Laundry Whitening Solution

I recently tried a "Miracle Laundry Whitening Solution" I found on Pinterest. We had some sheets that perhaps five or six years ago used to be white. Well, years of just washing and not whitening had taken its toll and they were looking very sad and grungy even when they were freshly laundered. So I figured I'd give this recipe a try. And I'm so glad I did! It's a little tricky photographing a pile of white sheets to accurately show just how bad they looked before and how much better they look after the experiment. But I think these pictures still give you an idea. Trust me when I say there is a noticeable difference and I'm more than happy to have given this recipe a try. I was too impatient and wanted to do the full set of queen sheets, pillow cases and mattress pad all at once so I did tweak the recipe a little since I was doing a bigger load than the other blogger.

"Miracle Laundry Whitening Solution"

For a small load you will need:
1 cup of laundry detergent 

(I used my homemade detergent, but anything you have on hand will do)
1 cup powdered dish washer detergent
1 cup bleach
1/2 cup borax

For a medium-large load you will need:

2 cups laundry detergent

1 1/2 cups powdered dish washer detergent

1 1/2 cups bleach

3/4 cup borax 

Fill your washing machine with hot water. Mine comes out piping hot so I did not add any extra pot of boiling water like the original pinner posted. Add the above ingredients while the water is running.

 Then add in the laundry.

 Fill washer with just enough water to cover the laundry you're aiming to whiten. 

The less water there is, the more concentrated the solution will be.

Let soak for as long as possible. Overnight did the trick for me.

In the morning just finish running the wash cycle. 

That's it!

Next I'll be gathering all the old white t-shirts, tank tops, socks, and towels that could use a little (or a lot of) brightening up. Doing the laundry can become addicting when you get drastic results like this!