The Great British Bake Off winner Nancy Birtwhistle has shared a rinse-free method to remove stains from a tea towel, and fans were stunned when they realised how easy it is. Nancy, who won the fifth series of the cooking show in 2014, is a passionate advocate for eco-friendly cleaning methods and has published a book, Clean Magic, to share some of her favourite homemade, eco-friendly cleaning products and gardening tips. In her recent Instagram clip, the beloved baker showed fans an easy way to remove stains on tea towels without using harmful chemicals.

There's no rinsing or scrubbing needed, and it only takes four simple ingredients and, more importantly, sunshine. Fans who have tested the hack themselves agreed that "it worked".

To show how it's done, the 71-year-old explained: "I've got a cloth here and no idea what these stains are. I've just taken it out of the drawer, and that's what it looked like, but I'm going to make a job of it. I'm going to add a few more [stains]."

In the clip, she added ketchup, mustard, a splash of orange juice, blackcurrant juice, some chilli sauce and some turmeric powder with water. She left the "food blobs" on the tea towel for a few hours to soak in before rinsing them off with cold water.

The residual staining remained visible after a quick rinse, and that's when Nancy used her secret cleaning ingredients, which she called "pure magic" before pouring it into a large bowl and added 600ml of cold water. The "magic" solution includes 200g of citric acid, 150ml of boiling water, 20ml of eco-friendly washing up liquid and 10 drops of essential oil.

She then dipped the tea towel in the solution and "soaked it for half an hour". After that, she hung the towel in the garden and let it dry. "Bright light and sunshine are key to remove the stains," she said. The stains can be seen fading over time and finally disappear.

She added: "It works on washed-in stains including fruit juice, wine stains, curry, tomato and soy sauce." Fans were keen to try but some commented that they don't live in a house with outdoor space.

One user asked: "I live in a small apartment with not much sunlight. Any ideas what to do in this case?" to which Nancy replied: "Sunny windowsills, it still works, though it takes a longer time."

Another shared her thoughts after trying Nancy's cleaning recipe: "I did this! My husband had to wear a white hooded robe, and it was covered in yellow stains. I had a bottle of pure magic which I poured into a bucket of cold water, soaked for 30 minutes and then hung up outside on a cloudy afternoon. It worked out really well, which was a big relief!"

A second tried to remove a betadine antiseptic stain on a quilt and said it "turned dark purple, but when I washed the quilt, the stain had gone".