10 tips for whiter whites without poisoning the planet!

Copyright Evil Erin 2008 Creative Commons

Grrrr...!

I am always Mrs Uber Careful about separating whites & lights but last week shoved them in without realising a little "helper" - my three year old - had put her bright blue handbag in the machine because it was a bit "mucky" ...

90 minutes later a heap of very grey washing came out ... I could have wept!

As a result, I've been on a mission all week to get them whiter than white again without resorting to dodgy chemicals.

If you've been hit by colour run or are just depressed by the gloomy grey of your laundry try these 10 tips that will get everything bright again without poisoning the planet whilst you're at it ...

1. Use powder not liquid for your whites - it does make a difference!
2. Pre-soak in either a non-chlorine bleach - Ecos and Ecover both sell versions - or my UK available favourite Biotex which is bleach free - rinse before putting in machine. (Some big brand oxygen based non-chlorine bleaches may include other non-eco friendly surfactants so its worth a bit of googling to check out how yours stands up.) 
3. Pre-soak for 30 minutes in 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 6 parts water - but only do this on pure whites not on lights and don't use regularly as may damage fabric - rinse before putting in machine
4. Pre-soak in warm water and quarter of a cup of white vinegar - rinse before putting in machine
5. Pre-soak in quarter of a cup of lemon juice and warm water - rinse well
6. Quadruple soak - by doing each of the above, rinsing well in between
7. Add half a cup of baking soda (bicarb of soda) to the wash
8. Or add an eco friendly non-chlorine bleach e.g. Ecos or Ecover to the wash
9. If colour runs soak and wash them and soak and wash them before the run colour dries in
10. Dry them outside in the sun (easier said than done in rainy little England!)

I know in the USA Borax is a popular solution for whiter whites and thrifty laundry in general, but in the UK it comes with a big health warning all over it saying it may damage your fertility and unborn baby so I haven't included in the list.  There are now some borax alternatives available such as Dri Pak that you might prefer.

If your looking for other eco friendly laundry brands - unfortunately not always the cheapest - try Seventh Generation, Greenshield or Planet Ultra



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