White socks can easily become stained and turn an unsightly grey colour, but there is a simple way to restore them to get socks looking brand new. 

Karen Lee, a natural household expert, has shared that her children often come home with discoloured socks after playing spots, and she was finding it impossible to get them clean. 

She said: “Since I no longer use bleach, I had to figure out how on earth I was going to wash these.” 

Bleach may seem like an effective solution to whiten socks, but it can damage the fabric and cause socks to develop a yellow tint which can make them look dingy. 

Instead, Karen discovered there is a natural homemade solution that will get rid of brown sock stains without having to use bleach.  

How to whiten and clean dirty socks

You will need: 

• One tablespoon of liquid laundry detergent
• One tablespoon of washing soda (also called soda crystals)
• One tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide
• Lemon juice 
• A washing basin or bucket 

Method:

All you need to do is first shake off as much dirt from the socks as you can and place the socks in cold water to wash away as much of the dirt as possible. 

Pour around a gallon of lukewarm water into a bucket or basin and add all the ingredients, making sure the powdered ingredients are completely dissolved. 

Add the socks to the solution and make sure they are submerged in the water, then leave the socks to soak overnight or longer. 

Karen said: “I left these socks for two days (I forgot about them.) Hydrogen peroxide works with time so the longer it has to work on the stain, the better.” 

Hydrogen peroxide is a natural cleaning product often found in mouthwashes and tooth whitening products as it is a mild bleaching agent that can break down stains. 

Soda crystals, also known as washing soda, are strongly alkaline which means it helps break down acidic stains such as sweat or dirt while also boosting the performance of regular laundry detergent. 

After the socks are done soaking, make sure to hang them outside on a sunny day as the lemon juice bleaching is enhanced by sunlight. 

Karen said: “Something about lemon and sunshine – they are a great duo for whitening laundry.” 

Once the socks are dried they will be white, bright and clean once again, but this simple laundry solution can also help whiten other laundry such as towels.

Karen said: “I am also going to use this method for my dingy white towels. I will have to tweak the formula a bit to be able to use for a large load but you get the idea for the ingredients.

“If you don’t want to use bleach, hydrogen peroxide is your go-to whitener. Just be careful when you are handling it as it will whiten your dark clothes.”