Alternative Bleaches for Clothing

Sanitizing

• People use bleach in the laundry to sanitize white and colorfast clothing. Good alternatives for reducing the bacterial load in the laundry are hydrogen peroxide, vinegar or lemon juice. Hydrogen peroxide has no odor or color and, unlike bleach, cannot fade any fabric, making it a good choice for laundering dark fabrics. Vinegar also reduces the bacterial load on clothing and does not fade clothing, since it reacts with dyes in fabric to make them more permanent. Like vinegar, lemon juice is acidic, effectively kills bacteria and is harmless to sewage treatment plants or home septic systems. Tea tree oil also works well for sanitizing laundry, especially if someone in the family has a fungal infection.

Fabric Brighteners

• New white fabric loses its original whiteness after frequent laundering, turning yellow or gray. Natural brighteners include lemon juice, oxygen bleaches and liquid bluing, a concentrated product. Bluing restores colors, especially whites, to their original condition. Bluing has to be mixed with water before adding to the wash or rinse cycle.

Deep Cleaning

• While most laundry detergents use ingredients to tackle the dirtiest laundry, adding dishwasher detergent increases the cleaning power during the wash cycle, as does borax. Borax is a natural mineral that softens the water, making the detergents more effective. Powdered dishwasher soap needs to be dissolved in hot water before adding it to a cold wash cycle and is a powerful cleaner, especially for greasy clothing. Cola beverages can be effective in loosening deep grime in clothing.

Stain Removal

• Avoid reaching for the bleach bottle when removing stains from baby formula or grass. Use lemon juice and sunshine instead to fade stains on light clothing. The acids in lemons do not harm fabric and besides augmenting the stain removal effectiveness of lemon juice, sunshine sanitizes fabric. Dishwasher soap rubbed onto food stains can reduce the stain, as can oxygen bleaches.