The invention relates to a process for scrubbing a crude mixture comprising dinitrotoluene, nitric acid, nitrogen oxides and sulfuric acid obtained in the nitration of toluene after the nitrating acid has been separated off, which comprises two scrubbing steps (SS-I) and (SS-II), wherein i) in a first scrubbing step (SS-I), the crude mixture is extracted with a scrubbing acid I comprising nitric acid, nitrogen oxides and sulfuric acid in a scrub comprising at least one extraction stage, where the scrubbing acid discharged from the first extraction stage (SS-I-1) of the first scrubbing step (SS-I) has a total acid content of from 20 to 40% by weight and a prescrubbed crude mixture is obtained, ii) in a second scrubbing step (SS-II), the prescrubbed crude mixture comprising dinitrotoluene is extracted with a scrubbing acid II in a scrub comprising at least one extraction stage, where the scrubbing acid discharged from the first extraction stage (SS-II-1) of the second scrubbing step (SS-II) has a pH of less than or equal to 4 and a mixture comprising dinitrotoluene which is essentially free of nitric acid, sulfuric acid and nitrogen oxides is obtained.