Having white linen in the home can be a bit of a gamble. Whether it’s a clothing item, tablecloth, curtain, or other fabric, white is just too susceptible to staining. One accidental spill can ruin the entire garment.
Aside from spills, white linen will naturally yellow over time. This can be from washing, body oils, dust, or any other environmental factor that can’t be avoided.
To keep your white linens looking as fresh and sharp as the day you purchased them, you’ll have to maintain them with routine whitening. This can be done with many household products, but many people turn to bleach for whitening.
So, how can you bleach linen to be white? It’s important to use oxygen bleach rather than chlorine bleach. Oxygen bleach can be diluted with water in a tub or bucket for you to soak your linen in overnight. Chlorine bleach will only burn and damage your linen fibers, ruining the integrity of the fabric and causing holes, rips, and other issues.
Before you result to buying bleach, it’s a good idea to try many household items as alternatives. Items such as vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, and even lemon juice can do wonders for whitening linen.
This guide is meant for people looking to bleach their linen. If you’d like more information on dyeing linen to be a certain color (other than white), check out our article Dyeing Linen – Ultimate Guide.
When To Use Bleach For Linen
White linen can yellow from a variety of factors. As we mentioned, this can happen with routine washing, body oils, dust, and more. Just as with anything else, time changes the way white linen looks, creating a more faded off-white or yellow appearance.
This is usually unnoticeable to the eye until you compare an old, yellowed piece of linen with a brand-new white piece of linen.
Another unfortunate situation with white linen is staining. Staining is inevitable with any fabric, but it’s the most noticeable when it comes to white fabrics. Many fabrics, like cotton, can take a simple stain spray to help lift the stain and return the fabric to normal.
You can often use a stain spray and wash as usual with linen, too, but due to the nature of the fibers, you may need to go the extra step of bleaching. Whether you’re seeking to repair a stain or restore faded white to its former glory, oxygen bleach can be a huge help.
Best Type Of Bleach To Use For Linen
Before you go grab the bottle of chlorine bleach from your cleaning closet, it’s important to know that chlorine bleach can cause more harm than good to linen.
Linen fibers are often softer and more fragile. You can learn all about the different types of linen here, but keep in mind that this is true of most linens.
Bleaching linen with chlorine bleach will damage the fibers and cause rips, tears, holes, and general disintegration of the fabric. If you’re going to bleach linen, it’s best to use oxygen bleach.
Chlorine bleach is sodium hypochlorite that’s been diluted with water. This chemical compound can easily burn through fabric fibers and other materials.
Because the chemicals in chlorine bleach are so harsh, it’s a necessity to always wear gloves when working with it. Be careful and follow any package directions and warnings for using chlorine bleach with other fabrics or uses.
Oxygen bleach, on the other hand, is hydrogen peroxide that has been mixed with sodium and carbon. It’s a much gentler form of bleach that won’t damage your clothes.
Oxygen bleach is so safe that you can even use it with your color fabrics or other types of fabrics aside from linen. If you’re going to bleach your clothes rather than using a natural alternative, then oxygen bleach is the way to go.
For more information on the magic of oxygen bleach, check out the video below by Clean My Space. The video goes into detail about the great uses and advantages of oxygen bleach.
How To Bleach Linen White
Bleaching linen isn’t a quick task. You’ll need to plan to bleach your linen when you have enough time to let it soak overnight.
This will still be necessary even if you use an alternative to bleach. Whitening linen is something that takes a bit of time if you want the best results.
How to bleach linen white using oxygen bleach:
- Read the package directions on your oxygen bleach. This will give you a guide as to the proper ratio of bleach to water, as well as suitable soaking times.
- Mix the appropriate amount of oxygen bleach powder to water in a large tub, bucket, or container.
- Drop all of your white linen that you wish to treat into the bleach container, ensuring that they are fully submerged in the solution.
- Leave the white linen soaking in the bleach solution overnight.
- In the morning, wash the linen with hot water. Be sure to add ½ cup of distilled white vinegar to the rinse water. This will deactivate the bleach and help fully rinse any lingering chemicals away.
- Dry as usual per fabric instructions.
Your white linen should now look good as new! Sometimes one soaking isn’t enough, so you may have to do this process again for particularly tough stains or very old yellowing.
However, as a general rule, this is a simple and easy way to bleach your linen without dealing with the damage and danger from chlorine bleach.
Alternatives To Bleach For Whitening Linen
Even though oxygen bleach is a much safer and gentler solution for whitening linen compared to chlorine bleach, some would still prefer to use a more eco-friendly and natural alternative.
If you’re looking for an alternate solution to bleach for whitening your linen, review our options below. These are all whitening methods that use household products you generally already have in the back of a cabinet somewhere.
Vinegar
Distilled white vinegar is one of the most useful household products around. Although it’s considered a food product and used in the kitchen, it also has incredible uses as a cleaner, disinfectant, and fabric whitener.
To use distilled white vinegar for lifting stains or whitening your linen, simply add a ½ cup of the vinegar to your washing machine’s detergent compartment and run it on a normal cycle.
It’s important to remember to use distilled white vinegar only. There are many types of vinegars out there, including rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar, but those are better left in the kitchen than on your clothes.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is another household product that’s used in the kitchen but has other uses. Although it’s added to many baked goods, baking soda also does a great job of lifting stains.
If you ever spill red wine or coffee on a carpet, you may know the importance of running to the kitchen cupboard to grab that box of baking soda!
Just a little water and sprinkling of baking soda can lift that carpet stain right up and prevent you from ever knowing anything was spilled in the first place.
To use baking soda for your white linen, combine 1 cup of baking soda with 4 liters of water in a large tub or bucket. Soak your linens in the solution overnight, then wash as usual.
The great thing about baking soda is that this will also remove any lingering odors that may have stuck to your old linen.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Since oxygen bleach has a hydrogen peroxide base, it makes sense that just using hydrogen peroxide on its own would also work great as a whitening product.
To use hydrogen peroxide for your white linen, add 1 cup to the laundry detergent compartment of your washing machine and run it on a normal cycle. You can use cold or warm water, depending on what your linen needs.
This will brighten any yellowing and restore your white fabric to its former glory.
What Else Can Be Used To Whiten Linen?
Many girls have applied lemon juice to their hair in the summer for a natural lightening agent. It’s a much safer and gentler way to lift and lighten your hair color, so it makes sense that it would lift and lighten other colors too!
You can try using lemon juice to whiten your linens, but be careful. This generally involves boiling, so you’ll need to make sure your linens can withstand scalding hot water.
The easiest alternative to bleaching linen, which requires nearly no work from you, is sunshine!
After washing your white linen, hang them on a clothes wire or lay them out in the sun. The sunshine will naturally lighten the fabric and brighten your white fabrics.
This may not be as quickly effective as some others, but over time in the sun your white linen will brighten back up and look good as new.
Up Next: Types Of Linens – Ultimate Project Guide
