White clothes are the beginning and end of our joys. They are the staple of many people’s wardrobes, the most useful garment, the cohesive piece of our outfits. But they are also the first to get stained, the first to deteriorate, the one that does not retain its color. And the passage of time hits our laundry particularly hard. You will often have had the impression that, despite everything you had to do during your laundry, one day you put on your favorite shirt and discover that it is gray or yellow. Fortunately, most discolored clothes, especially if they are white clothes, have a solution.
First of all, you need to make sure that you wash your white clothes really well, to avoid accidentally damaging them. A bad washing routine can damage your white clothes:
- Temperature: Water temperature plays a vital role in the washing process. Hot water is great for removing stains and germs, but it can also shrink, fade or damage some types of fabrics. On the other hand, cold or lukewarm water is gentler and is suitable for many delicate garments. Cold water is best for most white garments. Wash your whites in cold water (around 30°C) to preserve the fabrics and prevent them from shrinking or fading. Cold water is particularly effective if your whites only require a gentle clean and do not have any obvious stains. If you have a white garment that is stained or lightly soiled, you may want to use lukewarm water (around 30-40°C). This temperature helps to loosen stains and dirt without subjecting your garments to excessive heat. Always check the garment care labels before selecting a hotter water temperature. Never use hot water.
- Detergents: In addition to selecting the appropriate wash temperature, be sure to use a quality detergent designed for whites. These detergents are formulated to help keep whites bright and prevent colors from fading. It’s also important to use specific stain removers, and not use colored laundry stain removers on your whites, or vice versa.
- Separate the clothes: An important practice when washing whites is to separate them from colored garments, especially those that fade. Always check the care labels and follow the manufacturer’s recommendations. This will help keep your whites looking their best. If you are unsure whether a garment will match the rest of your whites, soak it in warm water in a basin to check for dyes. If the water comes out colored, avoid mixing the clothes you soaked with your whites. There are many colors in our clothes, such as cyans, lavenders, and some pinks, that can release an unexpected yellow or blue tint into the water. Even if they are light colors, be wary of this and soak them to see if they will fade. Remember, the garment label is your best advisor, if it says a press will dye, believe it. If you still have doubts, put a cloth designed to prevent the colours from mixing with the washing machine drum.
- Gentle spin: When selecting a spin cycle, choose a gentler one for your whites. Spinning faster can put unnecessary strain on your clothes and accelerate wear.
- Avoid fabric softeners: Fabric softener is a very useful tool that gives our clothes a pleasant smell, but it can also damage them over time. This is precisely why it is recommended to avoid fabric softener on your whites and instead apply white vinegar to the softener container. Your clothes will remain soft and will retain the smell of the detergent, with the added benefit that they will last longer.
How to whiten white clothes
Restoring color to our clothes is quite simple, with small changes that can be easily implemented in our washing routines. Keep in mind, in any case, that it will not be necessary to bleach the clothes every time we wash them, as this could damage the fabrics in the long run. Remember that these tips are intended to restore brightness to whites, but are not remedies to restore damage to fabrics:
- Vinegar and baking soda: There are a few surefire tricks to remove yellow stains from clothes, such as mixing equal parts vinegar and baking soda and applying this paste to the stain, leaving it on for an hour to take effect. This is a trick that works especially well on cotton clothes.
- Lemon, baking soda and vinegar: Another option is to mix the juice of half a lemon and two teaspoons of baking soda in a bowl of hot water and leave the garment inside for an hour. After this time, we remove the garment and empty the basin to fill it with cold water and a good splash of vinegar, leaving it in this mixture for another two hours. Once the time has elapsed, we wash as always in the washing machine (in cold water).
- Sodium percarbonate: the ultimate whitening, so effective that it seems magical. It is sold in pharmacies and some supermarkets at a very affordable price, which usually does not exceed two euros. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and place the product in the washing machine drum and in the detergent drawer. Your linen items will look like new. For greater effectiveness, soak your white clothes in percarbonate and water before washing them.
- Milk and hydrogen peroxide to whiten silk: Ideally, silk should always be washed inside out and in lukewarm water, using specific products for this delicate fabric. We can even take it to the dry cleaners. But if the garment is already yellowed and we want to whiten it, we will prepare a solution of equal parts milk and hydrogen peroxide: two tablespoons of each for each liter of cold water. Let it soak for a few minutes and rinse with cold water. In this case, we will dry in the shade so that the sun does not damage the garment.
- Milk and hydrogen peroxide to whiten silk: Although wool is not a fabric that needs to be washed often – just air it a few times – it is possible that it has lost its whiteness and you need a supplement to recover it. In this case, there are two options. The first is to soak the wool garment for a day in a basin of cold water to which we have added hydrogen peroxide – a tablespoon for three liters of water. Once 24 hours have passed, we rinse and wash as usual. Another option is to use unpasteurized milk – it is essential that it is not pasteurized – in which we will soak the garment for two hours, then rinse and wash it as usual.
- Homemade whitening bombs: To prepare them, we will mix a cup of powdered detergent, half a cup of baking soda, 1/4 cup of salt and 100 milliliters of 30 volume hydrogen peroxide. What we will do is mix it (using gloves) until we get a texture of crumbs or wet sand. Once we have this texture, we form balls and let them dry for at least 24 hours. When they are dry, we can store them in an airtight container and they will keep for months. To use them, simply put them in a hole with water and let the clothes soak.
- Back: Another tip to prevent your most delicate white clothes from yellowing is to wash them inside out and always in lukewarm water. Here we explain in which cases it is best to turn the clothes inside out when putting them in the washing machine. In any case, it is also advisable to let the clothes dry in the shade.
