White socks never stay clean and pristine for long, but there is a way to revive them, according to Queen of Clean Lynsey Crombie.
White socks can turn yellow or grey for a variety of reasons. Sweat, body oils, dirt, and even the residue from laundry detergent can contribute to the dullness of your once bright, white socks. Washing them with coloured garments or not using the right method can also leave your socks looking less than fresh.
While regular washing may not always restore their brightness, the right treatment can help you bring them back to bright white.
According to cleaning guru Lynsey Crombie, there’s just one solution to use alongside some liquid detergent to whiten your socks – and that’s baking soda.
Baking soda helps neutralise odours while lifting stains and brightens up your dirty white socks.
Lynsey shared her go-to sock-whitening hack on her Instagram page, @lynsey_queenofclean, and you don’t even need to turn on your washing machine for it.
She captioned her video: “My top tips for maintaining their pristine look is to hand wash with a capful of liquid detergent, a scoop of bicarbonate of soda, and a good rub on an old-school washboard.”
The cleaning expert pointed out that “the washboard makes a huge difference in lifting stains”.
Washboards are a simple device for washing clothes by hand. It’s typically made with a wooden frame with an attached metal ridged surface. The ridges help loosen the dirt as clothes are washed and rubbed against them.
To clean the socks this way, Lynsey fills up a wash bucket with water and adds in one capful of liquid laundry detergent, a scoop of baking soda and pops the filthy socks in.
Using a small washboard, Lynsey scrubbed each sock one at a time to remove the built-up dirty stains.
She then rinsed the socks out, and they were looking cleaner and whiter than before.
To finish off the cleaning process, Lynsey recommends “letting the sunshine work its magic to keep them bright white”. Sunlight acts as a natural bleach and can help remove light discolouration.
