10 Ways to Whiten Clothes Without Using Any Bleach

10 Ways to Whiten Clothes Without Using Any Bleach

Whites are the hardest color to keep looking bright and new after just a few months’ time. Your sweat and oils quickly become stains, and colors from other clothes will eventually bleed into the fabric, discoloring your bright whites into something merely whitish. But before you reach for the bleach, the ultimate chemical cleaner, try some a few of these safer, less toxic DIY solutions out instead.

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1. Use a Citrus SoakInstead of sending your white laundry into the washer to get clean, whiten your yellowed items with a citrus soak. Martha Stewart recommends boiling your whites with lemons or lemon juice, turning up the heat until the water bubbles and then letting them soak for about an hour. You can also add lemon juice to your regular wash cycle and achieve similar results.

5. Try Dishwasher SoapA secret whitening tool is hiding in your kitchen: dishwasher soap. According to Apartment Therapy, eco friendly dishwasher detergent works to whiten whites as well as other DIY methods. Simply blend a bit in with your regular laundry detergent, and run your whites through their regular wash cycle.

Image via One Good Thing by Jillee

6. Break Out the AspirinAspirin, a great aid for headaches and all other aches, breaks down the gunk that’s yellowed your whites. Dissolve five white aspirin pills in water, and add your clothes to the mix. Let them soak a while, and then toss them into your washer. Be sure to stay away from the colored varieties of aspirin, though, or your whites could come out with a colorful tinge.

Image via Living Wellness Now Don’t Miss: How to Make Aspirin from a Willow Tree

7. Look for a bluing agent at your local grocery store (or on Amazon), and carefully follow the directions on the bottle. The original source warns that it’s a bad idea to directly pour the agent on your clothes or add it to your detergent because you might end up with dyed blue clothing.

9. Skip the DetergentWith each load of laundry and each trip through the wash, your whites become laden with detergent and residue from dryer sheets and these additions to your once bright clothes can create that yellow tint. Good Housekeeping suggests sending your whites through a simple, detergent free cycle with a small amount of ammonia to eliminate all accumulated residue.10. Brighten with Hydrogen PeroxideA common item in medicine cabinets, hydrogen peroxide can breathe new life into your dulled whites. According to PopSugar, it’s an oxidizer that dissolves residue and brightens whites in a manner similar to common store bought whitening agents.

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