how does hot salty water remove the stains from grubby socks or coffee stains from fabric?

Question

It is said that if you soak grubby socks or coffee stained fabric in hot salty water for a few hours it will remove the stain. this is said to be a natural alternative to bleaches etc. so what is the chemistry behind this?

Answer 1

Salty water contains NaCl which is present in the dissociated form as Na+ and Cl-. The Chloride ions are responsible for the bleaching action.