Eco-friendly TikToker reveals the 'natural bleach' product that gets her white linens sparkling
The sight of bright white sheets on a freshly made bed and is one of life's simple pleasures. But white linens and clothing never truly stay white for long with even the smallest of stains making the material look dirty and old.
Before you reach for a supermarket laundry product, you might want to consider this more eco-friendly option, according to a TikTok user.
Kate, who goes by the handle @my_plastic_free_home, prefers to use sodium percarbonate (also known as oxygen bleach) to get her whites looking as good as new.
READ MORE: This clever hack will stop bedsheets from twisting into a damp bundle in your dryer
"Sodium percarbonate, or natural bleach as I like to call it, is an eco-friendly product that's active for just a few hours whilst it's doing it's work, and then breaks down to oxygen, water and sodium carbonate with no environmental impact," she explained in a TikTok video.
To boost a load you've got in the washing machine, Kate suggests adding a quarter cup of sodium percarbonate to the machine.
For a soak, Kate adds half a cup to five litres of water and leaves the items to soak for a few hours. She then puts the washing in the machine on a rinse cycle and hangs to dry outside. This is a good option for yellowed whites and stubborn stains.
READ MORE: The right and wrong ways to use bleach in your cleaning routine
"I combine this with natural sunlight as the best bleach you can get for your whites," Kate said.
And it seems like Kate's method works by the look of her before and after footage which shows a white cloth stained with brown and yellow grime, transformed and looking sparking white again.
The cleaning information was welcomed by Kate's followers, though there was some confusion in the comments section about whether the powder she was talking about was actually baking soda.
However, sodium percarbonate and bicarbonate (baking soda) are different things. The former is made up of sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide.
READ MORE: How to clean your home with baking soda
While sodium percarbonate is an ingredient in laundry products for stain removal and soaking, you can simply use sodium percarbonate on its own as Kate has done. You can find sodium percarbonate at eco stores, like Natural Good Life which sells 500g for $8.50.
"Pure sodium percarbonate, for me, is a better option — one ingredient, eco-packaging and supporting eco-friendly business when buying," Kate explained.
Many of Kate's followers were keen to try the hack out for themselves.
"Thank you so much! I've been trying to be eco friendly but it can be hard with chronic illnesses, so this is perfect," one wrote.
"This is truly the best! My mum's used it for years and it saved my children's clothes," another said.
READ MORE: How to keep your white sheets looking whiter-than-white
One viewer was so keen they wanted to know what else could be cleaned with sodium percarbonate.
"Limescale removing, toilet cleaner, stain removal from your cups, tough burnt pans — it works on all of those," Kate responded.
The main issue in trying the product for Kate's followers seemed to be the lack of sunlight in the UK and Ireland. Lucky for us in Australia we have an abundance of sunlight to make use of for washing our whites.
