{"id":77,"date":"2013-04-18T09:29:33","date_gmt":"2013-04-18T07:29:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.radioislam.org.za\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/18\/hints-to-wash-white-clothes\/"},"modified":"2013-04-18T09:29:33","modified_gmt":"2013-04-18T07:29:33","slug":"hints-to-wash-white-clothes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/hints-to-wash-white-clothes\/","title":{"rendered":"Hints to wash white clothes"},"content":{"rendered":"
When it comes to laundry, we all know that stained, dull and worn-out clothes never make a good impression. This is particularly true of washing white clothes, which can be especially difficult to keep bright<\/p>\n

Washing white clothes can be a tricky business. If you don’t wash them just right, you risk losing brightness or, worse yet, turning every color other than white (everyone’s familiar with that red sock!).<\/p>\n

The key to washing your whites – and keeping them white – is a cold water fill.  Stains get set into the fabric when they are heated, so starting off with a cold water fill can lift even the toughest stains out of your whites!  Say goodbye to grass, blood and red wine stains!  Follow up the cold water fill with a hot main wash cycle and you are good to go!<\/p>\n

Keeping your whites looking clean is simple enough. Getting them whiter than white, though – now, that’s really tricky!<\/p>\n

Avoiding bleach while getting your whites whiter
One of the most common, and toxic, methods of washing white clothes is to use bleach.  Bleach is known to cause certain health issues, has the potential for harmful chemical reactions, releasing toxins into the air and water, and is dangerous to pets, kids, and the environment.<\/p>\n

The good news is that there are many alternatives to using bleach.
Baking Soda: adding half a cup of baking soda to your wash will keep the sweat stains away. Just get the washer started, add your detergent, and then add your baking soda to the pre-wash section of your detergent compartment.  What’s more, baking soda is not the only natural whitening agent out there.<\/p>\n

Borax: can be used for both whites and colors, and it keeps your laundry nice and bright (bonus – it also makes for a great non-abrasive, all-natural household cleaner, and can be used in certain pest-control methods).
Here are some other ways you can get your whites whiter than snow!
Do you have really soiled socks? Soak them in super-hot water and two tablespoons of automatic dishwashing detergent for about thirty minutes, or overnight if they’re really bad. Then wash them as usual. If you would prefer to go all natural, use ½ cup of lemon juice in place of the dishwasher detergent.<\/p>\n

Do you have a whole load of whites to do? Run the cold water in your washer, add some detergent, and then add ½ cup of vinegar and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Let it run as usual.
Touching them up with a stain treatment before washing can help prevent, or get rid of, yellow stains caused by sweat.<\/p>\n

Important things to remember
Before you try these methods when washing white clothes, make sure to remember that stained white clothing should be treated for stains immediately and, unless indicated, always use cold water to treat them, as hot water will make the stain set faster. Hot water should only be used on clothes that are dingy or have been stained for a long time.<\/p>\n

Tips for Whiter Whites:
Mild bleach: Add 1\/4 cup of lemon juice and 1\/4 cup baking soda to load along with your regular detergent and launder as usual.<\/p>\n

Add 1 1\/2 cups of vinegar to the rinse cycle to whiten clothes.<\/p>\n

Restore Whites: Fill a large stock pot half full with water and 1 cup of vinegar, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add garments and let soak overnight. Launder as usual.<\/p>\n

 Add 1\/2 cup of powdered dishwasher detergent to the washing machine, allow machine to fill with water to dissolve the powder. Add clothes when water level is about half-way and once the water has stopped filling, open the machine to stop it from running. Let clothes soak for 30 minutes before turning machine back on.<\/p>\n

Dry on the line outdoors when the sun is hot and bright, the sun is nature’s bleach. You’ll also have fresh smelling laundry without any added chemicals!<\/p>\n

To whiten laces, wash them in sour milk.
To brighten yellowed linens, try adding 2 teaspoons cream of tartar to a pail of water and soak items for a few hours before laundering as usual.<\/p>\n

Soak clothes overnight in a mixture of 1\/2 cup ReaLemon juice (or a sliced lemon) per 1 gallon of hot water. This is a great method for bringing dingy socks back to life.<\/p>\n

 Soak whites overnight in 1\/2 cup 3% hydrogen peroxide per quart of cold water. You can also add 3\/4 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a load of laundry (dissolve in soapy water first before adding clothes) or try adding 1\/2 cup to the rinse cycle.<\/p>\n

Wash clothes with 1\/2 cup Borax along with your favorite laundry detergent and then add 1\/4 cup hydrogen peroxide to the rinse cycle.<\/p>\n

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When it comes to laundry, we all know that stained, dull and worn-out clothes never make a good impression. This is particularly true of washing white clothes, which can be especially difficult to keep bright Washing white clothes can be a tricky business. If you don’t wash them just right, you risk losing brightness or, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[252,319,253],"class_list":["post-77","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-household","tag-handy-hints","tag-hints-to-wash-white-clothes","tag-household"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-1f","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-07 13:02:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}