Soap strips oil from your skin, so it’s effective at removing the urushiol.
Avoid scrubbing hard when you wash or you could irritate the skin.
Remember to use cool water so you don’t irritate sensitive skin.
Be sure to rinse the rubbing alcohol off with cool water.
Avoid using thin rubber or latex gloves, because urushiol can get through these materials.
If you can’t wash the poison-ivy exposed clothes right away, wear gloves to put the clothes into a plastic trash bag. Once you empty the clothes into the washing machine, discard the bag.
If you use liquid detergent, add a whole capful to the load.
If you have the option, select a deep-fill rinse to remove the urushiol oil and prevent it from redepositing on the clothes. To wash a large amount of contaminated clothing, divide them into small loads. Smaller loads agitate the clothing better and ensure that the urushiol oil rinses off.
Remember to discard the gloves after using them.
Do this before washing uncontaminated clothes in the machine.
