We have all gotten annoying stains on our clothes that we have struggled to remove. Yet, increasingly, research is revealing that chemicals found in heavy-duty bleaching products might not be good for us. This is especially the case for those of us with sensitive skin or allergies. It is also harmful to the environment!

Is there a more natural way to remove those nasty blemishes from our clothes?

Welcome in the sun!

The sun has so many life-nurturing qualities. It provides rays of warmth and joyful light. More importantly, it is a potent energy source. It is also the means by which plants photosynthesise, providing food and sustenance for life on the planet. It is also a means for us to regulate our day (and nights).

Unsurprisingly, the sun provides a potentially chemical free solution to those nasty stains on our clothes!

Enter sun bleaching!

Here is a step by step guide of how to sun bleach those stains away:

1. Wet your clothes. Sun bleaching is more effective when the clothes are wet as opposed to dry (although even dry items will still be sun-bleached to a certain degree). The easiest way to prepare clothes is to wash them as you normally would, and then put them out directly in the sun. You can do this with any white fabric including towels, tablecloths, bed linen and white shirts.
2. Lay clothes out as flat as possible. It is important to make sure that every part of the fabric is receiving direct sunshine with no overlap. It is the sun rays that are doing the bleaching so if the rays cannot penetrate, the item will not get bleached.
3. Add lemon juice for an extra boost. Mix up lemon juice with water (about 60 ml lemon juice and 475 ml of water) in a spray bottle and spray directly onto stains. The lemon juice reacts with the sun to whiten even more effectively.
4. Do not leave clothing in the sun for more than two to three hours. If you want the item to be whiter, do it in intervals. In other words, break it up. Try a few hours again another day. Leaving things out for days at a time without a break could weaken and damage the fabric particularly if they are sensitive fabrics.

Note: Do NOT attempt this on delicate clothes or materials. If you are uncertain, please test on a small area before sun bleaching the whole item. It may take two to three times for this method to work on really deep stains.