I love white! He’s practically my favorite color! It is the color of peace, freshness and cleanliness and I use it all the time… or almost! But my white blouse didn’t have that yellow halo and my white dress didn’t have that dull color… How horrible! It’s normal, my grandmother told me, white loses shine over time, it’s the fate of all light garments! If like me, you regret seeing your yellowed clothes, don’t stress! A foolproof remedy from grandma will save the day for a guaranteed glow….
Why do white clothes lose their colors?
Let’s first start by understanding why our white linen turns yellow! The truth is that there are several causes for this, but here are the main reasons:
Bedding is stored in humid and/or poorly ventilated places.
The clothes are not very clean. In this case, the residue within the fibers shows yellow spots.
Some fabrics are in contact with the hair and the body. Thus they accumulate sweat and body fat that oxidize and give a yellow color.
Sodium bicarbonate
By knowing why your bedding and clothing are turning yellow, you can prevent this from happening! But if it’s too late, follow this advice based on natural products and ingredients, which you probably already find at home or somewhere in the pantry!
Create a mixture of coarse salt and baking soda.
Add a few teaspoons of water and mix.
Put everything in the washing machine drum
Add your usual cleaning detergent.
Pour a cup of baking soda and salt into the washing machine_
Repeat this procedure several times a month and you will notice that your yellowed clothes will become whiter and whiter and regain their previous shine.
White vinegar
Pour a cup of vinegar from the washing machine_
Don’t have baking soda on hand? Don’t worry ! White vinegar works great too! An easy to find natural ingredient, white vinegar will whiten and soften your clothes! Very effective against yellow stains (especially on cotton clothing), it also has the advantage of eliminating all bad odors . Here’s how to use it:
Wash the clothes by hand
If you plan to wash your clothes by hand, pour 3 cups of white vinegar into a bucket of hot water and let your clothes soak for 1 hour before scrubbing them. It’s easy and fast… Who says better?
Wash clothes in the washing machine
If you opt for the machine, add 125 ml of white vinegar and 60 ml of regular detergent. Place everything in the slot normally reserved for stain remover and press start!
Once the clothes have been washed, they will be dazzlingly white and, as a bonus, they will lose all the bad smell of perspiration!
What if you don’t have baking soda or white vinegar at home? Many will think of bleach! But enough! This is not a good idea at all! It is true that it removes stains from clothes better than normal detergent, but it is not a good product for keeping clothes in good condition. In fact, bleach can cause both yellowing of the fabric and weakening of the garment’s fibers!
“What to do then?”, you will tell me! Rest assured, we have more than one trick up our sleeve!
Cheating
Put lemon in the washing machine
Simply pour a cup of lemon juice into the machine or rinse clothes with lemon water. Your tarnished or yellowed clothes naturally regain their whiteness.
potato
Start by cooking the potatoes, add a little salt and eat them! Well, all joking aside, potatoes are just as good sautéed as they are in lye, so once cooked, cut them into wedges and rub them on your dirty clothes. Then rinse with clean water and you’ll be fine!
Marseille soap
Marseille soap
Liquid, in chips or in cubes, quickly whiten your clothes with this soap, which forms a kind of crust as soon as it is wet. Leave to act before rinsing. And voila!
Milk
This technique only works with white cotton, linen, or silk clothing. Dampen the fabric, let it dry, and then wash as usual.
chemical yeast
Pour a sachet of yeast into the detergent drawer and then proceed with washing as usual.
sodium percarbonate
sodium percarbonate 1
Place 2 tablespoons of percarbonate directly into the drum of the machine before turning it on.
Hydrogen peroxide
Put 30% hydrogen peroxide in your detergent drawer and cycle at 95°C
Aspirin
This trick makes dull gray clothes whiter! Add two aspirin tablets to your washing machine, pour in a dose of detergent and you’re done!
bay leaves
bay leaves 1
Boil a handful of leaves and let them infuse for a good 10 minutes. Then remove the leaves and soak the clothing in the infused water. This will save your stained and discolored clothes!
eggshells
Place crushed eggshells in a sock during your wash, and your clothes will find their whiteness. Here’s an unusual trick to try ASAP!
soda ash
They act against perspiration, which is one of the main elements that yellow your clothes! Pour a cup of soda crystals, that is, 125 ml, into each of your detergents and get white clothes like new.
How to prevent white clothes from turning yellow?
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, you just need to know the different factors that yellow your clothes and avoid them, so that your laundry remains white as when it started! But let’s do a little to-do and not list anyway!
If you apply body creams or lotions, wait until your skin absorbs them before getting dressed.
Do not use bleach.
Before putting away laundry or dirty clothes, make sure they are clean and dry.
Do not use fabric softeners or perfumes! These can leave residue in the fibers of your fabrics and rust over time.
Do not store your clothes in plastic bags, but in cardboard boxes to protect them from dust and other dirt.
That’s it, the cycle is complete! You have in your hands all the tricks and tips to keep your laundry white for a long time and revive yellowish fabrics… Leave us your comments if you have tried them!