Triumph!

For the last almost-13 years, the whitening of my husband's dingy undershirts has eluded me. I considered myself to be a partial failure in the world of laundresses. Socks, undies, and those darn tees, never quite white, never staying pristine for long.

I blamed it on our water, on my home-made laundry soap, on poor quality bleach, on a lifestyle that closely involves dirt and sweat, then I finally threw up my hands and blamed it on myself.

With yet another stack of beyond-wearing undershirts ready to be cut up for rags, I was grumbling to myself a few days ago. I mentioned the shirts to my Mother in Law and she said that she always had the same problem. Then my Mom told me that she never struggled with undershirts, but her bed sheets were permanently stained. The culprit? Body oil, we all assumed.

I started to think that perhaps I wasn't a failed laundress after all. Perhaps the odds were just stacked against me from the start. I married a hard-working man who sweats and gets dirty, and those undershirts are just collateral damage.

Then, I stumbled upon an image on Pinterest of a pile of dingy, stained whites that looked identical to my pile. And along with the image were instructions for a cure. I was skeptical. I had already tried everything. But there was that pile, and it was going to be cut up anyway, so it couldn't hurt to try, right?

I didn't even take a "before" picture. That tells you how skeptical I was.

Wanna know something?

IT WORKED!!!

 Fortunately, I found one lonely undershirt that had escaped my sweep, so I could take a picture to prove to you at long last, that I have conquered the evil villain Laundry.

Here's what I did:

Set the washer to the hottest setting. Put in the pile of offending whites. Added 1 regular scoop of laundry soap, 1/2 cup of Borax, and 1 cup of powdered dishwasher detergent. Let the laundry soak for 2 or 3 hours. Washed again, this time with laundry soap and bleach. Ta da!

Happy dance in the laundry room! Pinterest, I think I love you.