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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Valerie
This reply doesn't have to do with Oxi clean but rather front loading washing machines. One poster mentioned that she was reluctant to have one as she had heard that they stink of mould. While this information did not come with my front loader I discovered that it is important to wipe right around and in between the circular two rubber door casings with a paper towel soaked in either vinegar or a product like pinesol as far around as your hand can reach. I try to remember to do this every month or so. It is surprising how much grime comes off those rubber casings.
Lisa M
Oxi clean is the bomb diggity! Also, if you have a particularly greasy stain you can make a paste of it with some Dawn dish washing liquid. It took out a chocolate ice cream stain on my daughter's brand new white t shirt. This was a dried chocolate stain!
Mindy
I always send my children's horribly stained clothing to my mom and she oxicleans the crap out of them. Sends 'em back good as new. I have some, and I use it in my washer sometimes, but I don't have the patience for soaking. I know, that probably says a lot about me. The fact that I'm pushing 40 and I still send stained clothing to my mother.
Bols
I am quite surprised. I bought Oxiclean when it first came out, years ago, and I had a distinct feeling it was money well wasted. It never made anything whiter for me.
But I am willing to give another try, thanks to Karen.
Berry
I love Oxiclean too. As a side note, with linen, you can lay it in the sun on something green (like a shrubbery) and let the sun bleach it white. (It's the combo of sun and chlorophyll that does it. Lavender bushes are just amazing for scent too.)
Heather
God bless all of you. I thought I was the only one with a drooly head sweating pillow killer. Color me delighted to have compatriots and a solution!!!
Lyn
Been using it for years and it's great. I like to mix up a half scoop with hot water and pour on the cat barf on the carpet. Works like a charm, however, you need to always mix your batches as you need it, for some reason it doesn't last and loses it's effectiveness if left sitting around.
Also, I wasn't ever going to buy a front loading washing machine because I'm cheap but now my decision is solidified, I've had friends say they mold and stink, now I find out you can't use bleach and if you want to soak you have to use the bathtub, bleeech! what's the point of the front load?
shar y
my front loading washer has a compartment for bleach, works fine...
Tricia Rose
So each time you washed them Karen, you made sure the increasingly yellow one went back on his side, and the angelic one remained on your side?
I just had a customer ask if the acid she put on her face each night would affect the linen. Nightmare time.
Karen
I did! I didn't want to ruin both pillow cases. His side of the flat sheet was also a mess, but I think I got that all straightened out. Re: acid woman, if she were to wrap her face in a plastic bag at night it would save the linen. And I bet her skin would be super-hydrated and moisty in the morning. ~ karen
Tara
Did your homemade enzyme cleaner with the citrus peels ever work out?
Toronto Boy
Holy moly! I was about to throw 14 white T-shirts and vests the bin in preparation of tomorrow's pickup simply because they had faint sweat stains!
Well it looks like I'm going to pick up a box of Oxiclean and see if it does the trick! Thanks for the info Karen!
Melissa
With 3 kids, we should have purchased stock in Oxiclean. We use it on EVERYTHING. It truly is amazing - if I can wrangle something into the bathtub, it gets soaked. I also throw a scoop in the front-loader with most loads and it seems to help with spots I don't pretreat. Also, we spray it on our (admittedly old and worn anyway) carpet wherever something gets dropped, and voila! No stains.
Marian
I use it to clean my faux wood and standard metal mini blinds, soak in a tub for 1 hr and after 10 yrs they still look new!
Karen
Marina - That gave me a great idea!!!! I have cloth blinds on all the windows, you know, the accordion kind ... I tried washing them in the bathtub but nothing happened. I should try to soak them in Oxiclean! ~ karen
Susan
I started using Borax awhile ago with my whites, and find I don't really need to bleach them anymore. I'll also throw some in if colored clothes have gotten particularly dirty. It does need at least warm water to break it down, and I haven't noticed that clothing is wearing out any faster as a result of using it. It's quite an economical option for those of us who don't have sweaty fellas. I remember trying Oxyclean over a decade ago, and not seeing much difference, but I'm going to get some more and try it on an older, stained tablecloth and see what happens. That will be my experiement!
Jenny
The timing is ironic. I did some whitening myself this weekend. And since my washer is older than I am, I poured in a cupful of bleach whilst lamenting that my washer isn't beautiful and picture worthy. But now that I know these new fangled machines have rules, I'll stick to the ancient Maytag.
amy watson
Yep...I am an OxiClean kinda gal myself...My hubby gets really dirty at work....I make homemade laundry detergent, and a whole 5 lb. container of OxiClean goes in it....It is awesome white whites and bright colors..I am a new follower and I really am sorry you had to go through a really bad break up....That sucks, but what i have read in your blogs so far, you are one tough cookie and you are taking it like a true champ...You make us all proud to be WOMEN...because yea...We can do it ALL...BTW...Everyday I read another reason why I don't want to get rid of my old Kenmore top loading washer and dryer for the new fron loaders, besides them being outrageously priced, sometimes I like to fill mine up with hot water and bleach the hell out of something....But that's just me :)
stephanie
I've used oxyclean for years and love it, but discovered that soaking clothes for too long (a couple of days or more) caused the thread to disintegrate causing seams to come apart and buttons to fall off. For spot cleaning I use one part hydrogen peroxide, one part water, and three drops regular sunlight dish soap. Don't soak the spot just use the foam and it works like magic.
jan
I was a full time housewife so truly white, whites were a pre-occupation for me. I've always used BIZ which is an additive like Oxyclean but recently bought some Oxyclean at Costco and it seems to be maintaining status quo-white whites! (Throw some vinegar in also)
Allison
Somehow you managed to work in a literal airing of dirty laundry AND a look at the brighter side in one post. This is one of the many reasons I read your blog. Thanks for the multiple metaphors. I love your brain. <3
Harlewkin
Years ago I decided to wash my tired looking market umbrella in OxyClean and ended up with a big mess. The canvas disintegrated in the washing machine leaving me a pulpy disaster to deal with and a market umbrella to replace.
I haven't been courageous enough to use that product again. I'm glad your results were more successful!
Pam'a
I'll bet it had more to do with putting the sun-weakened canvas in the washer than using Oxy. I use it on antique linens (Why do they call them linens when they're cotton??) all the time with no damage. I agree that it's most effective as a soak vs. tossing it in the washer.
Carolyn
The dry cleaners' I use for my antique lace collection just revealed to me that their secret weapon-method is to soak tablecloths in a big vat of Oxyclean for a *week*, changing the water and Oxyclean every couple of days. I've had several gorgeous antique, somewhat stained banquet-size tablecloths come back looking brand new, and the nonwhite-white ones, the ones that are ecru/tan/whatever you want to call them are still that color, just with the stains removed.