Get Whites White
Over time, clothes inevitably become soiled and worn, which usually results in the owner having to thoroughly clean, throw away or donate the articles. This is especially true with whites as they are prone to yellowing and showing stains prominently. Even badly stained whites, however, can generally be salvaged. Read the following article to learn how to get whites white and save yourself from losing clothing that can still be worn.
Steps
- Wash your whites regularly.
- The less time stains have to set, the less stubborn they will be to remove. This especially applies to yellow stains under the armpits from perspiration and deodorant.
- Apply stain treatment to any discoloration prior to washing.
- Add diluted bleach to your regular wash and follow the proportions of bleach to water on the bleach bottle.
- Too much bleach can actually damage or yellow your whites, so measure the bleach and water carefully.
- Add diluted bleach 5 minutes after your washing cycle has started.
- Many detergents have stain-removing enzymes that take several minutes to activate and bleach will cease this reaction. Don't add the bleach too late as it needs at least 5 minutes to activate in the wash cycle.
- Add 1/2 cup of baking soda along with the detergent and bleach in your regular wash.
- When you use baking soda to get whites white, reduce the amount of bleach by half.
- Add distilled white vinegar (1/2 cup to 1 cup) along with the detergent in your regular wash.
- The vinegar scent will be present when the clothes are wet but will fade and dissipate as the clothes dry.
- Add hydrogen peroxide (1/2 cup) along with the detergent in your regular wash.
- Use 3% solution readily available from grocery stores or drug stores.
- Add dishwashing detergent (1/4 cup) along with the detergent in your regular wash.
- If you want the most environmentally friendly option, make sure that the dishwashing detergent does not contain phosphate or chlorine.
- Add lemon juice (1/4 cup to 1/2 cup) along with the detergent in your regular wash.
- Combine 1/2 cup of lemon juice with 1 gallon (about 3.7 liters) of very hot water.
- Soak socks or other heavily soiled whites in the solution for about 30 minutes.
- Soak overnight to whiten the laundry more thoroughly.
- Air dry your clothes in the sun as the sun acts as a natural whitener, and the air leaves the clothes smelling fresh and clean.
Tips
- Many whitening agents (baking soda, lemon juice and others) can be used as pre-treatment spot removers or as general whiteners in the wash cycle.
- Chlorine bleach can whiten whites in either hot or cold water, but for the greatest results in conjunction with your laundry detergent, use hot water.
Warnings
- Be careful not to combine ammonia and bleach. The combination of these two results in strong, toxic fumes. As a general rule, whenever cleaning with chemicals, make sure it's in a well ventilated area.
- Baking soda, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide and other whitening agents should not be combined together. They work at their maximum capacity when simply combined with normal detergent.
Things You'll Need
- Detergent
- Bleach
- Water
- Baking soda
- Lemon juice
- Distilled white vinegar
- Hydrogen peroxide (3 percent)
- Dishwashing detergent
- Outdoor clothes line
