I whitened dull socks in 30 minutes with natural cupboard item-not baking soda

White socks and white laundry can turn dingy for a number of reasons. These include sweat and body oils, dirt and stains, and a buildup of detergent residue. All of this can contribute to socks turning yellow or grey over time, with stains even sticking to them after washing. This can also happen with towels.

While white vinegar and baking soda are often recommended, I decided to try another natural cleaning product I had in my cupboard: soda crystals. They can be used for a number of jobs around the home, including laundry.

Soda crystals are safe to use on all types of fabric and can be beneficial to add to your wash too, to help soften the water.

However, I decided to use them as a pre-soak, which involved submerging the socks in warm water with a couple of scoops of the crystals.

I simply got a large bowl, filled it with boiling water, and topped it up with cold water before adding crystals.

It's important to mix the water and the crystals together, which will result in a cloudy solution.

I used Elbow Grease's soda crystals, which I picked up from Wilko for around £1.50, but there are lots of brands on the market.

The socks were left in the solution for around 30 minutes before I rinsed them out in the bowl.

I then placed the white socks into the washing machine along with some other white garments. I was surprised to see how much they had already whitened.

Once the cycle was complete, I removed the socks and left them on the airer to dry. The socks were completely white and looked brand new, with no marks left on them.

If you don't fancy pre-soaking the socks in hot water, you can also add a tablespoon of soda crystals into the detergent drawer or straight into your washing machine.

They also have many other uses around the home, including unblocking pipes, removing grease from pans and saucepans, as well as algae from patios.