Whiten and soften badly stained towels with 1 household item - not vinegar or baking soda

Soft and fluffy white towels have a habit of discolouring and hardening. Luckily, there is an item that can sort both these dilemmas - it's cheap and natural.

By Angela Patrone, Lifestyle Reporter

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White laundry can be a pain to maintain, particularly when it comes to towels. 

Soiled towels, when washed, may become clean, but the greyish tinge will linger even after repeated washing sessions.

There is perhaps nothing uglier than a white towel that has turned grey over time - this is made worse when towels start to lose their softness and fluffiness.

However, before you toss out the stained and crusty towels, the laundry pros at Hello Laundry have shared a natural item that could solve the problem.

They recommend using borax to whiten towels and restore their soft texture as it’s “one of the most powerful chemicals”.

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Housekeeper taking out clean towel from washing machine

Whiten and soften badly stained towels with 1 household item - not vinegar or baking soda (Image: Getty)

Towel hanging in the bathroom by the shower. Faded old towel

Towels stain and harden quickly (Image: Getty)

It comes in the form of a white powder that “acts as a booster for detergent”. The pros added: “Borax powder not only helps in whitening the towels but also helps with the removal of stains and greasy marks.”

To use this product, mix half a cup of detergent powder with half a cup of borax. 

Add your soiled towels to the washing machine and then pour in the mixture of borax and detergent. 

Wash the towels on a delicate cycle and then hang them out to dry. The experts claimed: “You will find that not only the greyish tinge of the towels has disappeared but also the towels have become extra white and fluffy”.

Washing machine with a white towel inside.

Towels come out the wash extra white when using borax (Image: Getty)

However, as you can’t buy borax in the UK, households should look to purchase borax substitute.

Borax substitute can be picked up online at Natural Collection for £1.99 and is sold in Robert Dyas for £2.69.

Alternatively, the laundry experts claimed that lemon juice can be used to whiten and soften towels.

How to use lemon juice for cleaning

How to use lemon juice for cleaning (Image: EXPRESS)

They said: “Rinse your towels in the washing machine and then add a few teaspoons of lemon juice to whiten the towels. 

“Be sure to add the lemon juice when the machine is nearing the onset of the rinsing cycle and skip the fabric conditioner when you use it for washing towels.”

Households should make sure the lemon juice is freshly squeezed out of lemons to “ensure perfect whitening of the stained towels”.

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