How to Bleach White Linen?

• Linen is an exceptionally durable and high-quality material.
• However, it tends to turn greyish or yellowish over time.
• To freshen up your white linen clothes, bedding, or other garments - we have a very simple way for you to bleach them!

Linen sheet sets and textiles are known for their exceptional durability, high quality, and easy maintenance. However, over time, even the best fabrics start losing their initial form. The linen, unfortunately, is not an exception.

Frequent washing with other garments or very intensive use can cause linen fabric to begin to turn yellowish or greyish. Even though it happens very slowly and some people don't even think about it - there are ways to prevent it. Who doesn't want brand new-looking linen bedding or clothing, right?

One of the most common methods of restoring white linen color - is, of course, bleaching. Although it is a very effective and easy method - not everyone loves bleach because it is considered a really harsh chemical. Moreover, if used improperly, it can even damage your clothes.

In the following article, we will present to you the most effective and easy way to bleach the white linen without damaging it.

Bleaching White Linen: What You’ll Need and How to Do It

Attention!

• Bleaching, especially with chemical solutions, only works on white linen fabric. Bleaching is never recommended for colored linen.
• White linen textiles can only be bleached with chemical solutions that are chlorine-free.
• Stains from linen fabrics should be removed immediately before allowing them to dry.

What You’ll Need:

1. Bucket of cold water
2. Bucket of warm water (or washing machine)
3. A scoop of powdered bleach
4. Basic laundry detergent (chlorine-free)
5. Some mild soap

Step-by-Step Process of Bleaching the Linen

1. Pre-soak the linen in the water.

• Fill the bathtub or other bucket with cold water (hot water is not good, because if there are stains on your linen textiles that you did not notice - hot water will make them worse).
• Soak the linen completely in this water and leave it there for about 2 days or more.

2. Check the stains.

• After the soaking process, carefully inspect your laundry from the bottom up for more stains.
• In any case, I'm pretty confident that no stains should remain after soaking linen (linen is a pretty ingenious fabric as far as stain removal goes).
• If you do notice stains - use regular mild soap or chlorine-free stain remover and gently rub them off. Then - rinse the fabric in clear, cold (or cool) water.

3. Wash the linen.

Before you begin - take my advice - since linen is a natural material, it is better to do this process with your hands and not in the washing machine (especially if it is delicate laundry like linen).

• Now take a separate bucket and mix a solution of warm water, a spoonful of powdered oxygen bleach, and heavy-duty detergent (preferably a mild detergent). Important: Make sure you wash whites and delicates separately.
• If you hand wash your laundry - put on rubber gloves and start washing, gently rubbing the fabric for a while.
• If you wash your clothes in the washing machine - just add a scoop of powdered oxygen bleach along with your basic detergent. Important: The water temperature should not be too high - usually 30℃ is enough.

4. Rinse your linen laundry.

• If you wash with a washing machine - use a rinse cycle for delicate fabrics. You can even run it twice to make sure all bleach has been removed.
• If you wash your clothes by hand - rinse a few times with fresh water, changing the water as you go.

5. Investigate the condition of your linen.

Look at your linen laundry thoroughly after rinsing - are there any visible stains? Has the color improved? Do you smell a strong bleach odor?

• If you are not satisfied with the result, you should simply repeat the washing process.

6. Air-drying linen.

Linen has many benefits - however, it is important to know how to preserve it for as long as possible. Drying linen has some specific but simple rules. Most of the linen textiles can be easily tumble dried but only on low heat. However, it is always a good idea to let them air-dry naturally in a dry, well-ventilated area. Simply spread your linens out wide - hang them on the clothesline in the fresh air, or if you are indoors - put them on the door or stair railing.

Important: it is not recommended to air-dry linen in direct sunlight.

7. Ironing linen.

• If you want to iron the linen - it is best to do so while it is still damp.
• Sturdy linen is best ironed with very hot steam and from the inside out - this will prevent your linen from shining.

TIP: If your laundry has stains, you should act as soon as possible - the sooner you notice the stain and start cleaning it, the easier it will be to remove.

Here you go - now you know the fastest and most effective way to make your white linen sheets and clothes snowy white again! Luckily, it's super easy and only requires a minimum of tools.