6 Hacks To Restore And Maintain The Brightness Of White Clothes

Whether it’s from sunny picnics or energetic sports activities, your white garments can unfortunately lose their brilliance and acquire an unwanted yellowish tint as time goes by. But don’t worry—there’s a solution! By familiarizing yourself with the right fabric care and employing effective laundry techniques, you can successfully rejuvenate and uphold the vibrancy of your beloved white clothing. In this article, we will uncover the secrets of restoring the whiteness to your white clothes, keeping them fresh and vibrant for longer.

Material required:

Baking soda 

White vinegar 

Detergent

Lemons

Whiteness with baking soda: Baking soda presents an excellent bleach-free alternative. You can utilise it in two ways. Add baking soda directly into the washing machine before selecting a wash cycle. Avoid putting it in the detergent dispenser to prevent clogging.

Another way is to create a solution of baking soda and water to soak your white garments in for approximately an hour. Then proceed to wash them using a dedicated ‘whites’ wash cycle.

Distilled white vinegar: It is another remarkable option for whitening white clothes. Not only does it have brightening properties, but it also neutralises odours in fabrics. You can use it as a bleach-free pretreatment or as an additive in a standard wash cycle. To pre-treat, mix hot water and white vinegar and allow your garments to soak. For an in-wash solution, simply add vinegar and detergent to your washing machine and select your desired setting.

Lemons: The citric acid in lemons can bleach fabrics and works well to whiten cotton, linen, and polyester fibers. Mix a half cup of lemon juice (from about four lemons) into one gallon of hot water. Add white laundry to the lemon water and allow it to soak for at least one hour. You can leave it soaking longer, even overnight, to whiten. Then wash as usual.

Wash whites more frequently: Washing white clothing more frequently than its dark or brightly coloured counterparts can help keep them brighter for longer. Stains from so-called ‘invisible soils’ like skin and sebum, as well as fine dust and dirt particles, can become set-in over time. Washing garments like white jeans or white hoodies more frequently than dark or brightly colored versions of the same items will keep them looking their best. 

Air dry: The sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause colourful clothes to fade, but they also brighten white laundry. The UV rays not only bleach cloth but also kill many types of germs and help to disinfect fabrics. Hang white bed sheets or towels in direct sunlight and allow them to dry.

Treat stains as they happen: It might be obvious, but it’s worth repeating—treating stains on white clothing as they happen is an important part of keeping white clothes white. Apply a stain treatment and launder the garment as soon as possible. To treat stains on the go after a spill or splatter occurs, dab it with water or, if possible, flush it with cool running water. Stain pens and wipes are also great in-the-moment stain removers, as is hand sanitizer because of its high concentration of alcohol.

Published on: Sunday, May 18, 2025, 12:00 AM IST