Are Eggshells Really The Secret To Brighter Whites In The Laundry?

Keeping our whitest whites free of stains is just one part of our ongoing laundry struggle, but how do you keep them looking as bright as the day you bought them? While many resort to bleach to whiten their clothes in the laundry, others are a bit weary about using the harsh product for their favorite clothes. What if we told you that the solution to this issue may actually be in your refrigerator? Eggshells have many uses beyond just keeping your eggs safe. Eggs can be used as garden mulch, to make homemade toothpaste, and importantly for our laundry, to brighten our whites.

According to the National Library of Medicine, eggshells have a high concentration of calcium carbonate, a common source used in natural cleaning products. Calcium carbonate also mirrors the effects of bleach by brightening. Because of an eggshell's ability to clean without chemicals, and the added bonus of making things brighter and removing stains, they are safe and effective to use in your laundry, especially if you hope to go the more natural route in your cleaning.

Before you go cracking eggs and throwing the shells into your washing machine, you'll want to learn how to do it correctly. While eggshells have been proven to work similarly to bleach, unfortunately, using them is not as simple. You'll need to wash and fully dry the eggshells before grinding them as best you can into a small, fine powder. Once the eggshells are ground up, you'll want to mix them with 1 cup of water and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Take half a cup of that mixed solution and add it to your regular laundry detergent before starting a wash.

If this process feels a bit too labor-intensive, you can also put the eggshells into a woven or mesh bag along with lemon slices and throw that into your washing machine with your white laundry. This method may be better suited for targeting stains or brightening one piece of clothing by letting the bag of eggshells and lemons soak in a bowl, as this TikToker demonstrates.

Beyond being more work, there are other reasons you may avoid this eggshell hack for your next load of laundry. Eggshells can be quite messy, whether you are putting them in a bag or grinding them up, and the clean-up may not be worth the struggle. Similarly, some fabrics may respond negatively to the calcium carbonate and lemon juice mixture and it can, in turn, ruin your clothes. Also, keep in mind that, while it has been proven that eggshells can act as an alternative for cleaning and whitening laundry, they may not give you the results you hoped for.

At the same time, eliminating bleach from your routine can make a big difference in going more natural and eco-friendly. Bleach is a dangerous product and if you have little kids or pets, you may avoid storing it in your home. Eggshells are not only inexpensive — in fact, they are basically free if you are already buying eggs to cook with! — they can also be used for other things, like disinfecting your countertops or cleaning your grime-filled pots and pans. So the next time you make breakfast, think twice before throwing out the shells — they may just be your new favorite laundry product.