How to whiten clothes, linens and fingernails with Oxiclean. Yep. It does it all and this little experiment with a sweaty pillowcase will show you just how well it works.
What you are witnessing is an illusion. Like heat waves on the pavement, a rigged carnival game or any 25 year old girl's Instagram profile pic.
The pillow case you're looking at looks like a thing of beauty, blowing in the breeze in a tranquil backyard. Gathering up the heat of the day, drying to a fresh, crisp swath of fabric ready for a good night's sleep.
It is not.
It is a horror.
Years ago THAT was the fella's pillow case. The fella is my ex boyfriend/husband/partner whatever you want to call him. And he head sweated on that pillowcase for years. A beautiful 100% handmade linen pillow case from Rough Linen stained with 2 years worth of head sweat, drool and nightmares. After 2 years my pillow case on the other hand had remained clean and white. Like the pillowcase of an angel.
I know it's hard to believe judging by the picture above but believe me. That pillow case was a mess in that photo. The problem with my particular front load washer is the fact that you can't use bleach in it. Ever. Also, you should never use bleach on linen.
Also bleach has a tendency to yellow clothes over time. In fact because of this whole front load washer not accepting bleach I started using this solution to keep my white facecloths clean (which as you'll see if you read the post works incredibly well).
That left me with quite a dilemma. So I did a little research (as I am want to do) and discovered that Oxiclean will whiten whites, but isn't the same as bleach. It's a chlorine free bleaching agent. It whitens by some kind of magical oxygenating process.
The active ingredient in Oxiclean is actually sodium percarbonate, (a sort of powdered form of hydrogen peroxide). Water is what activates it, releasing oxygen and then the product decomposes into water and oxygen.
Oxiclean also has a few other things like filler and soda ash, but the real worker in the situation is the sodium percarbonate, which you can buy on Amazon but at the time of writing this post it's sold out. If you feel like ordering it and experimenting try this link to see if it's become available again.
Because of all of these things (no chlorine, environmentally friendly, gentle but effective) it can be used safely on linen.
So I bought some Oxiclean with absolutely NO hopes of it actually working. Because let's face it, most products that claim to do something amazing usually do very little other than produce very convincing television commercials.
This is NOT a paid post. Nobody asked me to do a post on the miracle of Oxiclean. I wish they had. Because I will now and forever sing the praises of Oxiclean to anyone who will listen.
Behold the miracle of Oxiclean ... I soaked the left side of the pillow overnight, leaving the other half of the pillowcase out of the solution. That way I would know EXACTLY how much the product worked.
Holy crap is right! I didn't do any magical lighting trick, or Photoshop shenanigans. It is not an illusion. THAT is the difference Oxiclean made on the head sweat pillowcase.
Which means all those white tee shirts with yellow arm pits you own aren't a lost cause. There's another Oxiclean now, Oxiclean White Revive which I haven't tried because the regular Oxiclean works for me.
In the past few years I've even started using it to clean my hands when they're a disaster and stained after weeks of gardening. I just mix a tiny bit up in some water, soak my fingers in it for a minute then scrub them with a nail brush.
This is DEFINITELY an off label use for Oxiclean and since it's basically powdered hydrogen peroxide you probably don't want to soak your hands very long, but it works to remove soil stains around nails and nail beds which are almost impossible to get clean otherwise.
Oxiclean for linens, clothes and hands ... so you too can look like the angel you are. Or even better, you can look like the angel you aren't.
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Patti
I had a huge tub of Oxiclean in my shopping cart yesterday and at the last minute put it back on the shelf. It was not the miracle worker for me but then I never soaked my dirty laundry. I'm definitely going back to get some and soak those dingy, pit-stained, sweat-stained clothes. Hope to have the same results as you!
Jackie MacDougall
I used Oxyclean to restore my mother's wedding dress and had fantastic results; the dress was brightened and the rust stains disappeared! I also used it to clean my deck, again it worked like a charm. I love this stuff!
Gerri
Hi Jackie...I am very interested: how much OxiClean did you use to do the deck? I have to scrub ours, and this might make it easier! Thanks, Gerri
LeeAnne
Thanks for this post Karen. I've always wondered if that stuff worked or not. I'll be getting some soon and seeing if I too can be angelic in appearance. Are Angels ever drunk?
Rebecca
I have 5 children and buy it in BULK at Costco! Bed linens, towels, socks and sweaty Taekwondo gear all sing with a little scoop of OxiClean.
Jody
Well I know what I'm doing on this rainy day. I'm going to soak all my kitchen tea towels in Oxiclean to see if they'll come out sparkly white. I hate when they get all grungy.
Ann
I will not be getting a front loader next time out. The one I have now is not my favorite household appliance. Wish I had not gone with the newest and best technology when we were picking this set out to put in our new house.
I love Oxiclean also but don't use it all that much. Maybe I have just learned to live with dingy. And I don't mean my DH!!
Vanessa M
Kismet! I was just wondering this morning as I dressed for work what to do about a yellowish stain on my white cargo vest! "Pillowcase of an angel"...HA HA :)
Nancy
I usually have Oxiclean on hand. When we painted our daughter's bedroom and got a few splatters on the carpet, I sprayed it with a solution of Oxiclean and it got most of it out. The solutions was one scope in a quart of water and it got the small spots of paint out. Bigger ones, say the size of a pencil eraser or larger, did not come completely out put the others did. It is great stuff.
Jodi
I use it on my laundry too. However, my favorite use for Oxiclean is to make a cleaning solution for my carpet. I rent a carpet cleaner and use Oxiclean instead of the cleaner from the store. Whoever built my home decided that cream colored carpet is cute. It is not.
Maureen Locke
How exciting. My work shirts are white.. or they're supposed to be white. I've never tried the presoak thing, just put it in the washer. And my hubbies pillowcase is always nasty too so I'll try this on that too. Can't wait to see the results. :) Thanks Karen.
Elizabeth
I have had good results with it by soaking only, it made no difference in the regular wash. However, I did find it yellowed when I spot cleaned a white shirt and sun-dried it out on the clothesline, so caution!
Sandy
It works!! I use it all the time.
Beth
I've actually read that it's an amazing grout cleaner too.... so this might be a solution for the tiled kitchen countertop.
Make a paste, leave it on overnight, voila?
Antonia
Karen, I'll go out today to buy some for sure...I love that stuff! I was looking for a link to buy it on Amazon from your post! :)
Su
Love Oxiclean! Yes like the other posters, I find it does work best as a soak.... it's also great to fill a white tub, pour some in and let it soak to remove soap scum and water deposits.... :)
Sandi Remedios
ooooh GOOD IDEA!!! trying that tonight, thanks!
marilyn
i have a head sweater too, at least he doesnt drool..lol
Lynn Rollins
Something called "White Brite" is also fabulous/better?? I use both but "stupid fella pillows" are all over the world, so there needs to be lots of choices for washing that man right out of our pillow cases. I buy it at Walmart, container shaped more like the narrow upright Murphy's Oil bottle, but white. Green label. Good stuff!! Glad you have one less reminder of "the fella".
Karen
I can't find white bright anywhere but read somewhere about using just plain 20 Mule Team Borax and very hot water( no soap) in the washing machine would brighten whites.It works so well I use it on all of my whites.
Judy DeLacy
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=White+Brite
Natalie
Can you use this safely on cream and beige colored sheets?
Karen
Natalie - Yes. Although, I say that with the warning that I've never done it myself. But Oxiclean is made for colours as well, so if you follow the recommended treatment amounts it should just lift the stains and not the fabric colour. ~ karen!
RosieW
Karen,
I buy a knockoff at Dollar Tree called LA's Totally Awesome Oxygen base cleaner. 16 oz. container. Half of the time I don't even use any detergent.
Think you would have had the same results using a couple of scoops in the tub.
Rosie
Zoe
oooh how exciting? Not very lady-like but my work shirts have taken some serious underarm beatings and this may be the cure vs replacing them all!! Thanks Karen :)
Zoe
PS I'm unclear why I put a question mark instead of an exclamation mark after exciting - ooops
Karen
LOL. ~ karen!?