Natural Things to Use in the Wash to Whiten Up Your Clothes

Lemon Juice

• Lemon juice isn't just for making lemonade -- you can also use it to brighten up white clothing. The acid in lemon juice will naturally whiten clothing items and leave them with a fresh scent as well. To make the whitening solution, add 1/2 cup of fresh lemon juice during the washing machine's rinse cycle. Hang the wet clothing in the sun, if possible, to further enhance lemon juice's bleaching action.

Baking Soda

• Not only will baking soda remove odors from clothing, it will naturally whiten them as well. Place the white clothing items into the washing machine and add the recommended amount of laundry detergent. As an extra step, pour 1/2 cup of baking soda into the machine before turning it on. The clothing items will come out whiter and brighter.

Vinegar

• You can whiten your dull clothing items using basic distilled white vinegar, which most people have in their cupboards. Although vinegar smells strong in the bottle, your clothing won't absorb the odor during the washing process. Depending on the size of the load, add between 1/2 and 1/4 cup of vinegar to the washing machine after pouring in the laundry detergent.

Hydrogen Peroxide

• Using hydrogen peroxide to whiten clothing is inexpensive and an eco-friendly alternative to bleach. Simply place the white clothes into the washing machine and pour in approximately 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide as the water is filling the basin. Add laundry detergent as recommended and wash the clothes on the regular cycle. Avoid adding nonwhite clothes to the load as hydrogen peroxide is not color safe.