How to easily restore white to yellowed bed linen: effective tips

Maintaining the pristine whiteness of bed linen can be a challenge, as it is often subject to yellowing. UAportal has prepared a comprehensive guide on how to remove yellowing from pillowcases and sheets using readily available ingredients and easy-to-follow methods.

Bleaching with bleach and tetraborate

To achieve excellent results in whitening white sheets, the most effective method is to soak them in a bleach mixture. Follow the steps below and your bed linen will be freshly white again:

1. Gather the necessary ingredients: laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, fabric bleach and sodium tetraborate.

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2. For a full load of laundry (5-7 kg), mix half a cup of sodium tetraborate with one cup of each of the other ingredients.

3. Prepare a large basin and place the sheets and pillowcases in it.

4. Pour boiling water over the bed linen and add the dry ingredients along with the bleach. Stir the solution.

5. Let the fabric soak in the solution for 30 minutes.

6. After that, wash the bed linen in the washing machine on a normal cycle followed by two rinses.

Bleaching with baking soda and ammonia

An alternative approach to bleaching yellowed laundry is to create a mixture of baking soda and ammonia that can restore the original colour without causing damage. Here's what you need to do:

1. Dissolve 5 tablespoons of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of ammonia in five litres of warm water.

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2. Immerse the bed linen in the mixture, adjusting the soaking time depending on the degree of yellowing. A few hours are enough for light discolouration, while heavily soiled or completely yellowed sheets should be soaked overnight.

3. After the required soaking time has elapsed, machine wash the laundry and rinse twice to remove any residual product.

Machine bleaching

For those who are looking for a more convenient option, machine bleaching with oxygen bleach is a good option. Follow these steps:

1. Purchase an oxygen bleach that is suitable for both white and coloured fabrics.

2. If necessary, mix the oxygen bleach with regular laundry detergent.

3. Set the water temperature to 60°C or higher, if approved by the manufacturer of the laundry for deep cleaning.

4. Wash the laundry as usual.

Earlier, we wrote about how to whiten dirty socks without washing.

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