Whitening your whites without bleach

Getting sheets and clothes sparkling white without using bleach is one of life’s little challenges. Lots of people choose to steer clear of bleach because it is unsafe for use in septic tanks and reacts with nitrogen to produce environmentally toxic substances. So what’s best to use as an alternative and will environmentally safer products tackle grass stains, red wine and other laundry bugbears? We asked the Earthwise Consulting Chemist to lift the lid on the pros and cons of bleach vs oxy whitener.

Chlorine bleach is quite cheap and instantly effective– so we understand the appeal. However, its high pH makes it dangerous if it gets on your skin or in your eyes – and since it has to be diluted before use, running the gauntlet with neat bleach could be a daily part of your laundry experience. Bleach isn’t colour-safe. High concentrations and regular use of chlorine bleach can also cause visible yellowing of whites. You need to be especially careful to avoid bleach-based products if you are on bore water – this water contains iron which reacts with bleach to cause severe yellowing. And of course bleach is too harsh to be used on delicate fabrics like silk, wool, spandex and nylon. Another fact that many people are unaware of is that bleach has a very limited shelf-life. Its efficacy is constantly declining, so it shouldn’t hang out in your laundry for long.

A safer alternative is oxy whitener - a colour-safe, gentle laundry cleaner that keeps whites white without the harmful environmental effects of bleach. It’s a powder so it can be put directly into the drawer of most washing machines – and can be mixed with your washing powder if necessary.

Oxy whitener is a flexible little product that has a deodorising and sanitising effect. It can be mixed into a paste to pre-treat stubborn stains, used to pre-soak laundry and, when diluted with hot water, can be used to clean hard surfaces. It can even be used to scrub yucky stains in the toilet if you feel so inclined! It’s also very environmentally safe because oxy whitener biodegrades to carbon dioxide, water and oxygen.

But a word to the wise: Oxy whitener works best when dissolved in hot water so treat your stubborn stains to a nice hot soak! For additional whitening effect, hang out your washing and let the sunshine do its work – then you get the added bonus of breathing in that natural clean laundry smell when you gather it in again. Marvellous…