how to keep sheets white

3 Easy Ways To Keep Your Sheets White (& Get Them White Again)

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White bed sheets are a dream for every sleeper. Many people prefer white sheets because they make the bedroom feel smaller and more open. You are able to sleep better if you have a clean, clutter-free space.

However, maintaining white sheets can be challenging. Light-colored sheets tend to get a yellowish tinge with time, making them look worn out and dingy. No one likes to sleep on shabby sheets, so we replace them frequently.

This article tells you how to keep your sheets white. These simple tips will help you bring back the shine to your bedding without purchasing a new set.

How to Make Your Sheets White Again

how to keep sheets white

With time, your white sheets start turning yellow with prolonged use and age. The fabric's fibers become yellowish from the accumulation of body oil, lotion, and skin oils.

These things can't be cleaned with regular clothes detergent. There are many ways to make your yellow bed sheets look white again.

To make your sheets whiter, you can use a few household items before, while, and after washing with regular laundry detergent.

As high temperatures kill allergens, it is best to wash your sheets in hot water. Before drying and washing your sheets, we recommend that you read the care label.

Borax

Borax, a powdery white mineral found in grocery stores, is a laundry booster and whitening agent. Add half a cup of Borax to one gallon of water and pre-soak your sheets in this solution overnight. Next, wash your sheets, as usual, using a mild detergent. Extended exposure to a whitening laundry booster eliminates the yellow tinge from your white bedsheets.

Vinegar

Pre-soak your sheets in vinegar before washing them. In a large bucket or tub, combine half a cup of vinegar and one-gallon warm water. Allow the solution to sit for at least an hour on your sheets. Next, machine wash or hand wash with a gentle detergent. Air drying your sheets eliminates any vinegar smell.

Baking soda

Baking soda can neutralize odors and have natural whitening properties. For sparkling white sheets, add half a cup of baking soda to regular laundry detergent. Baking soda increases detergent's cleaning power, gives you clean, white sheets that are odor-free.

Lemon Juice

The citric acid in lemons is a natural bleaching agent. To get whiter sheets, add one teaspoon of lemon juice to your washing machine along with regular detergent. If you pre-soak your sheets in vinegar, the citrusy aroma also offsets the lingering odor of vinegar.

Bleach

Bleach is known for whitening everything. Bleach even whitens your colored fabric if you accidentally spill some on it. However, you may be surprised to learn that using bleach to whiten your sheets has the opposite effect.

Bleach is a source of chlorine. Chlorine chemically reacts with the proteins in our sweat and body oil, causing yellow spots to appear.

To use bleach on your bedsheets, first, wash them with your usual detergent. Washing reduces traces of body oil and sweat. Once cleaned, add half a cup of bleach to the drum and run a regular wash cycle to whiten your sheets.

Liquid Bluing

Liquid bluing counteracts the yellow shade, which makes your sheets brighter. Manufacturers use blueing to finish white fabrics—however, the effects of bluing fade with each wash.

You can restore the whitening effect with liquid bluing, available at any hardware store or grocery store. Before using the liquid bluing on your sheets, dilute it in cold water.

The liquid bluing may stain fabric if you add it directly to your sheets. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Different brands may have different diluting instructions.

A quarter teaspoon of liquid bluing and one quart of water is usually mixed. Pour this mixture over your sheets and add the detergent to complete a regular wash cycle. Next, use the rinse cycle to add one-eighth teaspoon liquid bluing to one-quart water.

Do not use liquid bluing in the washer's automatic dispenser as it can stain it. In addition, you should not use liquid bluing with fabric softener, bleach, or other laundry products, except laundry detergent. Other laundry products could react with liquid blueing and cause stains.

Line Dry

Sunlight has natural bleaching properties. To increase the brightness of white sheets, hang them on a clothesline if possible. However, don’t leave your sheets out in the sun for more than two to three hours. Excess heat may damage the fabric’s quality.


Tips to Maintain White Bedding

how to keep sheets white

Once you have learned the steps, you'll be able to keep your white sheets bright and clean. First, use whitening strategies every time you wash your white bedsheets. Apart from that, follow a few basic steps to avoid build-up on your white bedsheets.

Wash Frequently

Even if you shower before you go to bed, your body still retains dead skin cells, hair, oil, and sweat. As a result, accumulated debris, moisture, and oil attract allergens such as dust mites, mold, bacteria, and fungi to your mattress.

These allergens cause sneezing and other symptoms such as a sore throat, runny nose, irritation of the skin, breathing difficulties, snoring, or other allergies.

To avoid disrupting sleep, it is best to wash your sheets once a week and even white sheets more often. Wash white bed sheets once every four to five days to keep them sparkling white for a long time.

You can use the extra rinse cycle of your machine to get rid of detergent residue. Detergent residue builds up on your sheets, making them look shabby and discolored.

When washing your sheets, be careful with the amount of detergent you use. Excess laundry detergent leaves a residue on the sheets. To determine the right amount of detergent to wash your sheets, refer to the instructions on the detergent box.

Avoid Fabric Softeners

Fabric softeners that you buy from a store make fabric feel soft and comfortable. However, these fabric softeners do not rinse well and can cause a chemical buildup. This chemical buildup can prevent proper cleaning of the fabric during subsequent wash cycles.

Use vinegar instead as a natural fabric softener. You can either pour half a cup or one cup of distilled vinegar directly into your washing machine's fabric softener tray, depending on how large the load is. Vinegar is a great fabric softener and whitens your sheets.

Launder Whites Separately

Washing white fabric with another color can cause color bleeding. You can avoid colored stains on your white bedding sheets and bedding accessories by washing them separately.

Be A Good Bedtime Friend And Wash Your Face.

To prevent dust, dirt, and pollutants from getting on your sheets, wash your face before bed. Our skin absorbs a lot of dust and germs throughout each day. So if we don't wash our face at night, all these germs can get on our sheets.

Avoid Eating In Bed

how to keep sheets white

To reduce spillages and stains, avoid eating in bed. It is not easy to remove stains from white sheets.


Most Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use bleach on white sheets?

Bleach can be used to spot-clean or whiten white sheets. Use bleach only on washed white sheets. Unwashed sheets may have body oil and sweat traces. These body fluids are rich in protein.

This protein reacts with the chlorine in bleach, leaving behind yellow spots. To remove any protein residues, wash your sheets. Pour half a cup of bleach in your washer and wash the sheets on a regular washing cycle.

Why are white sheets turning yellow?

The accumulation of sweat and body oils can cause white bedsheets to turn yellow over time. In addition, the buildup of sweat and oils is difficult to remove by machine washing them with detergent.

Sometimes, fabric softener or detergent residue makes it difficult to clean your sheets. So instead, rinse your sheets well with water, and then use whitening agents like vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice to make your sheets whiter again.

Do you need to wash your sheets in cold or hot water?

You can use white or light-colored cotton sheets in warm or hot water. High temperatures kill allergens. Before washing your sheets, we recommend that you read the care label. Depending on the fabric, instructions may differ.

How often should your sheets be washed?

Wash white bedsheets more often than any other sheets. White bed sheets are more prone to staining. To prevent yellow stains from forming on white sheets, wash them often and rinse them well.


Conclusion

After a few months, white sheets begin to look worn. Whitening options increase the lifespan of your white bedsheets by removing discolored or yellowing patches.

To make your white sheets look new again, use a whitening option each time you wash them. Your sheets will last up to 4 to 5 years if you wash them properly and rinse them well. But, of course, it all depends on how you treat the fabric.


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