Grassing (textiles)

The grassing method has been long been used in Europe to bleach linen and cotton based fabrics.

[1] The linens were laid out on the grass for over seven days after boiling with the ''lyes of ashes and rinsing''.

Bleachfields were common in and around the mill towns during the British Industrial Revolution[5] With the discovery of Chlorine in the late 18th century, chemical bleaching took over from grassing, as it was quicker and could be done indoors.

When the bond breaks, it gives rise to very reactive oxygen specie, which is the active agent of the bleach.

Around sixty percent of the world's hydrogen peroxide is used in chemical bleaching of textiles and wood pulp.