydrogen peroxide bottle to make it easier.

Other ideas:

• Brighten your whites by hanging them in the sun! The sun is a powerful stain remover and can get those whites, super white. 
• And some of our friends swear by adding about 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle to help whiten whites and get rid of stains. In addition, some like adding just 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide to the rinse cycle and believe it works very well.
• One more idea is to add about 1/2 cup of baking soda to your laundry detergent to make it more powerful and stain fighting.

You can also use these recipes on your carpets and rugs for muddy, dirty stains. They also work well for quick clean ups in the kitchen, bathroom and more! Just test for color fastness first.

We hope you've enjoyed our green, eco-friendly, healthy and safe laundry tips. We know you're dog will love you for it and pay you back in spades with a long and healthy life.

To learn more about keeping your laundry routine green and healthy visit our other blog posts:

Part 1: The Ultimate Laundry Guide for the Green Dog!
Part 2: How to make your own healthy, safe laundry detergent for the health of your dog!
Part 3: How to make your own healthy, safe dryer sheets for the health of your dog!
Part 4: How to make your own healthy, safe laundry stain remover for the health of your dog!

Sources:
Science Daily 'Toxic Chemicals Found In Common Scented Laundry Products, Air Fresheners'
Enviromental Protection Agency
Environmental Working Group
Photo: Emily Katherine May on Flickr.