October 29, 2020
How to Use Oxygen Whitener
What is Oxygen Whitener? First things first, it’s a BLEACH ALTERNATIVE. I don’t have any bleach in our home – you don’t need it to clean. Really, you don’t! If you are looking for a safe and natural laundry whitener to replace bleach, Oxygen Whitener is going to be your new best friend. If you aren’t looking for something to replace bleach, you should be looking! Oxygen Whitener is safe, natural and poses none of the health hazards and toxicity warnings that you’ll find with bleach. Want to brighten up your whites? Oxygen Whitener will do that for you but there’s so much more that you can use it for! It’s a cleaning booster and has so many uses besides whitening the laundry!
What is it? Clean Mama’s Oxygen Whitener uses sodium percarbonate (washing soda + hydrogen peroxide) and other earth derived ingredients – sodium carbonate, citric acid, and pure lemon essential oil.
The laundry room is where you’ll start to see the power of Oxygen Whitener – start using it with your laundry and then once you see how awesome it is, use all over the house!


- Whites: Add 1 scoop to every load of whites. I use a scoop for my son’s WHITE baseball pants and there isn’t a single stain. I’ve been asked how I keep his pants white – this is my secret! I add a scoop to white towels, white sheets…. Shoot, I add a scoop to most loads, even colors 🙂
- Extra Dirty Clothes: Add 2 scoops for an especially dingy or dirty load.
- Pre-Treat: Want to pre-treat your laundry without pre-treating it? Add a scoop to each load of laundry. This is especially helpful for kids’ clothing.
- Stains: Wet fabric with water, sprinkle or make a paste and rub directly into stains. Let sit for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight. Launder as usual.
- Naturally Strip Laundry: Stripping laundry is just removing any residue from some detergents and fabric softeners, or a build up of minerals from hard water that you aren’t able to remove from your laundry with traditional laundry washing methods. I don’t find that safe and natural laundry products create this build-up, but if you want to see how you can naturally strip your laundry, head to this blog post. I use Oxygen Whitener in the laundry wash after stripping the fabrics.
KITCHEN:
- Stuck on Food in Pots and Pans? Sprinkle a little in the bottom of a wet pan. Scrub to activate the Oxygen Whitener and let sit for at least 15 minutes or up to overnight. Scrub, rinse the Oxygen Whitener completely off and wash as usual with dish soap.
- Kitchen Sink Scrub: Add a scoop to a wet sink and make a paste. Scrub and rinse thoroughly.
- Tile and Grout: Wet surface, sprinkle and scrub. Rinse and repeat if necessary. I love using the Oxygen Whitener on our fireplace hearth – I find that by using a sponge and a bowl with warm, soapy water (castile or dish soap). Wet with the sponge and water, give it a little sprinkle and make a paste. A LITTLE goes a long way, just a sprinkle is all you need! Scrub, rinse, dry.
BATHROOMS:
- Toilet Whitener: Sprinkle a scoop or two in your toilet, let it sit for a bit or overnight, scrub and flush. I keep a mason jar in the bathroom with a scoop (in a cabinet out of the reach of any children). This is my favorite use besides in the laundry room – this works SO well! You can also add a squirt of castile soap under the rim to up the cleaning power. Here’s how I clean toilets naturally.
- Soap Scum and Mineral Deposits: Wet surface, sprinkle with the powder and scrub clean.
- Tile and Grout: Wet surface, sprinkle and scrub. Sometimes I’ll add a squirt of castile soap to the paste to up the cleaning power. Rinse and repeat if necessary. The shower in our bathroom has a creamy light gray tile (not my favorite) and our water leaves a little orange hue within a week after scrubbing – this works really well to combat the orange. Here’s a post on how to clean grout.
FLOORS:
- Floors: Mix 1 scoop with a gallon of warm/hot water to mop floors. This works best on vinyl and tile floors, do not use it on hardwood floors.
- Carpet: Add 1 scoop to hot water (typically about a gallon of water) in a carpet machine to shampoo carpets. This works wonders on dingy carpet!
Want to give it a try? You can find Clean Mama Oxygen Whitener and other laundry products here in my shop.
Leslie Says
I have stubborn coffee stains in my Chemex (glass) coffee pot. Vinegar soak and a Chemex brush helped but it’s still stained. I wonder if the oxygen whitener would do the trick?
Clean Mama Says
Post authorI am 99% sure it would 🙂
Lynn Elizabeth Cronk Says
What kind of sheets do you use on your beds?
A certain brand name? All Cotton?
Just wondering…. They always look nice and white
Lynn
Clean Mama Says
Post authorI love the Boll & Branch percale sheets – 100% cotton 🙂
Leslie Says
It worked! My Chemex now looks as good as the day I bought it! THANK YOU!!!
Ellen Says
I use vinegar as my fabric softener in the rinse cycle. Can vinegar and the oxygen whitener be used together? Also, do you put the oxygen whitener in the soap dispenser or directly onto the clothes as with the new laundry spray? Thanks so much.
Clean Mama Says
Post authorYes!
Katy Says
I have dark grey grout that shows more soap scum than I would like. Will this work to remove the soap scum without bleaching the grout?
Clean Mama Says
Post authorIt should! Spot test it first 🙂
Ailene Lemmon Says
What brand towels do you recommend? I need to change all of mine since they’re beginning to smell mildew-y. Thanks!
Clean Mama Says
Post authorBoll & Branch, Threshhold from Target, Costco Charisma, HomeGoods
Shannon Says
Does it work with front loading machines as well?
Clean Mama Says
Post authorYES!
Alex Benton Says
I have recently fallen victim to a rouge crayon on my new light colored couch. I removed the crayon stripe but now I’m left with a water ring where I cleaned the spot! I’ve read using vinegar but I remembered this magical stuff! What do you think?
Clean Mama Says
Post authorGive it a try!
Cathy Says
Do I add to bleach dispenser or directly in the machine?
If adding to machine , is it added before clothes or on top of clothes?
Clean Mama Says
Post authorAdd directly to machine – I add on top of laundry!
Jess Says
Do you add to the drawer/detergent dispenser in front loading machines? Also, we have white towels with some coloured embroidery, would it bleach the colours? Thanks!
Clean Mama Says
Post authorPut it directly in the machine with the clothes and it’s color-safe, no worries on your embroidery 🙂
Liz Says
Do you use this in addition to laundry detergent? or alone? Thanks for your help!
Clean Mama Says
Post authorYes!