🌲Bonus: How to Deep Clean Backpacks
restore backpacks to good as new so they're ready for another school year
It’s the end of another school year, and your kids’ backpacks have seen better days. I don’t know what happens, but by the end of May they are straight up filthy.
Instead of ditching them for a brand new one, you can absolutely clean them and bring them back to like-new condition!
I use a method called laundry stripping, which is essentially soaking the items in hot water with detergents. This is how I do it.
How to Strip Backpacks (or Other Garments that Need It)
Step 1: Place the items in a tub or deep sink and fill it with hot water until submerged.
Step 2: Add detergents. There are various combinations of detergents with specific ratios out there on the internet, but I just dump in:
a scoop of washing soda (I use this one)
a cap of liquid laundry detergent
a splash of color-safe bleach (I use this one)
Step 3: Let it soak for several hours up to overnight. Swish items occasionally.
Step 4: Drain water and gasp at the amount of grime you see.
You guys, brace yourselves… (insert vomit face)
Step 5: Load items into a machine washer and run a Rinse/Spin cycle only.
Step 6: Remove from washer and let air dry overnight.
Step 7: Voila! Store refreshed backpacks away for the summer and pull them out again for another year of use!
Note: I also stripped lunch boxes and a freezer bag using this process, and everything did well except for the freezer bag. It gushed out some gel, but luckily this one is easy to replace. Next time I will omit the freezer bag from the rinse/spin cycle and let it fully air dry to see if it works better.
I hope you try it out! Let me know how it works for you.
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- Diana xo