by Anita Treso

Created on: December 02, 2010

So how do you get your whites whiter than white?

Using commercial detergents can be expensive, bad for the environment and weaken the fibres of your clothes creating holes and stitching to come undone. Keeping your clothes clean means staying healthy. Removing smoke residue, food stains and sweat marks created by bacteria removes threats to your healthy and immune system. You also smell fresher when you wear clean clothes.

What common products can you use to get that cleaner-than-clean look?

White vinegar:

Add about the same amount of white vinegar as you would add fabric conditioner to your washing powder. White vinegar helps remove dirt, kills bacteria and whitens whites. It also helps combat lime scale in your washing machine and won’t ruin your white clothes. It is also much cheaper than commercial whiteners and is absorbed in waste water which won’t have adverse effects on the environment.

Soap:

Pre-treating stubborn stains with hand soap is another cheap and effective way of cleaning clothes. Use on sweat stains, food stains and blood stains. Wet the stained area with warm water and rub the soap into the stain. Rub the soap into the material gently working up a lather. Rinse out and repeat if the stain is still visible, then wash in washing machine as usual. This works a treat. It is cheap and safe to use on your clothes and skin.

Bicarbonate of soda:

This is a trusty cleaning agent for all kinds of cleaning. Add a scoop to your normal washing powder. Removes stains and helps keep your washing machine in good condition. For stubborn clothes stains, add a scoop to a tub or sink of hot water, agitate and soak the item of clothing for about an hour. Rinse through and add the item to a normal wash.

Summer sun:

This treatment is restricted to good weather, but using the sun’s ultraviolet rays when drying your whites outside can give them that whiter-than-white boost. Try to use a single line instead of the rotary drier as this will dry the clothes quicker and expose them to the maximum amount of sunlight.

In our modern, commercial world we seem to have lost the art of cleaning. People should be proud of their clothes and homes. Keeping clean is also important for good health. A clean home and clean clothes allow you to stay healthy and keep active. Physical cleaning burns off hundreds of calories and keeps germs and bacteria at healthy levels keeping your body healthy too.

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