How can I keep whites white?
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This may help you with your situation. https://www.pinterest.com/explore/dingy-whites/
there is an agent called
'blueing' it's meant to brighten whites. works well for my gotta be white work uniforms. do follow instructions and dilute in a bucket, not the washing machine.
My Grandmother used to boil some of her kitchen towels, but I can't remember what she put in the water. Bleach, vinegar...if anyone knows, please share the secret.
I use a 1/4 bottle of hydrogen peroxide with my whites. Bleach tends to damage fabric over time and makes whites dingy. Front load washers have gotten a lot of bad reviews. Since they use less water washing is different than a top load washer. They also require more maintenance and proper cleaning.
I agree with William that front loaders do not seem to do as good of a job. I don't think the issue is the washing or additives as much as the machine.
Do you keep whites separate from colours?
If you don't then this is what you need to do.
You may also need to clean under the rubber seal around the opening, as it can get grimy, then run a bleach rinse cycle through the whole machine. Wipe with a dry cloth and leave the door open to fully dry.
I wash whites separately. I use a homemade laundry detergent, or in a pinch, Dreft, or a "free and clear" detergent. Then add a couple heaping tablespoons of baking soda. Then toss in whites. In the fabric softener cup, I use white vinegar. Works like a charm. The baking soda can also be used in "colored clothes" wash too - brightens up the laundry without bleaching. In the dryer, I use "felted wool dryer balls" - sold on Amazon if you are unable to find them locally. Far less chemicals, better for your skin too. Less chemicals in the wash = less pollution to the environment.
Thank you everyone so much for taking your time to respond. My machine is less than3 yrs old and I wipe the seal dry every time I finish and the door is left open right near a vent so I don't believe that is the current problem. I really feel these front loading machines do an inferior job in a lot of ways. They do not save water because things have to be rewashed and I have always added the second rinse. I will never buy another one!! I have never added colours to a white load. I am going to try baking soda in the detergent and the vinegar in the rinse cup as they are the easiest on the environment. If that fails I may try hydrogen peroxide but not sure of its toxicity so would want to research that first. I stopped using chlorine bleach in the 80's (no one should be breathing that!). I buy everything in the unscented version. Most of you sound very conscientious about using environmentally friendly products so kudos to you!! Once again, my sincere thanks to all of you for your time and your suggestions.
I love using Vinegar and baking soda- its amazing how many uses they have, good luck!!!
What washing solution do you use, I use Ariel bio-logical. My whites are always white and clean first time.
I started using oxy-clean and I am amazed at what it can do! It will whiten whites, safe for colours, it is the only thing that works to remove sweat stains (I have yet to come across a stain it won't remove) I have used it to clean my cutlery (just the daily stuff not silver) and other jobs around the house
One thing I did notice with front loaders is stagnant water -I had to leave the door open, when not in use, so that it would dry out properly. Otherwise it would stink after a day or two and maybe that can effect the brightness of your wash items (?)
Washing vinegar in your laundry aisle. It's amazing how clean everything gets wit this stuff!!
Why are we all tolerating these front door washErs when they are what is causing all the above problems! I cannot wait until I can get rid of my high priced name brand useless machine! How do we effectively insist on a better machine instead of all of the above responses?ladies, women, men, what can we do?
Have you tried the RIT white "dye"? I have it sitting in my drawer and have not used it but it made sense to me. I hate grey/ white or beige/white whites!!
has anyone tried this? let me know.
i whole heartedly agree! I wish I had stuck to my guns and not purchased my fancy red set of washer. Dryer as I did. ( see above ggpeppers response). You were right, Naomie. The rest of you who are shopping,please listen to Naomie . Do not fall for the front door type or you will be a slave to the after washing dry it up game!
I have to say that I loved my front loading machines -they did a great job, and used less water , energy, and , soap than the top loaders (also very gentle on clothes) :)
I use vinegar as a soak and rinse for my white towels with regular laundry detergent. I also use vinegar as a fabric softer. Does a great job and a lot cheaper than dryer sheets, which , btw, can make your fabrics flammable.
When I launder our whites I use detergent, bleach, and bluing. The bluing is what keeps them looking very white!
I second the blueing....my white uniforms tend to get orange with the iron content of the local water supply. the blueing keep them white.
This is ggpepper again. Since some women went to Washing - ton to. Express themselves, I move to go to GE and other front loading washer manufacturers and tell them how we feel! This is really a big fraud the THEY have perpetuated on us! Anyone have any idea how to proceed?
It's not your machines fault, use a Vinegar to clean your washer it could have detergent build up this is what causes your whites to be dingy looking, and also use a vinegar rinse to your laundry one cup should do it, if that don't help then I would suggest using a quarter of a cup of dishwasher detergent along with your laundry detergent this stuff always makes clothes whiter
My daughter changed from a front load washer to top load (she is a clean freak so yes she cleaned her washer often) However, with the new top loader she is finding soap still on her clothes after the final rinse, and has noticed the some of the clothes float on top of the water in the machine and never immerse. She has read the book and followed the directions and asked others to no avail. They are returning this machine, not sure if you can mention brand names on this forum, but it begins with S.....g. Her new top load washer does not have an agitator, so works similar to the front loaders. Can you still buy a new washing machine with an agitator?
Too many people are having problems with the new machines that never had problems before, so I believe it is machines.
Oh sorry this was about getting whites, white. But if the machine is not doing its job properly it will be ongoing battle. Many good suggestions already posted.
They do still make top loading washers with agitators. A neighbor that had a machine like your daughters told me that everything comes out wrinkled so I looked for the traditional with an agitator when I replaced my washer.
I bought one without an agitator. Got rid of it. Went and bought a cheap o s with an agitator at lowes. Still not as good as my old one that lasted 30 years but I would say you have to have the agitator.
i use borax to help with all my laundry. I have well water
Use powdered BIZ. Read directions. If I have a bad spot on white clothing I clothing in a large plastic container ...just cover with water & sprinkly generously with the powdered BIZ & set in the sun for several hours or more. It whitens .everything & does not harm clothing like bleach does.
As a Nurse, when my whites get dingy, I use RIT Color Remover.
the new He washing machines do not clean very well. My 34 year old Maytag basic washing machine is hooked up in the basement for occasional use and I am glad to have it.
Stop using fabric softener...us white vinegar in the rinse cycle instead. Also, you may be using to much detergent. Switch to something that is formulated for front loading machines. Adding an additional rinse cycle is a great idea.
The front loaders need less detergent to get clothes clean. Try using way less detergent, if there is any soap left in your clothes they will look gray. Maybe try running a load of whites with out any detergent and see if you are still seeing suds. If you still see suds everything is not getting rinsed out.
I LOVE all the ideas here. This is one discussion thread I really need to read
Do you have hard water? Hard water will make whites dingy. Bleach doesn't help. vinegar helps and so does the powdered arm
and hammer/laundry booster super washing soda.
Problem of whites going gray is because lint from color clothing is in your washer present even you rinse few times. You will have to wash your easher every time you have use to wash your colors ! In Europe ( where I am pretty often ) they are selling color trapping sheets. Each time you wash your clothes you drop one or two sheyes regardles if this is color or white clothing . That way I do not have problems with lint flowing in the washer and my clothing is looking great ! White is white and colors is not bleeding. I just hope one day our distributor will order those from Europe for e.g. From Germany 🇩🇪, Austria 🇦🇹 , Poland 🇵🇱 or maybe we can develop and patent one of ours ?!
if you want to have white extra white I was using Hydrogen Peroxide 6% or higher I hink you can buy at Sally Beau Supply 10 or higher with Ammonia you should be able to find at the Walmart or wherever they sale cleaning supplies. And ad to your wash ! Works magnificent!
Try rinsing two times. Sometimes soap is left in the article and makes them dingy over time.
Same here, using bleach for my whites but soon I will have a new Samsung with top loading and an agitator. Hanging your clothes outside on the line and the sun ,will bleach them.
Have the same problem, if you can hang outside in sun that helps. I can't - I live in a condo. I use Mrs. Stewarts Liquid Bluing from Amazon. Grandmother use to use it.
Jane
If you simply start using vinegar instead of regular fabric softener, I believe you will see a huge difference in the dull white fabrics. Big improvement!