How to wear ultra-white clothing without using detergent?

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As careful as you may get when wearing white garments, it’s also exposed to the unusual coffee, spaghetti sauce or cosmetic stain. While chlorine is a common treatment for removing stains, it’s terrible, pungent and potentially dangerous, according to Jennifer Rodriguez, general cleanliness officer at ProHousekeepers. ” It’s known for being corrosive, which means it can irritate or even burn the skin, eyes, and respiratory tract if not used properly”, says Rodriguez. It can also cause wear and tear by causing the materials in your clothing to deteriorate over time. However, if you know where to look, it’s really simple to clean clothing and fabric without.

I spoke with two washing experts to discover the best detergent solutions for gleaming white once more. I included their purchasing advice, cleaning product advice, and popular ingredients to look for when purchasing light fabrics as well.

Finish AHEAD: How I picked the best detergent alternatives | Top-rated bleach alternatives to employ | How to shop for detergent alternatives

How I picked the best detergent solutions

When looking for a disinfectant substitute, our experts advise keeping the following in mind.

Chlorine free: As previously mentioned, high amounts of chlorine chlorine are very acidic and can cause serious injury to specific materials, skin, and eyes if used incorrectly. Rather, our experts recommend choosing chlorine-free items like hydrogen peroxide. ” Oxygen-based detergent, such as hydrogen peroxide, is powerful in lifting tough spots like red wines and beauty while being soft on fabric, says Rodriguez”.
• Powders: Many bleach alternatives also come in powder form, such as oxygen brighteners, sodium tetraborate ( Borax ) and baking soda. They can be used as stain removers in the washing machine and/or by second soaking your fabric in it for a stronger impact. A semi-coarse white flour made of calcium carbonate has the ability to remove stains from fabrics, which are oxygen brighteners. The flour is often white and often has a strong detergent-like taste that, in my personal experience, is far more enjoyable than detergent. Additionally, some non-scented varieties are available.
• Bluing liquid: Bluing is a blue liquid made with antibacterial ingredients, water and dyes. According to Mrs. Stewart’s, a well-known bluing brand, the product’s blue color helps subtly make dingy whites appear more white. According to Rodriguez, you can also clean white fabrics using liquids like a cup of lemon juice or distilled white vinegar.

Top-rated non-bleaching clothing whitening products

The cleaning products listed below were either direct recommendations from our experts, products that NBC Select editors have used, or items with at least a 4-star average from 500 or more Amazon reviews. Additionally, we divided the list into liquids and powders.

Top-rated powder bleach alternatives

Stain and Whitener for OxiClean White Revive Laundry

I’ve used this oxygen brightener to wash white clothes and bedding, including tough stains from tomato sauce, and it works wonderfully. It’s available in various forms and has a strong, clean scent that dissolves in water. You can either soak your clothes in the solution before beginning the rinse cycle by adding it to the water in the washer drum and washing them normally. In my experience, if you have clothes with prominent bright stains, then soaking is almost always necessary for it to be effective. I’ve tried both methods, and soaking makes a huge difference.

Type: Non-chlorine | Scented: Yes| Texture: Powder

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

Arm & Hammer washing soda is a thin white powder that, according to the brand, works best with warm water at the beginning of the cycle, similar to Borax. It’s made of sodium carbonate, while baking soda is made of sodium bicarbonate. While you can use the two similarly for cleaning, you should n’t use this mixture for cooking. With every gallon of water, add a few tablespoons of the powder to a large bucket or bathtub to make the pre-soak, which will take at least 30 minutes. The item has a 4.8-star average rating from 44, 415 reviews on Amazon.

Type: Non-chlorine | Scented: No | Texture: Powder

Molly’s Suds Oxygen Whitener

Molly’s Suds oxygen brightener, which has a 4.6-star average rating from 4, 374 reviews on Amazon, is made from four plant-based ingredients — sodium percarbonate, sodium carbonate, citric acid and lemon essential oil. The solution is safe for sensitive skin, helps get rid of set-in stains and brightens dull-looking white clothes and bedding, according to the brand. With your laundry detergent, you can put the powder in the washer’s drum at any temperature and place it in any temperature. According to the brand, soaking clothes in the powdered water mixture for a few hours will make them more effective whitening.

Type: Non-chlorine | Scented: Yes| Texture: Powder

Alternative Pods for Green Bleach from Grab

If you prefer having a pre-portioned cleaning solution on hand, Grab Green’s whitening pods are a great option. These pods have a chlorine-free brightening powder that’s encased in dissolvable material. The powder is made from mineral-based ingredients and is free of scents, phosphates and optical brighteners, according to the brand. If you have stains on your clothes, you should let them soak for a few hours before starting the wash cycle, similar to other powders on this list. The pods have a 4.5-star average rating from 4, 522 reviews on Amazon.

Type: Non-chlorine | Scented: No | Texture: Powder

Borax 20 Mule Team Laundry Booster

Borax is a must-have in the laundry department, usually next to fabric softeners and dryer sheets. It has an abrasive property, which means that its coarse texture helps to remove stains and grime. It’s comparable to baking soda in that it’s abrasive. Add 12 cups of borax powder, water, and detergent to the washer’s drum to make use of it. You can use the cleaner on all sorts of clothing, including delicates, and it’s safe to use on carpet, too, according to the brand. Borax can also be diluted to clean bathrooms and kitchen surfaces (undiluted Borax is too strong and abrasive for cleaning ). The item has a 4.8-star average rating from 26, 521 reviews on Amazon.

Type: Non-chlorine | Scented: No | Texture: Powder

Top-rated liquid bleach alternatives

Mrs. Stewart’s Concentrated Liquid Bluing

Mrs. Stewart’s liquid bluing is a popular bluing product — it has a 4.4-star average rating from more than 11, 000 reviews on Amazon. The solution comes in a small, eight-ounce bottle and is highly concentrated, so you have to dilute it when using it in the wash. For large loads of dull-looking white clothes or bedding, it’s best to add no more than ¼ teaspoon of the liquid to water in the washer drum, according to the brand. Alternately, you can add a few drops of the bluing liquid to a large bucket filled with a few quarts of cold water and start the wash cycle.

Type: Non-chlorine | Scented: No | Texture: Liquid

Harris 12 % Concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide

A type of bleach, hydrogen peroxide, has the ability to remove stains from white clothing, making them brighter. This option is best for cleaning, per the brand, and is more concentrated than the typical hydrogen peroxide you’d find in a convenience store. In the washer drum, add hydrogen peroxide to the water to make white laundry. The cleaner has a 4.7-star average rating from 921 reviews on Amazon.

Type: Non-chlorine | Scented: No | Texture: Liquid

How to shop for bleach alternatives

What Rodriguez and Rapinchuck advises shopping with in mind when following this brief description:

Consider the product’s ingredients

Just because a product is free from chlorine bleach, does n’t mean that it’s safe for all skin types or that it wo n’t damage your clothing. Check the label to see what fabrics are suitable for use with the cleaner, what water temperature is ideal, hypoallergenic, and whether the product has a scent suitable for sensitive skin.

Stain type

To get out common stains— like sweat, grease, blood, makeup, red wine, grass, mud and dirt — you may have to soak your items prior to putting them in a washing machine, depending on how set-in or bright they are. Additionally, you might need to use a scrub brush to speed up the process. After washing my bedding and white T-shirts, I’ve found that soaking them makes a huge difference in how they turn out.

Which is preferable for whitening clothes, hot or cold water?

In many cases, hot water is the best option for dissolving stains and killing bacteria, according to Rodriguez. Having said that, you should always check the care label or instructions before washing delicate clothing. According to Rodriguez, warm water is best for delicate fabrics or garments that are prone to shrinking or color bleeding, while cold water is best for delicate fabrics or garments that offer a balance between stain removal and fabric care.

How can yellow tinge on clothing be removed?

Aside from washing your clothes and bedding regularly, you should consider using either an oxygen brightener, such as OxiClean’s White Revive, or a couple drops of liquid bluing.

Meet our experts

Based on relevant training and/or experience, we at NBC Select partner with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority. Additionally, we make sure all recommendations and expert advice are made on their own and without any untold financial conflicts of interest.

Jennifer Rodriguez is the chief hygiene office at housekeeping services company, ProHousekeepers in Miami, Florida.
• Author and publisher of Clean Mama is Becky Rapinchuck.

Why trust NBC Select?

I’m a commerce editor for NBC Select, who covers cooking, cleaning, wellness and lifestyle content. How to clean a mattress, how to clean a reusable water bottle, and other topics that I’ve covered. For this story, I spoke with two cleaning professionals.

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