5 Effective eco-friendly ways to keep your white bed linen and towels white

White bed linen always looks so crisp and smart, but they’re not always easy to keep looking new when you’ve got a house full of kids and animals. It’s natural to assume bleach should keep your whites looking bright but it isn’t environmentally-friendly, and it turns out it’s one of the worst things you can do to keep your sheets and towels bright white. It actually causes cottons to yellow. Not to mention, it’s toxic to your skin.

So what’s the most effective, healthiest and eco-friendly way to keep your white bed linen and towels from looking like they’ve seen better days?

1) Use this recipe for brighter white sheets and towels.

These handy household ingredients are eco-friendly and hands down beat washing your bed linen and towels in bleach any day.

You’ll need:

• 1/4 cup of baking soda. It’s very cheap to buy if you don’t already have some sitting in your pantry.
• 1 cup of white vinegar. Vinegar helps get rid of all the bodily odours caused by sweating and bacteria. It also helps combat stains.
• 2 tablespoons dish-washing liquid
• 1 lemon squeezed. Lemon is a natural whitener.
• Hot water
  

First of all fill your laundry basin, bathtub or leak proof plastic storage container with hot water. Add all of your ingredients and give it a stir. Then you’re going to grab your sheet, pillow cases or duvet cover (or doona cover, if you’re Australian), completely submerge and then leave it to sit for about half an hour. After soaking, wring your sheet or towels out and then wash like you would normally. You’ll be surprised just how snowy white they turn out.

2) Aspirin to make sheets white.
Aspirin may be a great way to reduce your risk of heart attack or stroke, but throw a couple of tablets into the wash with your white bed linen and let them soak for an hour. They pack a punch for breaking down stains. Then wash with the lemon, dish-washing detergent and baking soda mix for fresh, crisp looking linen.

3) Line-drying helps keep sheets white.
By hanging your linen and towels on the clothesline on a bright sunny day will keep them looking white. The sun’s rays are a natural alternative to bleaching. The sun also helps kill bacteria and mould spores. It’s a time-honoured tradition used for many generations and it’s much cheaper to utilise the earth's natural resources than using a clothes dryer.

4) Keep your bedroom for sleeping in so not to stain sheets.
We don’t like to kill your lazy Sunday morning vibes by banning you from having toast and coffee while reading the morning newspaper in bed, but you are less likely to need to deal with accidental spillages and stains which are hard to remove.

 5) Shower before bed and remove make-up to keep sheets white.
It’s tempting to slide between the covers when you’ve had a big night out and just want to crawl into bed without undertaking the nightly ritual of removing your make-up. However, even though you may think your face is cosmetic-free, traces of foundation and eye makeup can rub off and get into the small wefts of your white sheets and pillow cases. This can lead to greasy looking marks or give your linen a yellowy tinge.

Now that you know how easy it is to keep your white bed linen, pillowcases and towels looking as fresh as the day you bought them, browse our Luna Luxury range. The Aura Queen Quilt Set in Snow or Ivory is made from organic bamboo and will complete the modern look of your bedroom.

 Shop our range of luxury linen today.