how to keep your white sheets white

Keeping your white sheets looking Instagram perfect doesn’t have to be extraordinarily difficult. In fact, preventing your whites from slowly yellowing only takes a little bit of TLC on your part. We scoured the internet (and even called our moms) to find out the best way to keep your pearly white sheets pristine.

First and foremost, it’s rather important not to eat (or drink!) on your clean white sheets. Even the smallest spill can risk a long-term stain that no amount of bleach can erase. Yes, this means sacrificing the perfect breakfast in bed photo for the sake of your whites.

Washing your makeup off before going to bed can help prevent rubbing your brand new Glossier lipstick on your bedding. Unfortunately, skincare and makeup products can stick to the threads of your linens and cause an ugly yellow hue to appear.

If on the off chance you do stain your bedding, skip the bleach and opt for /14 cup of lemon juice instead, as many bleach products tend to yellow fibers over time instead of whitening them. Just add in the lemon juice with your detergent as normal and let the citrus do the rest of the work.

Note: You can also soak your linens in a pot of boiled lemon water pre-wash to help brighten them.

Don’t have lemon juice? Baking soda and white vinegar are both natural whiteners (and softeners!) that can be used when washing your sheets. According to Style At Home, you can add half a cup of baking soda with your detergent at the beginning of the wash cycle. Then, just before the rinse cycle begins, pour half a cup of white vinegar into your washer. And, yes, the vinegar odor will rinse out.

Speaking of vinegar, presoaking your white bedding with white vinegar can make all the difference. All you need is a bathtub (or large sink!) filled with warm water and half a cup of white vinegar to make sure your whites are as bright as they can be after going through the wash. Let your whites soak in this mixture for up to an hour, then wash as normal.