Laundry essentials like soft white socks, fluffy white towels, or crisp white bed sheets are staples in most homes, yet they can easily become stained or lose their brightness. If you’re out of laundry bleach or prefer to steer clear of chemicals, there’s an alternative to bleach that can whiten your laundry. And the best part? You likely have this single ingredient already in your kitchen.

Laundry and cleaning experts at Speed Queen recommend using lemons as a “natural bleach alternative”. They said: “The fragrant citrus smell of lemons is a great addition to the laundry room. Lemons have the power to make your clothes whiter, brighter and cleaner.

“If you are wondering how to get stains out of white laundry, reach for a lemon.” A lemon’s citric acid breaks down stains. 

The pros recommend soaking stains in one-third cup of lemon juice diluted in two-thirds cup of water before washing. 

It’s important to note that because lemons are a natural bleach alternative, they can harm certain fabrics and colours.

Alternatively, lemon juice can be added straight to the wash cycle for those who are short on time.

Adding one-quarter to one-half cup of lemon juice in place of bleach to your wash cycle will “whiten clothing”. The experts noted that it’s best to use lemon juice on cotton and polyester only. 

If your whites are still not bright enough, opt for the previous method detailed above. Soak your whites in this mixture for at least one hour or overnight, and then launder as usual.

The experts pointed out that with this method, “not only will your clothes look brighter, but they—and your house—will smell fresh”.

For an added natural whitening tip, leave your laundry out to dry in the sunlight. It helps remove unwanted marks from your clothes and kills germs with the power of its UV (ultraviolet) light. 

The UV light in sunshine gets rid of stubborn blotches and freshens up whites by breaking down the stains in the bonds until they can no longer hold, therefore transforming them.