Keeping White Clothes White

Real Swell Gal · Apr 4, 2008

years ago when Paul and I were first starting out his mother taught me how to use bluing properly. It really does make your whites whiter but it can be a pain in the butt compared to using modern products. I will always be a fan of Biz. Biz is the better stain getter. If you've ever had baby stains and soaked those Onsies overnight in Bizz you'll know exactly what I mean.
When my mother in laws house burnt down we used Biz to salvage some of her clothes. It took the soot right out. And what it didn't get Simple Green did. You wouldn't think something like Biz would handle greasey soot but it did.

And I wouldn't think twice about having hubby do the wash. He's really good at it.

KittyT · Apr 16, 2008

I bought some Oxyclean today and have some white shirts with bad underarm stains soaking in it right now. After just under 3 hours of soaking, I am extremely impressed and pleased with the results. They look like new!

Joie DeVive · Apr 16, 2008

KittyT said:
I bought some Oxyclean today and have some white shirts with bad underarm stains soaking in it right now. After just under 3 hours of soaking, I am extremely impressed and pleased with the results. They look like new!

I'm so glad to hear it is working out well for you! I know I tried every suggestion from every household tip book I ever found, old and modern, for that particular problem to no avail and great frustration. I think the results of Oxiclean are just amazing! (And no, I don't have stock in the product, but maybe I should... lol

)

pretty faythe · Apr 16, 2008

LizzieMaine said:
Throw some bluing in the rinse water.

I agree. When I used to work in the casino industry and had to always where white shirts, I'd use the liquid bluing to make them nice and white. Work wonderfully, especially considering how I worked locked in a cage full of dust and chain smokers

KittyT · Apr 16, 2008

For you ladies who use blueing, do you find it locally, or do you have to send away for it?

pretty faythe · Apr 17, 2008

i've found it in the laundry section of the grocery markets

LizzieMaine · Apr 17, 2008

Around here, "Mrs. Stewart's Blueing" can be found in the same section of the laundry shelves as Fels Naptha and Borax. Comes in, naturally enough, a small blue bottle, and a little bit goes a long way!

KittyT · Apr 17, 2008

LizzieMaine said:
Around here, "Mrs. Stewart's Blueing" can be found in the same section of the laundry shelves as Fels Naptha and Borax. Comes in, naturally enough, a small blue bottle, and a little bit goes a long way!

Hmm grocery stores around here don't have Fels Naptha, Borax or blueing. I've seen Borax at Target, and that's about it. The only place I've seen Mrs. Stewart's is at the Vermont Country Store.

olive bleu · Apr 17, 2008

I,ve got to try some of these ideas. My kids keep getting white t-shirts from their loving aunts and uncles, who have no kids of their own and have no idea how hard the suckers are to keep clean!!!( the shirts, i mean, not the kids)lol

Fleur De Guerre · Apr 17, 2008

AllaboutEve said:
So for bedding which is always 100% cotton with me, I do a 60 degree wash every other wash and this always keeps my whites white. I suppose it's the less labour intensive version of what my grandmother would have done by boiling her sheets in the copper. Be careful that it is 100% cotton though as poly-cotton would shrink at this temperature, for poly-cotton I would probably use a whitening agent like Vanish.....very unethical I know but I can't wear anything less than "white" white.......

(snipped for length)

I always wash my all sheets (I have pure cotton sets, some poly cotton ones and the mattress and pillow protectors) at 60º and none of them have shrunk! [huh]

BeBopBaby · Apr 17, 2008

I've seen blueing on the shelves at Walmart with the other laundry products.

Tango Yankee · Apr 17, 2008

glamour-girl said:
oh, and keep hubby away from the washing- machine

If my wife did that she'd have to do the laundry! I don't think she'll go for that. lol

Regarding water temperatures, here in the US I think you'll have a hard time getting 140 degrees F water for your washing machine without adjusting your hot water heater much higher than the recommended safe point of about 120. If I recall correctly my washing machine in England heated the water itself; it only had a cold-water connection. Here in the US washing machines generally have both hot and cold water connections without the means of heating the water internally.

I tend to use regular bleach on my whites, but then I don't have many whites. They're mostly gym socks and undershirts.

Regards,
Tom

fortworthgal · Apr 23, 2008

Another big fan of Mrs. Stewart's bluing here! I've used it for years and it is amazing stuff. It really gets the whites sparkling.

In fact, the bottle I'm working on right now is a 1950s glass one that we picked up at an estate sale. It was still full, we've been using it for over a year, and I can attest that the contents do still work after 50 years!

AllaboutEve · Apr 2, 2009

I just had the most amazing result on a piece of ivory millinery fabric that feels like it is probably semi synthetic. It was very badly soiled and by soaking it in Vanish Oxyaction Crystal White I have managed to shift nearly all of the dirt.

I used about 2 teaspoons to a small bowl (cereal bowl) full of warm water and it's stunning the difference it has made in just a few hours.

Nothing else worked, I tried Denture tablets, household soap, Vanish spray, Baking soda, but this works like a dream!

Warbaby · Apr 2, 2009

Here's another vintage use for Mrs. Stewart's Bluing - it works like magic on fire ant bites! When I was a little kid in Arizona back in the 50s, all the neighborhood moms used it on their kids' fire ant bites. In those days the bottles came with a cork - just shake the bottle and press the cork on the bite. It stops the pain and the swelling goes away in a few hours. Most of the kids had little blue dots on their legs all summer long.

miss_smith · Apr 4, 2009

While skimming, I noted someone mentioned Oxiclean. I have used it and it seems to work well.

However, I find that the best measures for keeping whites white are preventative measures.
1) Don't be a fool and eat things like spaghetti sauce while wearing white, or at the very least wear an apron or something (I know, I know, this rule is no good at dinner parties and such). If you do get something on yourself DO NOT scrub at it! This will just push it into the weave of the fabric. Take it off and put it in the wash.
2) For avoiding sweat stains, do not let your laundry sit for days. The longer you let it sit, the more all dirt, sweat, grime, etc. will set in. If you don't want to waste by putting just a few things in the wash every other day, wash by hand. I do this with all my sweaters, because they are the worst at retaining smells and stains it seems.

parachutage · Jun 10, 2009

Wow.

Great info here on getting the "whites" - white.

Many thanks.

I will have to try the old fashioned, whites-on-the-stove-in-boiling-water trick with a scrub brush.

The modcons may be convenient but they dont the job done.

Once more, old fashioned elbow grease is needed...

Miss 1929 · Jun 10, 2009

Fels-Naptha is my new friend!

It works really well on collars and cuffs, I just moisten it and rub it across the soil once and throw it in the wash.

Any ideas for getting underarm stains out of white silk? Oxiclean didn't work... Biz didn't work...and I am afraid to use FN on it (it may be too harsh).

MissJeanavive · Aug 1, 2009

OxiClean

For FL OxiClean lovers; I love it too! Question though; my birthday gown was soaking and today I noticed blue marks...almost like pen marks on a part that wasn't under water and I don't remember them when I took the dress off...I googled and saw a thread online stating the blue crystals caused stains...but I couldn't access the forum for more details...have you ever run across this? I have tried to brush them out with a tooth brush but no luck.

klind65 · Aug 21, 2009

I usually just take my clothes to the dry cleaner but in between cleaning times, if I get a stain on a white garment I have had great luck with a product called "Gonzo". Little white bottle with red lettering. It removes all stains from blood and chocolate to ink. I find it indispensable.

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