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.
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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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Tanya
I'm curious how much you used?... just the regular "formula" for stain treating? Thanks, Tanya
Karen
Hi Tanya - If I remember correctly, I doubled up. Then chucked a bit more in. :) It was a really heavy stain. I'm STILL telling everyone I come across about how great this stuff is, lol. ~ karen!
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Suzanne
I have had great results soaking items in a bucket of hot water with oxiclean. HOWEVER, do not dump a scoop directly on top of your laundry in a front load machine. It leaves a discolored yellowish, oily looking spot. I had been having such good luck with the soaking that i decided to start adding it to all sheet washings. It took me getting that spot on three separate sets of sheets to figure it out. So far, i have not been able to remove the spots - only lighten them.
Gwen
I don't have any oxiclean stories to share but thought someone might have a solution to my delema. I bought a beautiful white bassinet for at Gramas house it has a top that detaches he's from the bottom and both have layers if frills. I the bottoms have some sort of wood on them so putting them in the machine just cannot be done. It was poorly lit when I bought this and you could not see just how dirty the fabric was until I saw it in clear daylight. It is impossible to just take the pieces apart to soak them as they are stitched in places that make it impossible I'd have to totally disassemble both up and down pieces and then re sew them back on. That would be an awful lot of work. I'm going to try to ad a picture so you will get an idea what I'm talking about. I hope someone has any ideas I could try. Please someone ~~~~ Help ~~~ lol
Suzanne
I don't bother with either Oxyclean or Biz in the washer (front loader). Not enough time in the water. Have a 5 gallon bucket under the laundry sink. Use it several times a month with one or the other, never both...soak at least a day, usually longer, because ...fill half way with hottest water, + 1 to 2 scoops. Stir really well. Can leave as long as a week with no damage. Disgusting pillow cases, kitchen towels & napkins full of BBQ sauce. Once, my daughter's $$$ riding britches full of RED mud. Every one else sent to cleaners, and didn't work...Hers were spotless. Enzyme soak rocks, with some patience, and Hot water. Great stuff!
Pam'a
That reminds me of the bit about the sun whitening whites. Do you think this is true? I think it'd be worth another experiment, Science Girl! ;)
Karen
I plan on it! ~ karen
Jill
My MIL makes beautiful hand-crocheted blessing dresses. We came across one of the first ones she ever made and it was VERY yellowed and she said to just throw it away. It was a very detailed pattern and much longer than she now does(she's simplified what she does since the requests keep coming). I took it home to see if my younger daughter wanted it. She did, but she wanted me to try and get it whiter. I rinsed it in water and then hung it outside overnight on a cool night. The next morning it was amazing! When whites get 'frosted' they whiten. The bonnet and shoes were still yellowed and it was unreal the difference. Not sure if it works as well if it's not cotton. I'd heard this from my mom my whole life but never tried it till now. She did that with her cloth diapers back in the day!
Karen
I'm gonna try that just for fun! So the frost has to hit it? ~ karen!
Shana
!. I went out and got some oxyclean asap to do all our white T-shirts and soaked some of my cotton and linen summer tunics and blouses that had some nasty yellow neck rings (sorry if that's TMI) and it was fantastic - thank you!
2. I've just spend an hour surfing the internet reading about and price checking linen bedding, I've ordered a fabric sample from Rough Linen and went by Pottery Barn to look at their linen duvet covers - I have a new obsession now!
Karen
That's great Shana! I can't say I've tried a lot of linen sheets, but I swear by the Rough Linen ones and the duvet cover. This sounds dorky but they make me feel special every time I go to bed! I have the smooth white linen sheets and the rough linen duvet cover. Somehow they're great in both the winter and the summer. ~ karen!
Debbie Tuson
I need some linen bedding in my life 😊
Barbie
You've SOLD me! I'm going out to buy some today....I have lots of white shirts that I would LOVE to wear again! Thx Karen!!!
Karen
Great! Soaking is key! ~ karen
marg
I was also a fan of oxiclean but the stuff is expensive. I found for stains, yellowing, pretty much everything oxiclean does hydrogen peroxide, some dishwashing liquid (and baking soda if scrubbing in needed) does just as well and in some cases better than Oxyclean. I used plain HO2 on it's own on red wine on white shirt stains and stain completely, i mean completely gone. :)
Feral Turtle
Hmmm we bought that stuff to sterilize our brewing equipment....not cauldron stuff but beer making stuff. Then we found an easier product so I have a big bucket of OxyClean left over. Maybe I will buy some white pillow cases now as I was always leary of the old head sweat stains!!
LW
OxyClean and very hot water. Soak, and hour or two rinse, more Oxy, same thing, rinse. Then do one final soak over night. Amazing. I did two old, age-yellowed linen shirts and they are snow white.
Nancy
Well glad to know about soaking cause I can't see that it helps at all dumping some in the washer. We have bamboo sheets. Men are so sweaty and turn everything dingy.
I did use some cleaning some crummy apartment carpet. I made a paste and rubbed it into some weird black spots on the beige carpet. I didn't really expect it to work so I just left it for several days. Cleaned the stuff up and left whitish blotches. Yikes.
Anna Starner
Somebody asked about on tan etc. I used Oxi a natural linen skirt and it removed the color, now I have a yucky yellowish skirt. So please test it unless like me you figure that the item is ruined and you were going to threw it away anyway. Mine had a spot.
Nadine
Why wouldn't you be able to use bleach in a front loader? Just pour it in through the detergent drawer and rinse the drawer with another liter of water right after it. Never had a problem. And people who have mold in their front loaders probably don't let the machine dry thoroughly by keeping either door or detergent drawer a little bit ajar. In Germany you don't get top loaders. And we still use bleach and the washing machines don't stink.
Karen
Nadine - Many front loaders specify you cannot use bleach. Part of the reason is it deteriorates the rubber. The newer ones seem to have dealt with this issue and you can use bleach in them, but my Bosch doesn't allow for it. ~ karen
Donna
When my son was in first grade he wrote on the shirt of the child sitting in front of him in black SHARPIE! The child was understandably upset. It was a new shirt and bright orange in color. I soaked the shirt in cold water and oxyclean for 30 minutes then washed in the washer. The shirt came out perfect! It saved me buying a new shirt!
The wonders of oxyclean.
Karen
My first thought is, how did you end up with the shirt, LOL?~ karen!
Donna
I do see your point! I am a teacher at the school. So I borrowed a shirt for the child from the school nurse. I sent him home with a note of apology from me and my son. Yep, I learned that it is better for me, and my children, to attend different schools! At least I know which one of us is in trouble when the principal calls!
I really enjoy your blog and I'm feeling pretty star struck that you commented on a comment of mine. Thanks! You made my day!
Kim from 3 peanuts
Hello. I am Kim and I am an Oxi clean addict. I put a big honking scoop in every single load of laundry. I LOVE the stuff. And yuck....I cannot believe how gross that pillowcase was. I was so sad to hear about you and the fella but things are really looking up if you discovered Oxiclean out of the break-up!!!
theresa
I toss a little oxyclean in with the DH hockey stuff--only way to get that smell out of the clothes.
My folks love oxyclean so much it is like talking to the Greek dad in My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie who swears by windex
Carol
Interesting comments. I used the method described in the following link to bring my grandmother's embroidered cotton pillowcases back to bright white. It uses Oxiclean AND Biz. The results were spectacular. http://www.euro-linens.com/euro-linens/Euro_Shams.html
Wendy @HerBallistic Garden
My epiphany with oxyclean came when I pulled out baby clothes I had saved from my kids....22yrs later and rewashed them all in oxyclean. I honestly remember thinking way back when we couldn't get certain stains out that maybe someday in the future there'd be something I could use. All the clothes turned out like brand new! Amazing stuff you are correct! And...men are gross with their pillows....especially the ones who work hard in their garages. Bah! xo