Does anyone have ideas how to get dingy whites bright white again? So many of my white t-shirts are starting to look off-white or light tan. I would like an easy way to get them back to the white white color.
jho from Chassell
I love the generic oxygen cleaners at the dollar stores. The well known name brand is OxiClean.
Pre-soak the white clothes over night, and I think you will see a difference.
(10/21/2008)
By Marjorie
I use Oxiclean and put a load in the dryer and let them soak for several hours in it and then run them through a regular wash. (10/21/2008)
By Sherry
Along with using oxiclean, you might try to add some old fashioned Mrs. Stewart's laundry bluing to the rinse water. Dilute a few drops of bluing in 1 to 2 quarts of cold water and add to your wash water or rinse water. The water should appear a light sky blue color. Old fashioned? Yes, but it works. (10/21/2008)
By suzin
To prevent dinginess, be sure that you wash whites separately from colored things. Even though things are colorfast, washing colored articles with whites will result in the whites being dingy. Another reason for dinginess is washing whites with items that are heavily soiled. Less often, whites are "yellowed" from the type of water you have.
If your whites are solidly white, you can bleach them. If you have colored areas, such as colored sleeves or printing you do not want to use bleach as it will fade them out.
Another product for making whites bright is bluing. It is an old-fashioned product, found in the laundry aisle, Mrs. Stewart's Bluing being the most common brand. You add it to the rinse water. This is especially useful if your whites are dull because of the type of water that you have as opposed to be washed with dark colored garments. (10/21/2008)
By Louise B.
Fill washer with hottest water you have. Add 1 cup Clorox, 1 cup dishwasher compound, and 1 cup of powder laundry detergent. Soak overnight, was as usual next day. Works great! (10/21/2008)
By my secret
My sister once sent me an article on the benefits of peroxide. One surprising use for this inexpensive household product is as a laundry whitener. I slosh about half a cup (more or less) in each wash. A bottle of peroxide costs less than a dollar and, if laundry were all you used it for, could whiten perhaps 15 or 20 loads. (Sorry, I never counted.) (10/21/2008)
I got this tip from somewhere (maybe this site, I can't remember for sure) to add a tablet of dishwasher detergent to the whites. When I bought it, my store only had the generic regular, or for about 50 cents more the Cascade brand with Dawn, (and it had more in it) so I bought that. I add one tablet and it had really made a big difference in mine (and I have to use the laundromat)! Try it. (10/21/2008)
By Jana
RIT brand dye has an actual whitening packet. It is inexpensive, and works great! (10/22/2008)
By Sherry T
I bleach my whites once in a while and hang them in the sun to dry. It works great with tennis shoes, too. I wash them in the washer and lay them out in the sun. Hope you have a place to hang things. Good luck. (10/23/2008)
By Joy
Thanks for all the great feedback. I tried the LA's Totally Awesome Power Oxygen Base cleaner from the Dollar Tree. It is a 16 ounce powder for one dollar (obviously). The scoop size is two tablespoons and there are 15 scoops total. The cost is .07 per scoop (that includes the tax on the dollar). My white t-shirts were so dingy they looked tan. I put very hot water and tried one scoop, which didn't seem to do anything so I did it again and put three scoops (why I didn't try two scoops I don't know, but I wanted it to work for sure, therefore the three). It worked magically. I'm so excited that I'm soaking every white thing I have in my house. Once I get everything white I will use half a scoop to each wash and see if that helps, if not I will use the whole scoop. (10/24/2008)
By judy
My experience with white t-shirts are to wash them in warm water with oxiclean and your laundry soap, preferably a name brand, I use Purex Free and Clear because I have allergies along with Oxiclean free. Good luck.
(10/24/2008)
By Charlotte
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