I’m not sure about you, but one of my least favorite chores is ironing. Ironing can be frustrating if, well, the wrinkles don’t come out right away. After doing a huge load of laundry with lots of dress shirts to iron, it occurred to me that maybe this whole ordeal would turn out better if I just used laundry starch.
So how would I make laundry starch?
Homemade Laundry Starch #1
I was already boiling potatoes for the Shepherd’s Pie I was making for dinner, so the first thing I tried was potato water! I reserved the starchy potato water (make sure your potatoes are clean so there isn’t dirt in your water!), let it cool, and then added it to a small spray bottle.
I used the spray bottle to mist the shirts, then ironed on a higher heat. The wrinkles disappeared right away, but I don’t think the water was starchy enough to be effective a holding a stiff edge. I used red potatoes, but I think that using a starchier potato like a gold potato would work better.
Homemade Laundry Starch #2
This second recipe should give you more of a starched edge. I think recipe #2 is great for collars and cuffs, but that #1 is just fine for shirt backs and sleeves and less-fancy things.
1 pint of water
1 tsp non-gmo organic corn starch (buy here)
Whisk the corn starch and water in a bowl before pouring into the spray bottle. Mist clothing with the starch, then iron as usual. You’ll have beautiful collars in no time! :)
