Bedding can become stained if it is washed with bleach (Image: Getty)
Many people are deep cleaning their homes to celebrate the start of a new year, and it is a fantastic time to whiten your bedsheets if they are beginning to look a little dingy.
Bedsheets, as well as other white can often look grey after a wash due to sweat and oil soaking the sheet, as organic tend to be more difficult to from fabric.
It may seem obvious to use chlorine bleach to whiten again, but this is a major mistake. Bleach will react to the protein and salt in the stain, causing your bedding to turn yellow.
Instead, Aimee, an expert from , has shared a simple alternative to whiten your sheets that will cost less than £1.
Aimee said: “There’s nothing quite like the fresh smell of lemons to brighten your day. Did you know it can also brighten your whites?
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The best way to get rid of white bedding stains is to use lemon juice (Image: Getty)
“Using lemon juice, which you can buy for just 80p, add around 120-240mls (depending on the level of the stain) to the washing machine before you set it off on a cycle.”
It may seem bizarre, but lemon juice contains citric acid, which can naturally break down the compounds in sweat and body oils, ensuring that your sheets are properly washed.
What is fantastic about lemon juice is that it also lightens fabric and can enhance the cleaning power of laundry detergents so it will be incredibly effective at whitening your sheets.
Aimee said: “Lemon juice works better on some stains than it does others – such as grease, food or protein stains, including bodily fluids like sweat.”
The only downside to lemon juice is that it will naturally bleach all fabric, so do not use it to wash coloured bedding, as it will cause the fabric to fade. Only use lemon juice to clean white and light-coloured bedding.
Aimee added: “You need to be careful if using this method on darker bedding, as it could bleach dark bedding if you hang it out to dry and expose it to sunlight. However, it does not have this effect on white bedding.”
Lemon juice is best combined with sunlight to break down organic stains (Image: Getty)
How to use lemon juice to wash white bedding
All you need to do is add your white bedding to the washing machine and also pour 120ml to 240ml directly into the drum before you begin a normal wash.
Place on a normal hot wash cycle, and make sure the temperature is 60C to kill any germs or bacteria.
Once the laundry is done, hang your bedding outside to dry if possible. The ultraviolet rays in sunlight will react to lemon juice to help it further break down stains and lighten fabric.
If you cannot hang your bedding outside, avoid using dryer sheets if you decide to dry it inside a tumble dryer.
Aimee said: “The chemicals in the sheets can leave your bedding covered in a residue which can build up, helping bacteria to build up and, potentially, cause stains, leaving them a dull white.”
Once your bedding is dry, it should be sparkling clean, whitened and smell absolutely fantastic, thanks to the lemon juice.