A cleaning guru has shared a simple three-ingredient solution to help revive dull white clothes. The method involves soaking garments in a mixture of baking soda, washing-up liquid and hydrogen peroxide before putting them in the washing machine.
The homemade solution
Chantel Mila, known as Mama Mila on TikTok, revealed the household items needed to make dingy whites bright again. In a recent video, she said all you need is baking soda, washing-up liquid and hydrogen peroxide. She wrote in the video’s caption: “Say goodbye to dingy whites. This method works so well to whiten and brighten stained white clothing, linen, socks and towels and leave them looking new again.”
How to revive white clothes
First, fill a large bowl or bucket with warm water and place the white clothes in it. Then add half a cup of hydrogen peroxide to the warm water to brighten and disinfect the clothes. Next, add one cup of baking soda to the solution, which helps brighten the fabric and neutralise unpleasant odours. Finally, add one tablespoon of washing-up liquid to target oil-based stains clinging to the material.
Allow the clothes to soak for one to two hours. Once the soaking is done, place the clothes in the washing machine and run a normal cycle. Chantel said: “Clothes are significantly whitened and brightened.”
Why the ingredients work
Baking soda can enhance the effectiveness of detergents, helping to brighten dull whites and rid garments of unwanted odours. Hydrogen peroxide is a natural bleaching agent that helps brighten discoloured clothes and disinfect them. Washing-up liquid helps lift oil-based stains from the fibres.
For tougher stains, a paste made with baking soda and warm water can be applied to affected areas as a spot treatment. To prevent discolouration, experts at Currys advise checking the amounts of detergent and fabric softener used during a laundry cycle. They also advised against using a tumble dryer when treating stained clothes. Currys wrote: “If you’ve got whites that have yellow stains, don’t tumble dry. Always air dry. The simple reason is that the heat from the tumble dryer will simply lock in stains even more.”
