Tips for Keeping Your Summer Whites White

Now that we’re officially in summer, we can start wearing our summer white clothing again. Only trouble is, whites don’t seem to stay white very long!

Here are our best tips for keeping those whites looking as crisp and pristine as they do the first day you wear them, without resorting to harmful chlorine bleaching.

Commercial Bleaches
It is best to avoid most commonly available bleach, sodium hypochlorite, a moderately toxic chlorine salt that can bond with other chemicals to form cancer-causing organochlorines in the wastewater system.

“Natural oxygen safe bleaches” are commercially available (found primarily in the health food store marketplace), and are based on hydrogen peroxide. The best choice is to buy commercial non-chlorine bleaches instead of making your own version using store-bought 3 percent hydrogen peroxide because commercial brands, such as Seventh Generations’s Non-Chlorine Bleach–Free & Clear include oxygen bleach stabilizers to help reduce the product’s reactivity in the environment.

Tip: Adding ½ cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle of a medium load of whites will lightly bleach the clothing. This technique is especially effective on clothes that are then hung to dry on the line.

Soften Your Water
The minerals in hard water can gray clothes. If you have very hard water, add ½ cup of vinegar to your rinse water.

Brighten Whites
To brighten whites, and if you don’t have hard water, use the might of minerals in your wash cycle. Add ½ cup borax or washing soda (both are available in the laundry section of your supermarket) to a medium load of laundry.

About Light
Note to read clothing labels, as some direct you to dry the clothes outside of direct sunlight. On the other hand, storing whites in the dark can cause yellowing. A rule of thumb is that natural fibers love the sun and hanging them outside to dry on the line is to their benefit.

Read more: Home, Non-Toxic Cleaning

By Annie B. Bond

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Sue G.

2:48PM PDT on Sep 17, 2012

An elderly aunt of mine told me years ago that if you want to store something white, wrap it in blue tissue paper. It works because she gave me an embroidered tablecloth that she made during WW2 when her husband was away in the army. It's as white today as it was in the 1940's.

September 17
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Winn A.

6:27PM PDT on Sep 5, 2012

Thanks

September 5
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Nils Anders L.

12:53PM PDT on Sep 4, 2012

noted

September 4
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Robert O.

12:48PM PDT on Oct 21, 2011

Thanks Annie!

October 21
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g d c.

6:03PM PDT on Jun 2, 2011

won't the lemon juice attract bugs?

June 2
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agneau M.

5:41PM PDT on Apr 11, 2011

You're my hero, Annie! Thank you! Doing my whites in the morning!!

April 11
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Oksana B.

11:32AM PDT on Jun 26, 2010

My whites come out of the washing machine with stains they didn't have when they went in. Same for other light colours such as pink. I bought a water softener thinking that might help, and also a brand new fron-loading machine, but same thing happens. I also add vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser. First, any ideas on how to prevent this, and second, how do I get these washing machine stains out of my clothes?

June 26
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Jan C.

12:04PM PDT on Apr 9, 2010

I hope I can finally get white socks to be white with this advice. Unfortunately, line drying is out! Not only do we hate the scratchy feeling line drying causes, the birds that our nature-attracting yard would seriously endanger the cleanliness of our clothes!! Not to mention all the pollens and molds Florida is so famous for...

April 9
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Past Member .

5:04AM PST on Dec 12, 2009

Whites are my favorite color in the summer. They are real hard to keep white and pretty. Thanks for the advice.
Slimming Pills

December 12
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Angela T.

12:11AM PDT on Jul 30, 2009

I've found that now that I am using only cold water and environmentally-friendly washing gels, my whites are staying white. I like the lemon juice advice, I use this on teatowels to good effect.