Even though folding laundry is one of my least favorite chores, I do enjoy the challenge of the washing stage. There’s no better feeling than the sense of accomplishment of having successfully restored dingy, formerly-white fabrics to a clean and bright white state!
And when it comes to whitening whites, there’s no more effective method than the one I’ll be sharing with you today. I’ve been using this method for years now to brighten white shirts, bedding, and towels, and it never fails to produce astounding results. (And get this—you don’t even need bleach to do it!)
Today I’ll be showing you exactly how to whiten whites using this simple method. I used one of my son’s dingy pillow protectors to demonstrate (and you can see what a difference it made at the end of this post!)
How To Whiten Whites Without Bleach
You’ll need:
1 cup laundry detergent
1 cup powdered dishwasher detergent
1/2 cup borax
Hot water
Directions:
Step 1 – Soak
Place the item you want to whiten in your washing machine, then add the laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and borax. Fill the machine with hot water—the hotter, the better—and allow it to soak for several hours or overnight.
(If you have a front-loading or high-efficiency washing machine that isn’t conducive to soaking, you can do this step in your sink, bathtub, or a large bucket instead.)
Two of the most important variables in this step are how much water you use and how hot the water is. Using only as much water as is necessary to cover the items will make the treatment more effective, as will using extra hot water!
Step 2 – Wash
After soaking, transfer the item(s) to your washing machine if necessary and start a hot water wash cycle. (You don’t need to add any additional detergent if you did the soak in your washer, but you’ll want to add your usual amount of laundry detergent if you did the soak somewhere else.)
Once the wash cycle is complete, you’ll be astounded at what a difference this whitening treatment makes!
Just take a look at these before and after pictures. It went from dull and dingy to bright and clean! :-)
How This Method Works
In addition to hot water, this method relies on three other powerhouse cleaners to help dissolve those stubborn, grimy residues. The inclusion of laundry detergent in this method is self-explanatory, but what about dishwasher detergent?
Dishwasher detergent is highly alkaline, which is one reason why it’s so effective at cleaning fats, oils, and proteins from your dishes. The dinginess that plagues white fabrics is often protein-based, making dishwasher detergent a perfect candidate for helping to dissolve it.
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The third cleaner in this method is borax, which is often marketed as a “laundry booster.” That’s exactly the role it plays here, helping to boost the effectiveness of both the laundry and dishwasher detergents.
Want More Laundry Methods And How-Tos?
If you’re interested in more useful laundry solutions, be sure to check out my eBook How To Wash Everything! You can buy it in my shop, or download it for free if you’re an OGT Plus member!
Do you have clothes or linens at home that could use this whitening treatment?
Borax is highly toxic if inhaled, it can cause organ damage. If you are pouring this powder you are putting yourself in danger. I will not use it. I do use a hydrogen peroxide bleach called “Seventh Edition,” as safe to use on both white and colored items. I use it in every wash that it do.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.How do you do this in a front loader washing machine? Does anyone know? If so mine is an HE was her and it doesn’t take much soap!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I HAD to comment on this, I have a laundry obsession (some say ). Looking and buying so many products that I could use to whiten clothing but, could not be bleached!
After spending hundred, none actually worked! About 3 yrs ago, I saw a product @ my local grocery store…”Biz” I was SHOCKED at how great this product works!!
First, READ INSTRUCTIONS-it needs hot water to dissolve/active it. You can mix to make a paste to put on items or, soak items before washing.
I have a really big “laundry bowl” I mix some in it, if item can not be placed in hot water,just allow the mixture to cool before place item in it.
I mix, let items soak as I do other laundry. I’ve also mixed and soaked items overnight. Careful with colored clothes but, I’m shocked that NONE of my items have ever bleed, even when placed in hot water!!
It’s help me save dish towels, socks, work clothes, even my expensive bras!!
Try it, before throwing items away!! It will surprise you!!
BTW, I love your website!! Keep up the great tips!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Being old and having babies before disposable diapers~~We always had BIZ for our diapers. I still use it for my whites, it does wonders on white clothes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Dishwasher soap has bleach in it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I found a bleach that will not harm colors. It is called Seventh Generation, and it is found in many grocery stores in my area of western Massachusetts. It is made with hydrogen peroxide. It does a super job on white clothes, too. I use it in every wash.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just in case you were not aware Dishwasher soap does have bleach in it so be careful.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.OK, if you really want to go through all that work, knock yourself out, and do it. I solved the stained pillow problem the easy way. I purchased washable pillow covers! They were not expensive and I covered all our pillows with these covers. It has worked out very well. When the covers become stained, I can throw them in the washer, with detergent and bleach, dry them, outside if weather permits and put them back on the pillows.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This seems like a huge amount of soap. Does this create a ton of suds in the machine? Not sure my machine could handle it?
I use Borax to make homemade detergent (1/2c. + 1/2c. washing soda + 1/3 bar grated Fels-Naptha soap) but I wouldn’t have thought it would help with whitening. I used OxyClean for a long time but then learned it could be “made” at home by combining hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with washing soda. From what I could gather, the two combine in a chemical reaction that produces the powder we would buy at the store. When added to the wash separately, they still react but it’s the same as if we had dissolved the powder in water. I’ve used this to soak stained trivets and kitchen towels in the bathroom sink (sometimes twice to remove all of the stain), and I add it to whites or my dog’s diapers and bedding to sanitize them (as the reaction produces O2). The mixture gets my hands slippery as it is alkaline, but I can rinse them (and any items I’ve soaked) with white vinegar to neutralize it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks for sharing this great tip Terry.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What ratio do you use when you combine hydrogen peroxide with washing soda? I’d like to try this. TIA .
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I believe it’s 1:1, but I don’t actually measure it. I just eyeball it as I dump some of each into a little plastic container, mix with an old toothbrush and dump it in as the tub is filling. The websites I got the idea from suggested 1/2 cup each for an average load.
These suggestions are good, but time-consuming, especially if someone is working, coming home. helping the kids (if you have kids) with homework, cooking dinner, cleaning up with help from the kids if they are old enough to help a little bit. Cleaning the house, having to do wash, throwing it in the dryer, and then ironing the clothes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use the color-safe bleach manufactured by Clorox and it is in the gold bottle, it works wonders on colors and white clothes. If someone has the time and inclination, by all means, make it yourself as grandma did, but I am a great-grandma, and I like quick and easy. In one’s 80s and retired or in one’s 40s and working, making one’s one detergent and whitener is just too darn much trouble.
PS, Since there are no little ones in our home, I love Tide Pods. If you have small children keep those pods in a high cabinet with a child-proof lock.
Great idea, Terry, unless someone has allergies and very sensitive skin.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Too much work for me, Terry, but if it works for you, that is great.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just wondering, what is the equivalency of one cup of dishwasher detergent if using the little pucks or gel packs? Just throw one in with a cup of hot water to the other two ingredients? Thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes, one of those gel packs should work.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Like the article, but Cascade Complete *does* contain bleach
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve noticed this too, and I haven’t bought a “major” brand of dish detergent in years because it seems that they all contain this. I’ve experimented with homemade detergent but it doesn’t perform as well as store-bought products, so I’ve been using Homesolv, Seventh Generation and other lesser-known brands for the past few years.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Why the “thumbs down”?
I have used this method in the past with success, but my whites became dingy again after a few washes. I discovered a product called Brite White that I use with every wash load. This keeps my whites “white” and my husband is very pleased. I even hauled some t-shirts out of the rag bag that were still in good shape except for being dingy. After the initial soaking in a solution of Brite White, as instructed, all his t-shirts and socks stay white. It works great on all my summer whites, and so easy to just add a 1/2 cup with every wash load. I’ve used it for years and it does not weaken the fabrics.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What are the ingredients in that product?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Borox and Cascade are very toxic. VERY. And I can’t imagine that one or two rinses will get it out of the clothes. No thanks.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just now read a couple articles re toxic or not. General consensus is it is toxic if you eat it, not toxic on laundry. Also can use baking soda instead. No kiddies in my house, so no one here is going to eat it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Borax is not for people with sensitive skin, nor is it easy to find in most grocery stores, thus, I used that Seventh Edition bleach.
Seriously?? Most everything in LIFE is TOXIC, so I’m not concerned that using a DISH washing product in my LAUNDRY will cause me harm. Besides, we rarely eat off of our pillows.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I agree with AnnMarie. Everything is toxic in the right amount. Table salt is 3 times more toxic than Borax (which is a mined salt type of mineral). I don’t eat Dishwasher soap but it’s used in millions of dishwashers on eating utensils every day and most have survived somehow. Decisions are personal and should be based on ‘real’ knowledge not corporate (pharmaceutical) fear mongering as they did with innocent borax.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Borax is one half as toxic as regular table salt.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.No, Borax is not eaten, but it is not safe for those with very sensitive skin.
And neither is the clothing that touches their skin unless properly washed with a certain DETERGENT in the washer first.
I have to use a detergent that is meant for sensitive skin and Tide has such a product, in pods. I, too, have no little ones in our home. Seventh Edition’s detergent and Seveth Edition Hydrogen Peroxide Bleach is meant for sensitive skin. I use whatever is available as all the listed products work well.
Do you have a dishwasher? If so, what do you use in it? Sorry to tell you, but…breathing our air is toxic…both inside and out! I would bet if you rinsed your clothes twice after using you would be perfectly fine! By the way, do a little research on our water! That will make you want to run right to the tap and guzzle a tall glass right down…haha.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Deb, that depends upon where someone lives. In our small city we have had a new filtration system that removes most of the impurities, although it is not Sterile Water. If you must have no impurities you can buy distilled water.
Hi – can liquid detergent be used or does the solution work best with powder only?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The solution works better with powder.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like this. But I have some white or off white sweaters and other stuff that I can’t wash in hot water because they are delicates. Shrinking is my main concern.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have found that if I have a shrinking problem or delicates I do better just hand-washing in some cold/warm water and Dawn. Some things should never be put in a machine.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I forgot, this was my go to when I bought used baby items. I always hung outside in the sun as the final step. But you are right. It is amazing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can I wash several white shirts at once?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You would be better off separating the shirts into 2 small loads because you don’t want to use too much water or it will dilute the powder mix.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.We cannot get borax in UK. Is there anything else that would work in its place please?
Thank you
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes we can, get it on ebay, very easy, I never wash without it
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you Carol, I’ll look it up
Hi Jilee..i am subscribed to your posts. I find it useful,fun and interesting …thanks!
However i am recently faced with the problem of cockroaches and cant seem to get rid of them. i tried baking soda and sugar powdered mix nut it didnt serve the purpose.
I tried boric acid powder too but still no effect.
Store bought pesticide has some harmful effects on humans so im leaving it for last
Any ideas please
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Maria, I’ve put a lot of research into this very thing. Apparently many essential oils are effective. One recipe is 15 drops of peppermint oil in 10 ounces of water. Place in a spray bottle and spray baseboards cupboards, trouble areas. If you are a pet owner beware. Apparently pets can’t metabolize most, if not all essential oils, even oils from plants that aren’t considered toxic to them normally. The exception seems to be catnip which is also a good deterrent for cockroaches. You cat buy fresh catnip (the plant) at most pet stores. Boil it, let it simmer for a good, long time. Strain it and, as before, place in a spray bottle and use as needed. I don’t have the precise measurements but you can certainly Google it. I hope this helps. :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I live in S FL which is the sub-tropics. We have 2 in roaches (palmetto bugs) here. I used the electronic mice deterrents that plug in by Victor. It did not work for the mice but I no longer have roaches.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.They sell traps for mice that are like a cage, a bit of peanut butter or cheese at the door, mouse runs in, door snaps shut and you can put mousie in the trash or drown him in the toilet bowl, just do not flush down that trap.
food grade diotomacious should solve that problem
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