How to Keep Whites White by Hand Washing

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Things You'll Need

  • Non-chlorine bleach

  • Detergent

  • 1/2 cup of lemon juice

Keeping whites bright and clean is a challenging task. Over time, the white fabric in clothes can become yellowed, faded or stained. You can protect your whites from damage and help to restore them to their original brightness by washing them by hand. Hand washing allows you to spend more time on each piece of clothing and prevents load mix-ups.

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Step 1

Separate your white clothes from the colored ones. Whites should be washed separately to preserve their color.

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Step 2

Fill a sink with warm water. Add a cup of detergent and thoroughly clean the whites by hand.

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Step 3

Add a cup of non-chlorine bleach to the soapy water and agitate the whites by hand.

Step 4

Rinse the clothes thoroughly with warm water from the tap until the soap has been washed away.

Step 5

Fill the sink with clean warm water and pour in 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Rinse the clothes one last time in the lemon juice rinse. Lemon juice will help whiten the clothing.

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Step 6

Hang the clothes on a drying rack or clothesline, depending on the instructions on each item. Some wash instructions on clothing indicate that they should not be hung in direct sunlight.

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