According to a number of studies, chlorine blanch and optical brighteners can seriously damage your health due to improper usage and can result in creation of poisonous gases and dioxins which can lead to respiratory issues, kidney damage and cancer.
Moreover, many people use laundry detergents that contain optical brighteners in order to brighten their clothes. These chemicals remain on the clean clothes as a covering of microscopic fluorescent particles.
These synthetic chemicals make the fabric appear glowing when exposed to ultraviolet light and give the impression of being perfectly clean.
Numerous optical brighteners are derived from benzene, which is an extremely harmful substance because it does not break down in the environment and remains in the water where it poisons the fish and other aquatic life.
Furthermore, these chemicals can cause many allergic reactions in some people known as photo toxicity, which occurs when we wear clothes washed with optical brighteners. More precisely, the chemicals in these products enter the skin and begin to react on daylight, which leads to irritation and rash that can look like sunburn.
Fortunately, there are natural substitutes which have the same bleaching effects, without being toxic and harmful.
Lemon juice is one of them.
- Add a cup of lemon juice in the washing machine in the middle of the rinse cycle when washing your clothes. Then, put the clothes out to dry in the sun.
- Put your white clothes in a big basin full with hot water. Add a large amount of lemon juice in the basin and then put the clothes in it. Leave them overnight.
The following day, take the clothes out of the basin and put them in the washing machine with the detergent you always use. You can repeat the procedure as many times as necessary, until you obtain the desired results. You will be surprised by the results!
Additionally, lemon juice can be used as a substitute to acid cleaners used for dissolving wax buildup, cleaning wood, hard-water stains and tarnish. When combined with salt, it can remove the rust stains from your clothes and other fabric.
Simply squeeze lemon juice in the stain and sprinkle a greater amount of salt. Rub the stain until the stain is removed. Then, use water and soap to clean the stain completely. Repeat the procedure until the stain is completely removed.
The following are other methods which can be of great help in whitening your clothes in natural way:
Distilled white vinegar
Put ½ to 1 cup of distilled white vinegar to your laundry detergent. The odor will disappear after drying. You can also use vinegar to spray it on collar, spots and armpit stains.
Hydrogen peroxide (3%)
This is non-chlorine bleach. Add ½ cup of hydrogen peroxide to your regular laundry detergent and the results will be fantastic.
Baking soda
Add ½ baking soda in your detergent to make your clothes fresh, soft and white. In case you need to remove some stains, apply paste from baking soda and water directly to the fabric.
Dishwasher detergent
Your dishwasher detergent can also whiten your clothes. But, make sure it is eco-friendly. Add ¼ cup of dishwasher detergent in your laundry detergent. It is recommended that you use chlorine-and-phosphate-free detergent.
Source:
www.justnaturallife.com