The old-fashioned laundry trick Southerners still swear by for whiter whites

A couple of drops keep your whites crisp and fresh.

When I first moved out of my parents’ house, I thought white linen bedding was the height of sophistication—crisp, classic, like staying at a fancy hotel. But it didn’t take long for my pristine set to turn dingy and dull, no matter how many hot washes or scrubs with Fels-Naptha I tried. 

My grandmother never had that problem. Her sheets and towels were always brilliantly white, and she swore by a little bottle with a stern-faced lady on the label: Mrs. Stewart’s Bluing.

Just a few drops of that mysterious blue liquid went into every white load, and somehow everything came out looking crisper, brighter, and newer than before. Long before bleach pens and whitening sheets, Southerners relied on “bluing” to keep their linens, lace, and Sunday best looking fresh.

Related: 5 Old-School Laundry Habits You Need To Break

What Is Bluing?

Originally made from indigo, cobalt, or synthetic aquamarine pigment, bluing is a laundry whitening agent. It doesn’t lift stains like bleach, and it won’t dye your clothes—though it does turn the wash water sky blue. Instead, through the magic of color theory, a couple of drops offset the yellow or gray tones that make white fabrics look dull over time.

Bluing has been used for centuries, from hand-washed linens in Europe to laundry rooms across the American South. In fact, the product’s popularity soared in the Victorian era, when the royal laundress credited her perfectly bright linens to the little blue additive, turning it into a household must-have.

Today, laundry bluing still uses blue iron pigment—usually Prussian blue or synthetic ultramarine—mixed with a bit of sodium chloride to help it disperse evenly in the wash. The result is a faint tint that clings just enough to fabrics to make whites look brighter, without ever leaving a trace of blue behind.

If you’ve been using bleach to keep your whites bright, you’re not alone. Bluing lost its dominance when chemical detergents and optical brighteners emerged in the mid-20th century. But bleach and bluing serve very different purposes—while bleach breaks down stains, it also weakens fabric fibers over time. Bluing, on the other hand, restores the illusion of crisp whiteness without any damage, which might be why it’s quietly making a comeback.

Related: 8 Things To Toss From Your Laundry Room Immediately

How Bluing Works

If you’ve ever stood in the paint aisle trying to decide between shades of “white,” you already know that white isn’t one single color. It often carries subtle undertones—some warmer and yellow, others cooler and gray. Over time, repeated washing, detergent residue, and even sunlight shift fabrics toward those duller tones.

Here’s where color theory comes in: On the color wheel, blue neutralizes yellow. By adding a trace of blue pigment, bluing counteracts the yellowing that naturally occurs in white fabric, making it appear cleaner and brighter to the eye. When white clothes are first manufactured, they often have a similar optical brightener applied, but it fades with each wash. A few drops of bluing simply reintroduce what was lost—restoring that crisp, fresh-out-of-the-box look to your whites.

Related: How To Use Vinegar In Laundry

How To Use It

Start by mixing 1/4 teaspoon of bluing with one quart of cold water—enough for a standard load of laundry. This pre-mixing step is important: it helps dilute the bluing so it disperses evenly and doesn’t spot your fabrics. The water should be a pale sky blue, not navy or cobalt.

Set your laundry for cold or lukewarm water (never hot), since heat can destabilize the pigment and reduce its whitening effect.

If you have a top-loading machine, pour the diluted bluing mixture into the washer during the final rinse cycle, making sure it’s evenly distributed. For a front-loading or high-efficiency machine, where the door locks during the wash, you can add the bluing to the fabric softener dispenser so it releases at the right time.

A little goes a long way—overdo it and you may end up with a faint blue tint on your clothes. But when used sparingly, it leaves whites looking crisp, fresh, and newly washed every time.

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Read the original article on Southern Living