The white washing hacks mums swear by for making their sheets 'brighter'

Keeping any white item white or restoring it to that colour is perhaps the most frustrating cleaning dilemma.

One woman took her search for answers on brightening white sheets to the Facebook group Mums Who Clean, and received more than 100 tips and comments from members.

"How to wash white sheet to make even whiter? If I use vinegar, where and when to pour it in washing machine?" she asked.

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The cleaning fans' hacks ranged from something as natural, free and simple as sunlight, to strip washing and using specific products.

Many recommended either Napisan Vanish or Aldi Di San, products which typically include sodium percarbonate (oxygen bleach). Some use these in hot water while others give them a soak in the product first.

"I soak in Vanish for 24 hours, then line dry in full sun after washing," one said.

"When washing white sheets, towels and socks - I use normal detergent and Sard / Di-San soaker for whites. I pause the cycle half way for around 4 hours to soak. All my whites stay white and bright this way," a member commented.

Washing soda was another popular choice for keeping white washing white. This product can be found at Coles and Woolworths for $5 and is called Lectric Washing Soda.

"I use Lectric soda – $5 at coles. My whites have never been brighter," a woman wrote.

One said they put a quarter cup of Lectric soda in the wash with a laundry detergent pod along with Napisan Vanish in the top dispenser of their washing machine. They also spray any marks on sheets with Aldi Di San before washing.

Then they "Wash on a daily cotton 40 degrees cycle, hang in the sun. **Warning you will need sunglasses to look at your sheets in the sun, bright white every time," she added.

Other suggestions included using a Bluing product, which makes yellowed whites look whiter by counteracting the colour with a blue pigment, and Dr Beckmann's Glowhite Ultra sachets.

As for the original question about where to put vinegar during a washing cycle, if you want to use it to help brighten clothes then it is best to add during the rinse cycle. If you're using it as a fabric softener alternative then you can add it to the fabric softener compartment at the start of a wash.

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Another pantry cupboard laundry hack for whites is bicarb/baking soda.

"Bi carb with the detergent, 2 tablespoons. Vinegar in the rinse cycle," a Mums Who Clean member said.

For best results with laundry boosters like baking soda, washing soda and oxygen bleach, dissolve them in warm water before adding to the wash. This is particularly important for oxygen bleach as the hot water activates the product and breaks it down into sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide.

But remember to never mix vinegar with any bleach product as it creates a toxic gas, so keep that in mind before adding laundry boosters with a load of washing.