How to clean white?

Thistle

Not sure if this OT or not, but on Day 1 of wearing my new white trousers, I got a couple of dark grey marks on the ankle. *sigh*

Any tips on keeping white clean, and cleaning it when you don't?

12 years ago

Dressing

11 replies

Latest reply was from Eliza

ironkurtin

Veteran

Wet the area with shout, then make a paste with tide with bleach and shout and put it on the stain. When it hardens, wash. Works for me!

12 years ago

bj1111

Veteran

Tide to go pen and shout wipes to treat as soon as you notice, was as usual.

12 years ago

Marley

Veteran

Oh I'm glad you started this thread Thistle because I have been wondering the same thing! I just can't keep my white "stuff" clean!

12 years ago

cheryle (Dianthus)

(website)

Veteran

I use the oxy powder. If something has a bad stain, I will use a stiff brush like an old toothbrush to rub some in with water. I will also soak an item that is getting dingy in a sink with a higher concentration of oxy clean and then wash it after. I find it whitens nicely without the yellowing that you can get with bleach.

12 years ago

Glory

Veteran

another shout user here

12 years ago

Jjsloane

Veteran

My go to formula is Zout (getting harder to find though) and oxiclean - make paste similar to the above. NEVER put in dryer. After this, the absolute best stain lifter is a few hours in bright sunlight (especially good on kids' stains). I just removed pizza sauce from my Paige white bermudas this weekend.

12 years ago

K. Period.

Veteran

I love Zout too! I usually pre-treat with Zout or Amway pre-treat spray and wash in hot and then evaluate after the wash cycle to see if I need to take further action. Next step is oxyclean or Tri-zyme (yup, I love Amway laundry products enough to order them off the website--if you go through the website you don't have to worry about a distributor hitting you up, which is really really nice.) If I really need to, I bleach, but I try to reserve that for the most extreme circumstances. So far, so good.

12 years ago

ElleH

Veteran

Oxi Clean ate holes through my linens. Also if you have metal snaps or buttons or anything metal on them do not use oxi clean. I'm not a fan of bleach either, even if you don't use enough to rot fabric it seems to turn certain white fibres yellow, not noticeable immediately but it comes through later. Stain removers are good except for yellow deodorant stains. Stain removers make those worse. Hottest water the garment can stand, long cycle, extra water if you have that setting. Rub stain remover into the stain.

12 years ago

pil

Veteran

When I know the mark is grime and not food I first try brushing the area. That will sometimes lift some of the spot.

12 years ago

K. Period.

Veteran

Oh! That reminds me. If it looks like it is something that is on the surface, try using tape pressed very lightly against it to pull up as much of it as possible. Often that is better than rubbing, which rubs the stain into the fibers. That is standards for most fabrics, but doubly important to remember for whites since stains are so much more noticeable on them.

12 years ago

Eliza

Veteran

Whites can be tricky and I minimize bleach as well as oxyclean use. Good idea to try tape, and on heavier, durable fabrics I use a soft toothbrush with laundry detergent. A Shout wipe tip that I read on the package helps avoid the ring it can leave: after using the wipe, wet it with water and apply to stained area. Also, wash whites as soon as practical to minimize setting of the stain.

Good luck.

12 years ago

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