I’m one of those strange people who likes laundry, or at least the sense of accomplishment I feel when something dirty comes out really clean. I also enjoy the challenge of turning something dirty, dingy, grimy, and stained into something bright, fresh, and clean.
So when I came across a “recipe” for whitening whites in the comments section here on the blog, I knew I had to try it out. And I had the perfect test subject: a dingy pillowcase that I had washed time and again with little to show for it.
I knew there had to be a way to restore it to its formerly white state. I just needed the right formula or method, and this one seemed very promising!
See this whitening solution hack in action in the video at the end of the post!
How to Make a Miracle Whitening Solution
Ingredients:
- Hot water
- 1 cup of laundry detergent (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 cup powdered dishwasher detergent
- 1 cup bleach
- 1/2 cup borax
Directions:
After filling my washing machine on the hottest water setting, I added a large pot of boiling water for good measure. (The original comment from OGT reader Katie specifically said to use “HOT HOT HOT water”!)
Note that with this whitening method, you’re shooting for concentrated cleaning power. That means the more water you use, the more diluted the cleaning agents will become, so aim to use just enough water to cover the item(s) you’re washing.
Leave the item to soak for at least a couple of hours. Overnight would be ideal, though!
Note: If you have a high-efficiency or front-loading washing machine that doesn’t allow for soaking, you could easily use a large stock pot, a 5-gallon bucket, or even your bathtub instead. Pretty much any large container would work here!
As you can see, the soak in the whitening solution made a big difference! The stains are completely gone and the whitening solution revealed the white fabric hidden under all that grime. Now that’s what I call miraculous!
Related: How to Rescue Old Yellowed Pillows
Interested in more clever laundry solutions? Check out my e-book The Homemade Laundry Guide! You can buy it in my shop, or download it for free if you’re an OGT Plus member!
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Wow this looks promising. My kids get stains too often and I think i’m actually tearing their clothes in the attempt to rub the stains off. I’m happy to try any new and proven recipe to get rid of stains: chocolate, grass, strawberries… you name it, they have it:)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Good post, thanks! At the moment I only have liquid dishwasher detergent and liquid laundry detergent. Do they both need to be powder?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Liquid laundry detergent is just fine – but I would buy some powder dishwasher detergent. The stuff from the dollar store is just fine! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m thinking you could replace the bleach with color safe bleach and get good results. Oxy Clean May work as well. I’ll give it a try and let you know how it turns out :o)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Any miracle solutions for stains that are on non-bleachable items?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have a favorite shirt that has chocolate or grease…can’t tell now but I have tried EVERYTHING
there is on the market. The shirt has NEVER been dried, so that should help. Any ideas would be welcomed!
Thanks!
Dawn dishwashing soap gets out most grease stains….use full strength.. let it soak and rub if possible. Don’t know about chocolate..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I agree with Julie Dawn dish soap will get out chocolate and grease. I have used it myself.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I would try this stain remover :-) https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2014/04/getting-oily-stains-out-of-dark-colored-clothing.html
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you think this would work on getting blood out of a white towel?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Peroxide will take blood out of almost anything, we always use on our scrubs. Just make sure to wash out in a fairly short time.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been using this since the original post. Works great on my son’s muddy socks. I didn’t want to use my homemade laundry soap because I was almost out so I substituted some Dawn dishwashing detergent. I may have used 1/2 of the small bottle, but I don’t think I used quite that much and I will probably use Dawn instead of the laundry detergent. I put the socks in the laundry sink and heat water on the stove. Use only enough water to cover the items. I make sure that I have a lot of socks to fill the sink before I do this because it does take a lot of items.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m not Jilliee, but I have used a recipe similar to this.
All of the ingredients listed go into the washer or some container large enough to hold the things you want to soak. I’ve never used it in the washer. Yes, it’s alot, but you are trying to get something clean that doesn’t come clean any other way. It’s not something you use all the time. I mainly use it for dishrags and towels that get really dingy.
After soaking for HOURS or OVERNIGHT, just run the washer through the wash/rinse cycle. One thing I would add is to rinse it well. I run an extra rinse with vinegar (I don’t know how much, I just dump it in).
As for the bleach, you are not using this all the time. It’s been over a year since I used this. This is just an occasional thing, not used for all the time.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Made this the first time I saw it and have been using it ever since. It is the real bomb! Thank you for sharing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Set your water level to small or Xsmall and fill with HOT water as Jillee indicated. Put ALL of these ingredients in the water at once. Let machine agitate for a few minutes to completely dissolve all the powders. Add the items you want to whiten. Change your water level as needed to accommodate your load and continue filling with HOT water. In Jillee’s post above it says: “Another thing to remember is to add the above ingredients to as small a load size as possible. You are looking for concentrated cleaning power, and the more water you have in the tub, the less concentrated it will be. Shoot for just enough water to cover the article you’re washing.” Obviously you would not use this method every time you wash; only occasionally when you have a load to whiten. She also has a post on using this miracle whitener to wash and whiten yellowed pillows.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.https://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/02/how-to-wash-whiten-yellowed-pillows.html
Hope this helps.