The Bleaching Power of the Sun

When my children were infants, I would wash two loads of diapers every week. But instead of tossing them in the dryer, I'd hang them out on the clothes line for the day, where the sun bleached out the stains and left the cotton smelling sweet and fresh.

The sun not only whitened our diapers and tee shirts, but left all our clothes smelling clean. My mother used to tell me the sun was a natural disinfectant, and killed the odor causing bacteria that caused our clothes to smell. I really never quite understood exactly how that worked until recently.

The power of ultra violet radiation

You might remember from high school science class that the sun is an enormous ball of mostly helium and hydrogen gases. Inside this swirling mass of gases is a gravitational force so powerful that it squashes the hydrogen atoms together to form helium and energy. The energy produced in this nuclear furnace consists of both heat and different forms of light, such as visible light, infrared and ultra violet light, known as UVs.

The ultraviolet radiation produced by the sun is quite strong. It can break apart molecular structure and change the way color is reflected back. This photochemical change is what causes stains to disappear on soiled laundry and brighten whites. Left in the sun for several hours, the ultra violet radiation will also kill the bacteria on textiles and other household goods. This bacteria fighting quality makes sun bleaching a perfect way to disinfect & freshen old rugs, seat cushions, sleeping bags, and draperies. It even works on non-textile items such as foam, plastics, and garbage cans. Some book restorers are even harnessing the energy of the sun to bleach yellowed and dingy book pages!

The effects of too much UV exposure

Small doses of sunlight on your household goods is a natural way to clean, whiten, and disinfect. It's also an excellent solution for disinfecting and freshening up those items that can't be washed.

But too much exposure to the sun can cause a whole range of problems. Left out in the sun too long, the visible light spectrum and the heat generated by the sunlight's infrared component can ruin fabric permanently. This is why carpet and draperies fade after years of sun exposure through south and west facing windows, and exterior lawn furniture and children's yard toys eventually take on an air of slight dereliction.

It's fine to leave your seat cushions and laundry out in the sun for the day, but a few weeks of leaving an old quilt on the line can fade and damage the fibers. Delicate fabrics such as grandmother's old lace can also be damaged if dried directly in the sun. For these items, filtered sunlight is best for sun bleaching. This is done by hanging the garment beneath a tree or under a patio umbrella.

The benefits of line drying in the sun

Despite the infrared and ultraviolet light generated by the sun, line drying is still much safer on clothes than adding bleach additives to the wash or tossing them to dry in the dryer.

Chemical bleaching will cause textile fibers to break down over time and can even ruin the elastic in underwear, gym clothes and swimsuits. And, unless you wash your laundry in scalding hot water, you won't be able to kill the bacteria lurking in the fibers.

And what about the damage caused by the dryer? The heat not only shrinks your garments, but fades them over time.

Line drying gently whitens and disinfects without having to add bleach, and without shrinking your clothes. And, best of all ~ it's great for the environment and completely free.