How to Keep White Socks White—Without Using Bleach

White socks fresh from the store have that gorgeous, pristine white—but as we all know, all too soon the bottoms of the socks (and perhaps the whole rest of it, too) turn a dingy gray. Fortunately, there are things you can do to keep your white socks white and in that spotless, just-from-the-store state.

Try these expert tips to help prevent your socks from getting dirty in the first place—and to restore stained socks to crisp white.

How to Prevent Socks From Getting Dingy

As we all know, it’s much easier to avoid getting stains and dirt on your socks in the first place. Try these tips to keep your white socks white from the start.

Keep your home’s floors clean

The biggest culprit in making your socks dingy has nothing to do with the socks or your laundry routine—it’s your floor, says cleaning expert Becky Rapinchuk of CLEAN MAMA. Give your floors regular vacuuming and washing to remove dirt, and consider creating a no-shoes rule for your house to minimize the amount of dirt tracked in on your shoes (and picked up by your socks).

Separate your laundry

Even a single black t-shirt or pair of jeans washed in with your socks will transfer a little dye to your white socks. And if you do that load after load, inevitably your dark clothes will make the color of your socks a bit grayer and more dingy. Wash your socks in a load with only other white items to help ensure that they don’t absorb color.

Wear slippers over your socks

Anything you can do to minimize your socks’ contact with the floor will help reduce the amount of dirt they pick up, Rapinchuk says. So break out the slippers to slide over your socks.

Don’t wear your socks outside

This probably goes without saying, but wearing your white socks outside is a guarantee that they’re going to get dark spots.

How to Wash White Socks to Keep Them White—Without Using Bleach

Bleach is an easy way to get stains out of white clothing and fabric. But bleaching your socks—especially if you do it regularly—can weaken the fabric and even leave uneven white and dark spots on your clothes. And don’t forget that bleach is a potent cleaner that can cause eye and skin irritation and can be dangerous or even deadly if mixed with ammonia or other household chemicals.

There are safer laundry tactics you can try to make cleaning white socks successful without resorting to bleach.

Turn socks right side out

The biggest tip for ensuring your white socks stay white is simply turning them right side out before you wash them, Rapinchuk says. While generally, we recommend washing socks inside out (the better to get at the bacteria, sweat, and other dirt from your feet inside the sock), if you’re very concerned about keeping your socks white, right side out is the way to go.

Soak in an oxygen whitener

Oxygen whiteners are a bleach alternative that can help lift away dirt without the harshness of bleach, Rapinchuk says. When your socks really need a deep clean, pop them into a pail with hot water and oxygen whitener—or run them at the same temperature in a soak setting on your washing machine.

Give your socks room to move

Stuffing socks into a large laundry load—especially one with pants and other clothing items that can tangle around and trap your socks—is a one-way ticket to stained socks. (In fact, none of your laundry appreciates being stuffed in without room to move, so ensure that you don’t overstuff your laundry.) Wash your socks in a smaller load so there’s plenty of room for them to be agitated and rinsed, Rapinchuk says.

Try a warm or hot wash setting for your socks

Colder cycles are great for more delicate (and less dirty) clothes, but for something you really want to get clean, warm up the water. Hotter water temperatures can make it easier for your washing machine to lift out the bacteria and other microbes in your socks—helping make them less stinky and less soiled, too.