The fight started over a pot of tomato sauce. léa waved a grey tea towel that used to be white and swore by her everlasting baking soda. Her sister Anaïs, on the other hand, calmly dropped a different white powder into a bowl while holding a glass of wine and said, “You’re stuck in 1998.” In the background, the washing machine hummed like a referee getting ready to blow the whistle.
Twenty minutes later, the two women were standing in front of the laundry room with their mouths slightly open. The same pile of dirty towels. Two results that are very different.
The worst part? The “old school” fix didn’t work.
Why baking soda isn’t working as well as it used to in our kitchens
Everyone has that infamous kitchen drawer with a half-open box of baking soda, yellowed tea towels, and a hazy memory of a miracle grandma’s tip. People on social media act like baking soda is a magic wand that can fix anything, from clogged drains to burnt pans. But when it comes to making tea towels whiter, that halo is going away.
A lot of people are noticing the same thing: the whites stay dull even after soaking and rubbing. The fibres become rough. The red wine ring is still there, but it’s not as dark. The legend breaks a little bit every time you wash it.
This is a scene from a small flat in Lyon. Camille, 32, spends her Sunday mornings “detoxing” her kitchen linens with a basin, hot water, two big spoons of baking soda, and a prayer. She scrubs the coffee rings hard, puts everything in the drum, starts a hot cycle, and leaves with the satisfied look of someone who has done the right thing.
Of course, the towels smell clean when she takes them out. But the grey-beige film is still there. The corner that used to hold a hot tray is now forever caramelised. The white stripes on her favourite tea towel have slowly changed to the colour of old milk.
The reason for this disappointment is very simple. Baking soda is a weak base. It works well to get rid of smells, soften water, and make detergent work better. Not as good for deep stains like tomato, turmeric, or tea that get into cotton fibres.
The dirt comes off the surface, the smell goes away, and the place looks clean. But the pigment molecules usually stay. *That’s where a more specific, oxygen-based product comes in and separates families at the laundry basket.
The unexpected way to whiten clothes that causes arguments
Oxygen bleach, which is often sold as “active stain remover” or “percarbonate of soda” in eco-friendly stores, is the troublemaker. It looks harmless: it’s a fine white powder with no strong smell and a label that isn’t very interesting. When it comes into contact with hot water, it releases active oxygen that attacks coloured stains without the harshness of regularchlorine bleach.
The way that laundry-loving groups are quietly spreading is almost like a ritual. One basin, very hot water (60–70°C if the fabric can handle it), a heaping spoonful of oxygen bleach, and then the tired tea towels. For curry or beetroot, everything soaks for 20 to 30 minutes, and sometimes longer. After that, wash it normally in the machine with your usual detergent. You don’t have to scrub like a maniac.
Anaïs did this very thing in that family kitchen. She filled a metal bowl with water from the kettle and added a spoonful of oxygen bleach. She watched the powder fizz a little. The tea towels changed from grey to ghosts floating in a cloudy bath. Léa teased her, saying, “You’re just bleaching them to death.”
The difference hurt her pride after the cycle was over. The towels that had been soaked in baking soda were clean but dull. The other ones, which had been treated with oxygen bleach, looked almost new. The red wine shadow was gone, the yellow oil halos were gone, and the grey veil was gone. That night, the group chat was full of pictures and question marks. A cousin that not many people knew about had just taken the place of the famous white powder.
The chemistry behind this small scandal is so simple that it almost seems boring. Oxygen bleach doesn’t just “help” the detergent; it actually breaks the bonds that hold the colour in stains through oxidation. This method works very well with tea, coffee, tomatoes, fruit, and many other plant pigments. The wash makes hydrogen peroxide right where the dirt is.
Baking soda, on the other hand, is like a helpful friend: it makes the soap work better, softens the water, and cuts down on smells, but it rarely wins the fight on its own. People think “clean and odourless” means “visibly brightened.” The results are very different. Let’s be honest: no one really sorts their kitchen towels by colour and cycle every day.
How to use oxygen bleach on kitchen towels without damaging them
The best routine is still surprisingly simple. Check the labels first: cotton or linen tea towels can handle high temperatures better than synthetics. To make whites last longer, heat some water to at least 60°C. Put it in a basin or bucket, then add one to two tablespoons of oxygen bleach, depending on how much laundry you have.
Stir until everything is mixed together, then add the towels, making sure they are all the way under. For light greying, let it soak for 20 minutes; for stubborn stains, let it soak for up to an hour. Then, put the wet clothes right into the washing machine, run your normal cotton cycle, and if you can, let them air dry in full light. The sun is still the best way to whiten things that people don’t use enough.
Wanting miracles to happen right away on tea towels that have been used for years is the most common mistake. Grease that has been baked in for more than 50 washes won’t go away with just one soak. Another mistake is putting too much product in cold water and expecting fireworks. To fully release its power, oxygen bleach really needs heat. Cold soak means half-hearted performance and wasted powder.
You also have the “all or nothing” reflex. Some people stop using detergent and only use stain remover, then they complain that their towels feel stiff or don’t smell clean. These items work together, not against each other. Lastly, a lot of people are afraid of damaging fibres, but the real danger comes from using too much, rubbing too hard with a nail brush, or mixing chemicals without knowing what you’re doing.
A professional cleaner I met said, “Whitening kitchen towels is like cleaning a pan.” “If you use the same product on everything, you either do nothing or you hurt things.” For the right stain, you need the right amount of aggression.
Never use oxygen bleach on delicate wool or silk. Only use it on white or light cotton or linen tea towels.
Use baking soda to deodorise and soften, but not as the only way to whiten.
Before soaking, rinse very dirty towels in hot water with a drop of dish soap.
Don’t leave stained towels crumpled in a corner for days. Instead, wash them right away.
Whenever you can, dry your clothes in the sun to make them whiter without using more product.
When a simple wash turns into a small revolution in the home
This new way to care for kitchen towels does more than make drawers look better. It quietly changes the order of advice that mothers, grandmothers, and that famous “trick I saw on TikTok” have given over the years. The thing that people used to trust without thinking now looks a little worn out. The newcomer, which has a name that sounds like a lab, is slowly taking over laundry rooms and student flats.
Some people are relieved to see yellow halos that they thought would never go away. Some people roll their eyes at “another miracle powder” and stick with what they know. The heated arguments are often less about chemistry and more about who they are, their habits, and the pride of doing things “right.”
We don’t talk about it much, but doing laundry can be very emotional. Kitchen towels have stains from family dinners, late-night pasta, and baking attempts. It feels like letting go of memories when you throw them away because they look dirty. Getting them back to life with a new method is a small win over waste and the shame of having “disgusting” fabrics.
Some people will only try oxygen bleach once and never use it again. Some people will keep their baking soda and use towels that are softer and less white. Both options say something about how we handle the work we can’t see at home. The main question isn’t who is right, but what we want our daily life to look like when we open that drawer in the kitchen.
Main pointDetail: What the reader gets out of it
For whitening, oxygen bleach works better than baking soda.Active oxygen breaks up coloured stains that simple alkalinity can’t get rid of completely.Tea towels that are cleaner and brighter without harsh chlorine bleach
You can’t change the heat or the time. Soaking in water that is 60–70°C for 20–60 minutes makes the whitening reaction work best.Less frustration, better results from each wash, and fewer repeat cycles
The right role for each itemBaking soda gets rid of smells and softens things, oxygen bleach gets rid of deep stains, and detergent cleans everything.A simple, effective routine that makes kitchen textiles last longer
