• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Retro Housewife Goes Green

A retro housewife in the modern world.

  • Start Here
    • About
    • Retro Homemaking – Readers’ Favorites
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Homemaking Tips
    • Homemakers Club
    • Cleaning
    • Frugal
    • Organization
    • Decorating
    • Crafting
    • Eco-Friendly Living
    • Holidays
    • Time Management
  • Food
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Recipe Index
  • Shop

How to Make Color Safe Bleach

This post may contain affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more.

May 23, 2018 By Lisa Sharp 9 Comments

Looking for a natural color safe bleach option? Homemade color safe bleach works great and only contains two ingredients. Learn how to make color safe bleach.

Bottle of hydrogen peroxide and plastic jug

I’m not a fan of bleach. I use it very rarely and only when nothing else will work. It’s not great for us or the environment. However, I still want my clothes to look nice and stain free.

There are some non-chlorine bleach options out there that are natural but it’s also very easy and cheap to make your own color safe bleach. You likely already have the ingredients sitting around the house.

All it takes is water and hydrogen peroxide. I even reused a vinegar bottle I already had to store in so that made it extremely cheap. Even if you need to buy a container it’s a really affordable option.

You can even make it scented if you’d like with a few drops of essential oils. I just leave mine as is but it can be fun to play with scents.

You can add a cup to your wash or for stains it’s a good idea to soak the items for awhile first. I find that line drying the items in the sun helps whiten and remove stains even better.

How to Make Color Safe Bleach

Hydrogen peroxide bottle and plastic jug

Ingredients

  • 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
  • water
  • optional: essential oils



Directions

  1. Pour the hydrogen peroxide into a clean half-gallon jug.
  2. Fill the rest with water.
  3. If you’d like it to be scented add a few drops of your favorite essential oils.
  4. Shake well.

To Use

  • Soak items in solution for 10 to 30 minutes. If it’s a small stain you can just use enough for that stain or if it’s the whole item I usually add a cup to enough water to soak the item. 
  • Wash like normal.

This is one of the first homemade cleaners I started making. At that time I was trying to switch to more natural cleaning products and I was struggling to find a natural, bleach alternative. This solution is what I found that worked well and was very safe. I’ve been using it ever since.

plastic jug in laundry basket filled with towels

If you want more cleaning tips like this, be sure to sign up below for my mailing list. 

Sharing is caring!

Filed Under: Cleaning, Crafting, Homemaking

blue zig-zag background with text don't like ads? become a premium member to enjoy the site ad-free. Join now!

Previous Post: « Ways to Use Essential Oils Around Your Home
Next Post: The Benefits of Using Artificial Plants »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Terri Welty says

    August 27, 2018 at 10:14 am

    Would love to be on the mailing list

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      August 27, 2018 at 10:26 am

      You can sign up above or here- https://retrohousewifegoesgreen.com/newsletter/

      Reply
  2. Tammy says

    January 20, 2019 at 7:03 pm

    How much of this do you use in a load of laundry?

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      January 20, 2019 at 9:18 pm

      That would have been helpful! I’m sorry about that. I use about a cup if I’m using it for a load. If spot treating I just put whatever I need for the spot.

      Reply
  3. Paul says

    July 23, 2020 at 11:19 am

    Doesn’t work.

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      July 23, 2020 at 1:29 pm

      What are you trying to use it on? Some stains need different treatments and some need pre-treatment.

      Reply
  4. MAHENDRA says

    August 22, 2020 at 11:17 am

    Can we use it for disinfecting our cloths against novel Coronovirus? If yes, What formulation will work to disinfect coloured cloths with this colour safe bleach formulation of Hydrogen Peroxide and water.

    Reply
    • Lisa Sharp says

      August 24, 2020 at 2:18 pm

      The CDC says normal washing and drying kills COVID-19 so it’s not something you really need to do but hydrogen peroxide is approved for disinfecting COVID-19 but it would need to be at a higher concentration than this. You can also boil dishcloths to disinfect them. This is a really great way to get them very clean and remove odors. It will also kill COVID-19.

      Reply
  5. James wepukhulu says

    May 18, 2021 at 1:27 pm

    Great advise and its very helpful to me a lot. I used to make bleach but many people ask make to make for them the color bleach which i had no idea

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

photo of Lisa

Welcome to my blog! My name is Lisa and I'm the Retro Housewife trying to live a greener life. I share my love of all things vintage, homemaking and green living here on the blog. To read more, click here.

mail button Facebook button Instagram button Pinterest button Twitter button

Featured Posts

The Best Vintage Gingerbread Brownies Recipe

Pile of knitted winter clothes on wooden background

Refreshing Your Wardrobe After Marie Kondo Decluttering

Colorful clothes and shoes in room cropped photo

How to Supplement Your Capsule Wardrobe With Clothing Rental

le tote box open

Le Tote Review – Clothing Rental Service (2023 Update)

red and white stockings hanging on fireplace

The Best Stocking Stuffer Ideas

  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Join Now (Ad-Free Experience)
  • Ad-Free Login
  • My Account
  • Sponsor Me

Copyright © 2023 · Niche Theme

Copyright © 2023 · Retro Housewife Goes Green