How to whiten the laundry?
When you have white clothes, a single small stain can become a real disaster. And even if the garment is not necessarily stained, it can take on a grayish and yellowish appearance over time, which is not much better. So what to do to quickly whiten laundry?
10 Tips offers you today tips, homemade recipes and products for bleaching laundry and clothes.
1. Bleach laundry with baking soda
Did you know that baking soda is very effective in whitening yellowed laundry? A yellowed white garment, a yellow pillowcase, a less and less white tablecloth… Regardless of the garment or linen to be bleached, baking soda may be the solution for you.
- Machine wash linen, full cycle in cold water.
- Wash the garment again and add 1 cup of baking soda to the water.
- Repeat if necessary if the linen to be bleached is very yellowed or greyish.
If you still don’t have baking soda at home, you will find below a set of 3 boxes at a great price. You can use baking soda for a multitude of chores around the house. Happy cleaning!
2. Lemon to whiten clothes
If you want to use a 100% natural trick to whiten laundry then consider lemon juice! The whole lemon or lemon juice is very useful at home for a multitude of household and other tasks.
Indeed, thanks to the acid found in lemons, it helps to make the fabrics whiter. You can use lemon juice or use lemon slices that you put in the washing machine.
- Put a cup of lemon juice in the washing machine.
- Rinse the laundry to be bleached with water and lemon juice only.
- Then dry the clothes in the sun.
Lemon is an excellent laundry whitener in addition to being natural and ecological.
If you are looking for other tips to clean a yellow sweat stain, this is another article to read: How to remove a sweat stain?
3. Whiten with Marseille soap
What! Still don’t have Marseille soap at home? It is a product that can clean and shine almost everything in the house.
Marseille soap degreases, but also whitens clothes and other textiles. Marseille soap can be used with all kinds of fabrics and can be used for hand or machine washing. An effective product to whiten laundry quickly.
Simply follow the instructions for use in the washing machine or rub and let the mixture of water and Marseille soap act directly on the garment to be bleached.
It is possible to buy Marseille soap in cubes, in liquid format or already in shavings like this Marius Fabre Marseille soap below.
Marseille soap flakes
- 100% vegetable and biodegradable product
- Mild and effective Marseille soap on all textiles
- Ideal for delicate wool, silk and lace laundry
4. Dry clothes in the sun
The sun is one of the best tricks to whiten but above all to keep your white clothes very white, as if they were new.
And yes, the sun can also have a whitening effect on clothes. After washing your laundry, hang it outside so that the sun dries it while deploying its natural whitening effect.
Ah yes, did you know that drying your clothes in the open air helps prevent a garment from bleeding? Come and discover all our tips here: Clothing that rubs off, what to do?
5. Use sodium percarborate
Have you ever heard of sodium percarborate? Not to be confused with baking soda which looks very similar.
This product which is very little known is an oxygenated bleaching agent, ideal for whitening clothes effectively. You can get it in all the pharmacies in the area or directly online for fast delivery to your home. It can be used as a whitening product for linens and clothes.
sodium percarbonate
- TOP stain remover and whitening product
- Effective in removing stubborn stains
- Ideal for whitening gray and yellowed laundry
6. Boiled potatoes to whiten laundry
How about trying a homemade recipe for bleaching laundry using baked potatoes? For this trick you need:
- Bake potatoes.
- Cut a potato into quarters.
- Rub the garment with the still warm potato.
- Rinse the garment with water and finish in the washing machine.
The baked potato trick is excellent for whitening and keeping your clothes white and shiny.
7. Bleach laundry with hydrogen peroxide
And yes, hydrogen peroxide also has whitening abilities provided it is oxygenated at 30 volumes. For this whitening trick you need:
- Fill a tub with hot water.
- Add hydrogen peroxide to hot water, about 100ml.
- Soak the garment for 1-4 hours.
- Rinse garment to complete cleaning.
If you want to test this trick, here is hydrogen peroxide that you can quickly buy online right here:
Hydrogen peroxide, 30 volumes
- Whitens laundry effectively
- Also used to bleach hair
- Cleans the toughest stains
Hydrogen peroxide is very effective in cleaning yellow marks on laundry as you will discover here: Removing a yellow stain from white.
8. Milk to whiten laundry
Milk is another ingredient we all have at home that helps whiten laundry quickly and effectively. However, this trick is not very effective for yellowed laundry.
If your clothes are made of cotton, linen or white silk, brush them with a little milk and let dry. Then wash everything normally. For an even more whitening effect, you can soak your clothes in a milk bath for about 1 to 2 hours. Finally, hang the laundry on a clothesline in the bright sun.
It’s a great tip for whitening laundry and quickly restoring shine to your cotton and linen clothes.
9. Do not mix colors when washing
Be careful when washing your clothes in the washing machine! An important precaution to take is not to mix colors when machine washing, well, as little as possible.
White clothes should be washed separately from the rest of your clothes if you want to keep your clothes extra white and bright.
You can also use a cleaning and bleaching product designed specifically for white clothes when machine washing. Very popular with users, Blanc Intense wipes should please you a lot. You can find them right here:
To continue your reading on the maintenance of white clothes it is here: How to clean white clothes?