It's no secret that light-colored things tend to get dirty quickly. White color literally attracts dirt, yellow and greasy stains, especially for children's clothes. You have to constantly struggle with this, and over time, after several washes, almost new linen turns into unusable rags. There are several proven ways to wash white clothes and preserve their original appearance.
Basic rules and preparation
Before we talk about how to wash white linen, you need to know a few simple rules that will help you avoid making serious mistakes in the future. First of all, you should not allow light-colored laundry to be washed together with gray, dark or colored items. It must be washed separately! In addition, light-colored clothes will need to be separated by type of fabric, since there are different standards for washing different materials. They are processed in water of different temperatures and the presence of different washing and bleaching agents.
Another important factor to remember is to never immerse dirty laundry in boiling water. This will cause the stains to penetrate even deeper into the fabric and will be very difficult to remove without damaging its structure. If the laundry is too dirty, then before washing it must be soaked and left for several hours. At the same time, bleaches, stain removers and washing powder are added to a bowl of cold water.
For washing in hard water, it is recommended to use softening agents such as Domol or Calgon or powders containing similar components. When washing by hand, you can add regular baking soda.
Using various bleaches, you need to know what things can be bleached with one or another product. For example, linen and cotton fabrics can be washed using bleach or bleaching agents based on it. Other materials will require milder products.
If white washing is carried out in a machine, it is worth periodically diagnosing it. Heating elements may form thick scale and drain hoses may become clogged. This will disrupt the proper operation of the machine and the rinsing mode. Subsequently, the quality of washing will be unsatisfactory.
Store funds
Supermarket shelves are filled with all sorts of products whose advertisements promise that they can be used to whiten things quickly and without damaging fabrics. It's easy to get lost in the diversity. How to make the right choice? All store-bought products can be divided into three categories, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
When washing white items in the washing machine, it is convenient to use powder bleaches
Optical brighteners
Actually, bleaching does not occur during washing. Such means only create the appearance of whiteness. The secret is that the composition contains reflective components, which, when applied to the fabric, make it visually lighter. By the way, such bleaches are a component of many expensive washing powders.
Chlorine bleaches
Our grandmothers also used these tools. Their undoubted advantage is their low cost. At the same time, bleach is quite effective and also disinfects things. But it also has its disadvantages. This bleach has a destructive effect on the structure of the fabric. Using bleach just a few times can ruin the item, because the threads in the fabric first become thinner and then completely break. Therefore, before bleaching a white blouse in this way, you should think a hundred times.
You cannot bleach woolen items or silk fabric with white. The mentioned bleaches are also contraindicated for use in an automatic machine, so washing is done by hand, which becomes a common cause of allergic rashes on the skin of the hands.
Chlorine bleaches have both advantages and disadvantages
Oxygen bleaches
This bleach is a modern product that will help whiten things at home. The main advantage is that there are no restrictions on the type of fabric, that is, you can bleach both a synthetic T-shirt and old tulle if it has turned gray. By the way, you can even find oxygen bleaches for colored items in stores. They will not only get rid of unnecessary stains, but also return the color to your favorite T-shirt or sweater. They can also be used in machine wash.
How to boil and soak light-colored fabrics
Although the digestion process has long been outdated, many housewives still use it. If you do everything correctly, then after time the effect will be noticeable. To do this, you must follow the following rules:
- The laundry container should be selected with the calculation of 1 kg of dry laundry per 10 liters of water.
- Mix your preferred detergent in water - powder, whiteness or soap.
- Place dirty clothes into the prepared solution and put on fire.
- As soon as the liquid boils, it is better to lower the temperature a little so that the soap suds do not pour out of the top, and the liquid continues to boil.
- The process can take from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the product used.
Before washing or boiling, the laundry is soaked in the following solutions:
- A piece of grated laundry soap and a tablespoon of soda per 10 liters of water.
- 1 kg of soda and a liter of Whiteness are dissolved in 20 liters of water.
- A piece of crushed soap, 200 grams of soda and 20 ml of ammonia and peroxide per 20 liters of liquid.
Important! When boiling, things should be placed immediately, and not after the water begins to boil.
How to remove yellowed stains from clothes
Yellow spots appear not only from contamination during wear, but also from improper washing and long-term storage of white items. Fresh yellowed areas are treated:
- laundry soap;
- hydrogen peroxide - soak in detergent, then wipe off dirt with peroxide;
- aspirin – 2 tablets per tablespoon, rub the mixture after soaking.
Old stains on white things are dealt with using the following methods:
- oxalic acid – a teaspoon per glass of water;
- citric acid – 2 teaspoons per 200 milliliters;
- treat the yellowing with gasoline, then with ammonia.
Natural white fabrics can be boiled in bleach (Persol).
Washing clothes automatically
Regardless of how the laundry is washed - in a washing machine or by hand, there are separate temperature conditions for each fabric and type of soiling:
- Lightly soiled items are usually washed at a low temperature of 40 degrees.
- For more significant contamination in the form of stains and yellowness, wash at a temperature of 60 degrees.
- 95 degrees is the water temperature for heavily soiled laundry made from cotton, linen or calico.
Regardless of the quality and type of fabric, over time, white items turn yellow or gray. To return clothes to their former whiteness, there is an effective and proven method. To do this you will need 200 grams of any powder and 2 tbsp. l. Persalts. The components are mixed and sent to the powder container found in automatic washing machines. The water should be heated to a temperature of 95 degrees.
How to properly wash by hand?
To wash by hand, you need to prepare a large basin and detergent.
Procedure:
- Fill a basin with water at a temperature suitable for washing.
Dilute the detergent.- If necessary, especially dirty areas can be soaped with laundry soap.
- Soak things. This will make it easier to remove dirt later. Soaking time can be from 15-30 minutes for delicate clothes and up to 4 hours when washing cotton bed linen and waffle towels.
- If after soaking the water becomes dirty, it must be replaced and the washing powder or gel dissolved in it again.
- Wash by hand. Stained areas will be easier to clean if you gently rub them with a brush.
- Rinse things by changing the water.
Features of hand washing
There is one proven way to wash white linen so that it is snow-white - this is pre-soaking. In addition, hand washing at 95 degrees is not the best option. The water is too hot for this and you can easily get burned.
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The optimal temperature at which you can wash things by hand is 40 degrees. The following methods are usually used for this:
- Salt with peroxide and alcohol are ideal for bleaching wool and silk clothes. To prepare the mixture you will need 9 tbsp. l. regular table salt, which must be mixed with 3 tbsp. l. hydrogen peroxide, the same amount of ammonia and washing powder, calculating the volume of water to be 12-20 liters. The water should be heated to a temperature of 40 degrees. Dirty laundry is placed in a container with this liquid, wrung out and left for 5 hours. After the time has expired, wash by hand. If necessary, you can add a little bleach.
- Laundry soap is an excellent tool for removing yellowness, stains and washing grayed items. The laundry is pre-soaked in cold water and thoroughly rubbed with a bar of soap. Leave for 3 hours, then squeeze well and wash at 40 degrees. Can be washed either by hand or in a washing machine.
Note! Items made from thin fabrics bleach well after the first wash, but thicker items may require a second bleaching procedure.
Ironing
After washing, iron natural fabrics, especially children's clothing and bedding.
Iron clothes
To make ironing easier or avoid ironing, place a few ice cubes in the washing drum. Turn on the dryer. Melted ice will have the same effect as a double boiler.
Detergents for washing white fabrics
Nowadays it is difficult to do without the use of chemicals. Although they are unsafe, and many try to do without them, they wash well. Among them the following funds can be distinguished:
- Whiteness is a fairly effective and aggressive agent, but it must be used with extreme caution. Otherwise, things may be damaged. It copes well with yellow spots and grayness, even if it is added to the drum of the washing machine.
- Domestos is a modern cleaning product that is often used for soaking or machine washing.
- Dishwashing detergent will remove grease or sweat stains. They are less aggressive, so it is advisable to use them for hand washing. In automatic mode, liquid is added directly to the powder container.
Folk remedies for whitening white things:
- A solution of potassium permanganate with laundry soap. For 10 liters of water dilute 2 tbsp. l. facilities. Then the laundry that needs washing is soaked, rubbed with a bar of soap and placed in the solution for 3 hours, after which it is taken out and washed in the usual way.
- Ammonia is an effective bleaching agent, but you should not abuse it. With its help, yellowness and grayness are perfectly removed from white things. There are two options for using it. The first is to add hydrogen peroxide. The recipe is as follows: to 5 liters of water at a temperature of 40-70 degrees, add equal parts of both components in a dosage of 2 tbsp. l. Things are soaked for half an hour in this mixture, and then washed using the usual method. In the second case, instead of peroxide, add 6 tbsp. l. salt or soda.
- Laundry soap is an easy-to-use, practical and safe product. Its use consists of thoroughly soaping soaked laundry, which after two hours of exposure is washed using the usual method.
- Starch has been used for rinsing light-colored laundry since ancient times. Recipe - 2 tbsp. l. starch per 5 liters of water.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that all methods are effective, but are not suitable for all types of fabric. How to wash white clothes and what products to use is up to the housewife to decide. As for washing powders and other household chemicals, they need to be used wisely and it is better to avoid their use when washing by hand.
