apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Does this really work?! It seems so simple -- Does anyone have before & after pics using this lemon method?

greenlagirl, i'm going to try it this week so stay tuned. i read the tip from myriad sources, so have a lot of faith in it.

maybe i'll rig up a "which sock is whiter" board, bleach commercial style. :)

Wild. I'd like to see the results and may try it myself. I wonder if you need a lot of juice, or if a couple of squeezed rinds would do it!...

Awesome photo, btw.

You will need the acid from the juice. A presqueezed rind would just make the socks smell good.

I think the lemon solution is doable if your water is not very hard (meaning it doesn't have a lot of calcium and other mineral deposits in it). It does need to be fairly concentrated solution and lemons can be very expensive if you do not have any growing nearby.

My approach is different:

a) Prevention: I don't walk around in socks indoors or out so that limits the amount of dirt on my socks. I take my shoes off when I enter my house so that outside dirt doesn't get tracked in. (Keeps my house cleaner too!) Also, I routinely wash my shoe insoles and a side benefit is that my socks stay clean(er). I also wash any of my shoes that are not leather and this really helps to keep everything clean.

b) Take Action: If you have localized dirt, I use a bar of laundry soap. If the socks look dull and grey -- I live in an area that has extremely hard water and some of the dull grey look is the result of undissolved detergent or mineral deposits. So when I see that occurring, I do an extra rinse with vinegar or by adding baking soda when I add the soap. If you see this grey look routinely in your clean clothes, try reducing the amount of your detergent by a third as this can also take care of the problem.

c) Mrs Stewart's bluing: is available in our laundry detergent section. Website explains it all: http://www.mrsstewart.com/

NOTE: I'm not fond of the lemon approach. I have used it to bleach some antique linens *isolated spots only* with a qtip and to work it needs be concentrated (diluted with equal part of distilled water). Lemons are expensive imports where I live which is a consideration.

But it is rarely effective, creates a huge mess, you still have to wring them out ... YECH!

I tried this with tea towels and they turned yellow. I wish it worked, though!

White socks are just sooo ugly! Wear coloured socks instead, problem solved!

Here in S. FL, I do environmental restoration projects with a local county run group nearly every weekend... gotta wear socks to protect feet and ankles from all kinds of hazards.

Black socks are waaaaaay uglier (and somehow hotter) than white socks. Colored socks get filthy too...

I keep a pile of clean 'dirty' socks just for the work... they don't need to be blindingly white, it's not a fashion show, but I would just like them to appear cleaner.

I will try these tips (thanks AT & readers/posters)

I wonder if this same method would work on stained baby tshirts? I'll pass this on to my daughter.