Ammonia For Laundry: How I Use It

Below I've got quite a few tips from readers who've shared how to use ammonia for laundry and removing laundry stains.

Ammonia is an alkaline cleaning and laundry product, and because of its high pH it is an excellent laundry detergent booster.

As explained more in my article about cleaning and laundry uses for ammonia, you can add around a 1/2 cup of ammonia to your washing machine, along with the detergent, before adding clothes, to brighten clothes.



This common laundry product is often used on both whites and colors, and does not normally cause color changes, especially as diluted as it becomes when adding it into your washing machine water, but you should still be cautious with your fabrics so always do a test for colorfastness the first time!

Here's tips from other readers, first from a reader, Penny, who uses ammonia generally in her wash.

Penny says:

I add 1 cup of ammonia to my wash.

It helps clean the grease from my jeans. It hasn't turned my jeans a different color.

I also add 1 cup to my good white clothes instead of bleach, since that turns them yellow.

Further, I also use it for my colored towels. No color change there either.

You can't smell it after the wash cycle, but don't breath the fumes in while adding it though.

Amonnia For Cleaning {Referral Links}

Taylor says:

Thanks Penny for your suggestions for how to use ammonia in your laundry.

I would like to remind everyone, however, that you should NEVER combine ammonia and bleach in the same wash load, since it can create dangerous (and deadly) fumes!



Below I've got even more ways to use laundry when washing clothes, to help remove stains. Ammonia can be used as a general stain remover, but it also works really well on a couple of types of stains, listed below.

Conquers Body Sweat & Grease

Anna says:

What more can I say?

For 75 years of laundry between my mom and I, I can say with conviction a cup of ammonia in the wash conquers body sweat and grease.

Taylor says:

Thanks Anne for your tips.

You can get more tips for removing perspiration stains here.

Blood Stain Removal With Ammonia

by Lisa
(Prairie du Sac, WI)

Lisa says:

Ammonia works for dried or fresh blood removal.

If fresh, rinse as much out as you can with cold water. Re-saturate the area with ammonia and wash as usual.

For dried, soak in ammonia until the blood loosens up, rinse with cold water, and resoak with more ammonia if needed.

Once you have gotten as much blood out as possible, saturate one more time with ammonia and wash as usual.

I have never known this not to work!

Taylor says:

Thanks so much Lisa! You're definitely not the only person whose made the suggestion to use ammonia to remove this very stubborn, and common stain.

In fact, it's also a tip within my round up of tips for removing blood stains from fabric here.

You can also check out lots more tips for how to remove blood stains here.

Use Ammonia For Biological Stains

Jamie says:

I use ammonia to get out blood and grass stains. They dissolve like magic.

I use straight ammonia with a toothbrush to clean grass stains off of running shoes.



With blood it works very well-- but if a stain has been set for a long time, some additional scrubbing with detergent or stain remover is required.

Taylor says:

Thanks so much for your tips Jamie.

You can get even more tips for how to remove grass stains here.



Further, you can read even more uses for ammonia here.

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