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[Silver Lining]

On 3/7/2015 wildcat fan said: I have a couple of black sweaters with white trim. Would Oxyclean brighten the white trim without fading the black?

I wouldn't try it.

[Clover29]

I think it depends on what you're washing., and how often. I have a white towel that gets washed every day, and after six months it's really grey. Bedlinen that only gets washed once a month (because I have several sets in rotation) stays pretty white.

Nothing I've tried will restore the towel to its pristine new white color, whatever the commercials say about how it gets little girls' karate robes like new.

[pinkcrystal]

Borax.

[Kachina624]

Hang them on a clothesline in the sun. The sun is the original bleaching agent.

[PeterDM]

I have a very white bathroom with lots of white hand towels and a white, cotton shower curtain. I've found that using Oxyclean will get the fabrics very white at first, however, I've found that the fabric would get very yellow within a couple of weeks. I stopped using the Oxyclean and moved to Gain Flings, and the whites stay white and don't yellow after time.

[Mominohio]

On 3/7/2015 Kachina624 said: Hang them on a clothesline in the sun. The sun is the original bleaching agent.

This is absolutely the truth. My whites are much brighter after a few weeks on the outside clothes line when the weather breaks.

One thing turning whites dull could be your water. It doesn't matter if you have a well or city water, the iron, chemicals and minerals vary from place to place, and treating your water might be a first step. Iron filter, water filter, and water softener (and using the right kind of salt in it) are the first place to start. You can't keep lights and whites looking good if your water is bad. Sometimes it is the fact that your water heater is really dirty, and needs flushing or even replaced.

Also, I'm not at all insinuating that you don't know how to sort or do laundry, but proper sorting is really important if you don't want color transfer, which often just shows up as dulling of whites and brights.

I find bleach doesn't whiten, in my water (well with iron issues) even with filters, softeners etc. I have used Oxy, but not impressed with that either.

I used to take my whites to the laundromat, which had much better water than we did at that time, every month or so, and it seemed to wash some of the dull out. Just getting them in some better water once in awhile helps.

[Shelbelle]

On 3/7/2015 Silver Lining said:

On 3/7/2015 wildcat fan said: I have a couple of black sweaters with white trim. Would Oxyclean brighten the white trim without fading the black?

I wouldn't try it.

I would not either, in fact I would wash them in Woolite for Darks.

[wildcat fan]

On 3/8/2015 Shelbelle said:

On 3/7/2015 Silver Lining said:

On 3/7/2015 wildcat fan said: I have a couple of black sweaters with white trim. Would Oxyclean brighten the white trim without fading the black?

I wouldn't try it.

I would not either, in fact I would wash them in Woolite for Darks.

Thanks! I'll try Woolite for Darks.

[dex]

If I get a stain on a white fabric then I just keep it dampened in the sun and voila it's gone.

[Lotus]

Years ago I stayed a B & B and they had the WHITEST sheets. I asked the inn owner if she laundered them herself or sent them out. She said she did them herself and took me into her laundry room and showed me what she used: