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Bleached White Shirt is Now Yellow

March 30, 2008

yellowed white t-shirtMy husband's white t-shirts have turned yellow from using bleach. How can I get them white again?

Karen from Dallas, TX

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Answers

By (Guest Post)
March 31, 20081 found this helpful
Best Answer

I used to work in the garment industry and know that most modern white fabrics are not made from white cotton, but from "greige" goods and are later dyed white and cannot be bleached without removing the white dye. If you check your labels before laundering, you will find very few of them that recommend bleach. Way back when (I'm dating myself here) in the fifties, they made colorfast fabrics which could be bleached no matter what color they were (except navy or black), but that seems to have gone with the nickel candy bar and the twenty-five cent quart of milk. Sigh.

 

Silver Post Medal for All Time! 288 Posts
April 2, 20081 found this helpful
Best Answer

In regards to Post By (Guest Post) (03/31/2008)
"most modern white fabrics are not made from white cotton, but from "greige" goods and are later dyed white and cannot be bleached without removing the white dye." If this is the problem, can't you just re-dye them white or another color he might like. GG Vi

 
By Mary (Guest Post)
April 6, 20081 found this helpful
Best Answer

If you live in the country, sometimes there is enough rust and iron in the water to cause a reaction to bleach in laundered clothing. I used to use Iron Out for some of the whites, but our water was so bad that I evenatually steered away from buying whites.

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Later on, an old neighbor taught me that using my conventional washer, the wringer type, was the most economical and efficient. I would fill the machine with HOT water, and then add about two tablespoons of Lye, wait for the rust and iron to surface and then skim off the gunk. I could then wash whites first followed by other clothes according to color and how grimey they were. I actually went back to buying whites again since I could get them clean.
The problem is that Lye is sometimes difficult to find in the stores and it must be treated with care, since it can be dangerous.

 
June 11, 20160 found this helpful
Best Answer

Hi, when I bleached my son's sweat shirt turned yellow but immediately I add 3 teaspoons of Bicarbonate of Soda to a hot water & dip the shirt for a few minutes! Bang on! Worked! My son's shirt is pure white now!

 
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March 30, 2008

I soaked a white shirt in a bleach solution to remove some mud and the shirt turned yellow instead. Does anyone know what I can do to turn it white again?

 
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