My whites are dull, because I wash my clothes in lake water. How do I get them bright? I don't really want to use bleach.
By janice
Try adding some borax or oxyclean to your detergent. If that's not possible, hang your wash to dry in bright sunlight--natural bleach.
Lemon juice and baking soda in any wash cycle work wonders. I am careful about the lemon juice with bright colors, however. The baking soda can go with any load. I love it because the clothes always, always smell so fresh as well as come out so clean and bright!
Once a month, I toss a dishwasher tab in with my whites. Brightens them up nicely.
I use borax and vinegar but my favorite product for whites is liquid bluing. It is sold on the top shelf of the laundry isle at most supermarkets and has saved many a yellow shirt that used to be white from the wastebasket or rag pile.
The crazy part is that its what your grandma used to dye her grey hair to make it sparkle and its perfectly non toxic and 100% biodegradable. I know a woman with beautiful long grey braids that dips the ends in it at full strength. Its quite stunning.
Warning: do NOT get on other clothes besides whites and follow bottle instructions to the letter! It washes out eventually but at full strength it can take forever!
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Does anyone have any tips of how to get white clothes whiter without using bleach? Mine get really dingy over time.
Do you have any tips on washing white socks and underwear. The only thing I know of is not to wash white socks with anything else because it will yellow the underwear or anything white.
Can someone please explain to me why all of our white clothing articles have labels that say "Non Chlorine Bleach Only"?
A wonderful tip for getting clothes white if your out of bleach. Add white vinegar to the wash.
