Are your whites looking a little yellow? Here are two ways to brighten them up.

1. By Hand: Soak the garment in four inches of warm water mixed with either OxiClean Versatile  or a color-safe bleach for about 30 minutes—or until the stain disappears.

2. In the Washing Machine: Try this unusual tip, courtesy of the blog, Happy Slob’s Guide to Housecleaning. Add a half cup of non-phosphate dishwasher detergent to the load (make sure you’re washing whites only, and that the water is hot). Apparently, the dishwasher detergent leaves your whites crisp, and cleaner and brighter than plain old laundry soap does. Alas, we haven’t tried this one yet ourselves, so do proceed with caution. If you want to try it consider testing it on white dish towels or sheets first. And tell us how it turned out in the comments!

Get answers to more laundry questions here.