Keep your linens and clothing as white as the day you bought them.
Are your whites starting to look a little grey or yellow? Keeping whites white is a difficult part of washing laundry.
Below are a few simple tricks to help keep white clothes looking bright.
• Separate your colors
The biggest mistake you can make is not separating your laundry loads. Dark colors and even light colors can transfer onto whites. Make a pile for clothes that are white only- no expectations.
• Overloading Your Washer
Whether you have a front load or top load washing machine you should never fill the tub to the top. When you overload your machine, there isn’t enough room for the detergent to interact with soils and give optimal cleaning performance.
• Detergent
We’re all guilty- the more detergent we use the cleaner we think our clothes will be. Truth is that isn’t the case at all. Overusing detergent and fabric softeners causing a residue build up on clothing. This build up acts like a magnet attacking dirt.
• Dry clothes on low heat
Always follow the drying directions on the label. A higher heat temperature than needed can singe and even scorch fabrics causing them to appear yellow.
• Bleach on Cotton Fabrics
When we think of bleach we think it will automatically whiten anything but that’s not the case at all. Chlorine bleach can be very damaging to some fabrics. Bleach should be used for cotton socks, underwear and towels, but isn’t great for poly-blends. Always make sure to read the bottle. If not used correctly on the right fabric- it can turn whites yellow or grey.
• Lemon Juice
Who would have thought but lemon juice is a natural bleaching agent and works great on white clothes. Use the hottest water safest for the fabric, mix in half a cup of lemon juice, soak the clothes for at least an hour or overnight and then wash as usual.
What additional whitening tips do you have?