Sodium Percarbonate

Sodium Percarbonate. The headline: Eco-friendly bleach. Yes, really. In this instance, there IS such a thing as a free lunch. It REALLY WORKS. AKA oxygen bleach, green bleach or percarbonate of soda. It's made from soda ash and hydrogen peroxide.

You dissolve it in hot water (the heat is needed to activate it, to release the oxygen) and then put those tea stained dishcloths in the solution and watch in amazement as they whiten beautifully. They really do. And fast.

• It's an excellent alternative to chlorine bleach - it's safe, non corrosive and you can pour it down the sink without worrying about what you're putting into the water system or septic tank (in fact it's sometimes used in pond maintenance to release oxygen and clean sediments, but I'd read up on that before you throw a load in your pond).

I just wish I'd known about it sooner.

Other cleaning uses apart from as a laundry whitener:

• Disinfecting - kills bacteria, fungi and mildew
• All round household cleaner 
• Cleaning wooden items (I did the dish brush and nail brush with it - marvellous!)

Keep you SP dry and at room temperature in the perfect jar! (see pics) These are 1 kilo bags.

Here's a guide to some dilution/mixing strengths and for general purposes, one common guideline is to use 1 tablespoon per litre of hot water, which is roughly equivalent to a 15-20g/L solution

• General Cleaning/Mopping: 20-30g per litre of hot water.
• Laundry Boost (Normal Soil): 1-2 tablespoons (approx. 15-30g) per wash load, added to the drum.
• Heavy Staining/Soaking: 60g per 4 litres of warm water.
• Heavy Duty Wood/Deck Cleaning: 100-200g per 1 litre of hot water.
• Paste for Grout/Tough Stains: 3 parts sodium percarbonate to 1 part water.

Also useful:

• Active Time: Solutions remain active for 5 to 6 hours, after which they should be discarded.
• Safety: Do not store mixed solutions in a sealed container, as the oxygen release can cause pressure build-up.
• Best Use: Effective on cottons, linens, and durable synthetic whites, but should not be used on wool, silk, or leather.