Why Should I Use Ammonia in My Wash Cycles?

Stain Busting

• Ammonia works well on tough stains. To get out difficult stains, combine equal parts ammonia, liquid laundry detergent and water in a spray bottle. Spray the stain directly with the ammonia product, then toss the clothing in the wash. Try an ammonia pre-treatment on fresh perspiration stains and protein stains like milk or blood. When washed with the ammonia pre-treatment, the stain dissolves.

Fabric Softening

• Ammonia makes an inexpensive fabric softener, reducing the static cling in freshly washed clothes. You don't need to use fabric softeners with natural fibers, so add ammonia to the wash cycle as a fabric softener only when you're washing synthetics. Use 1 cup of ammonia per load of wash, adding it to the machine along with your laundry detergent. When the ammonia and detergent have been diluted with water, add your clothes.

Fabric Refresher

• If your clothes start looking a bit dull, ammonia could help brighten them. It also helps your detergent work more effectively for overall cleaner clothes. Add 1/2 cup of ammonia to the wash water when filling your machine. Once the ammonia mixes with the water, you can add clothing.

Precautions

• Never combine ammonia and bleach. They emit a toxic odor when mixed together. Along the same lines, don't try an ammonia pre-treatment on unwashed laundry that you pre-treated with something else. The other pre-treatment product could contain chlorine bleach. Only use ammonia when you've not treated clothing with another product.