Natural Bleach Alternatives (Best 2 Homemade Recipes) ​

Are you looking to brighten and whiten laundry without harmful chemicals and fumes? Here are 6 all-natural bleach alternatives and the best 2 recipes for brightening and whitening. 

Benefits of Using a Bleach Alternative

• Remove Stubborn Stains Without Toxic Fumes- Most of us look for safe alternatives to bleach because we want to avoid toxic chemicals and are concerned about the environmental impact of chlorine bleach or its potentially harmful effects on our health. Whatever your reason, you can use several effective alternative ingredients to remove stains and brighten clothes. 
• Simple Ingredients – The best bleach alternatives are household ingredients, like lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, and baking soda. And you can use these ingredients to make other cleaning products.

How to Whiten Clothes Without Bleach: 6 Natural Ways

These eco-friendly bleach alternatives are the best ingredients to brighten clothes, sheets, and towels and remove stubborn stains.

Pro Cleaning Tip: You can’t just combine these ingredients haphazardly. For example, combining hydrogen peroxide and vinegar is a big no, resulting in peracetic acid (learn more about natural cleaning combinations to avoid). Keep reading to learn how to use each ingredient.

• Hydrogen peroxide – An oxygen-based bleach that’s also a natural disinfectant that can be used to whiten laundry and disinfect cutting boards and hard surfaces in your home. In the laundry room, hydrogen peroxide brightens clothes and removes stains. Add 1/4-1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide to the bleach compartment of your washer, then run the wash cycle.  
• Citric acid – Often used to soften hard water (although I prefer this salt softener and scent booster). Puracy states, “Start with 1 to 2 tablespoons of citric acid for a regular-sized load. Dissolve it in warm water and add it directly to the washing machine drum and your regular laundry detergent.”   
• Baking soda – A fantastic household cleaner with many uses. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the washing machine before putting dirty laundry in the washer, then add the laundry and turn on the wash cycle. The baking soda deodorizes, cleans, and brightens clothes. Safe for colors and whites. 
• Vinegar – An effective cleaner with many uses, from multi-purpose cleaner to laundry softener. Add 1 cup white vinegar and 6 cups hot water (1:6 ratio) to a bucket or the sink for best results. Double the amount if needed. Soak the laundry overnight (for at least 8 hours), then wash in the washer with your favorite detergent. The vinegar smell will disappear after you wash the clothes, leaving behind brighter white garments. It is also safe for colors. 
• Lemon juice – Lemon juice doesn’t whiten like hydrogen peroxide or baking soda, but it can bring dingy whites back to life. Soak clothes in 1 cup of lemon juice to 6 cups of hot/warm water overnight in a bucket. Or, add 1/2 cup lemon juice to the bleach compartment of the washer before running a wash cycle. 

Below, you’ll find my favorite two recipes, one a soaking solution and the other a solution you can add directly to the wash cycle in the washer machine. 

The Best DIY Bleach Soaking Solution

When to Use

This method is best if you have heavily stained or dingy white laundry. You’ll want to soak the laundry overnight or at least several hours in a large bucket or sink. The ingredients may be doubled or tripled for sheets, comforters, or a large amount of laundry. 

Ingredients

• 1-2 gallons hot/warm water – dissolves the baking or washing soda. 
• 1 cup hydrogen peroxide (3% strength -this is what you’ll find in most stores) – brightens and removes stains 
• 1/2 cup washing soda (also known as soda ash) or baking soda – used to brighten, deodorize, and whiten clothes. Choose the one you have on hand. Washing soda is even more powerful if you have heavily stained items.
• 1 large bucket or sink – to soak the laundry overnight or at least 4 hours (depending on desired results) 

Method

• Add all the ingredients to a large bucket or sink.
• Whisk the ingredients into the water to dissolve. 
• Soak your garment(s) in the solution for at least 30 minutes, ideally overnight, for dingy or stained garments. 
• Remove the garments from the soaking solution (discard).
• Wash the garment with warm/hot water and laundry soap in the washing machine.

The Best Natural Bleach for the Washing Machine

When to Use

This method is a great alternative to use in place of bleach when doing a load of laundry directly in the washing machine.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide (3% strength found at the grocery store)

Method

• Add the hydrogen peroxide directly to your washer machine bleach compartment. 
• No bleach dispenser? Add the hydrogen peroxide directly to the drum of your washing machine after it fills with water. Never pour hydrogen peroxide directly on garments without diluting it in water. 
• If any hydrogen peroxide remains in the bleach compartment after the wash cycle is complete (which can happen with some older machines), flush it out with water before running a future load of laundry. 

FAQs

• Are these solutions color-safe? Baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, and citric acid are color-safe. However, you must be careful with hydrogen peroxide. You should be okay when used in the washer since the hydrogen peroxide is highly concentrated. For soaking, I recommend testing a small area first. I soak our black and white chevron print kitchen rug in this solution without any issue. However, hydrogen peroxide can have a bleaching effect on some dark colors. Avoid pouring hydrogen peroxide directly on dark colors. 
• My hubby insists on cleaning the bathrooms with bleach; what can I use instead? I recommend using hydrogen peroxide. You can use straight hydrogen peroxide by placing a spray nozzle on top of the hydrogen peroxide bottle. Or, dilute the hydrogen peroxide in a dark amber spray bottle: 1 cup hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup water. 
• Will these solutions work with hard water? Yes, they should. I have hard water and have had success with these methods. 

More Homemade Laundry Products

• Stain Remover – Use this natural stain remover spray to spot treat, and remove tough stains before washing. 
• Homemade Laundry Detergent – Make your own liquid laundry detergent or powder laundry detergent. Both formulas clean, brighten and deodorize dirty laundry. If you don’t want to DIY, check out my first of the best store-bought detergents. 
• Homemade Oxi-Clean Laundry Booster – Boost your laundry detergent with this natural oxygen bleach powder.
• Laundry Softener – Use vinegar to make this simple laundry softener. 
• Laundry Scent Booster – Skip synthetic fragrances and use salt to naturally soften laundry and scent clothes.