“It’s blinding to the eyes”: how to whiten things

No wardrobe is complete without white items. Every lady has blouses, dresses, knitwear, and underwear of this color. It refreshes, creates a festive mood and just looks stylish. However, it is difficult to wear a white item 2 times in a row; traces of wear and stains from decorative cosmetics, tea, and coffee are very noticeable on it. It has to be washed frequently using chemical powders that destroy the structure of the fabric fibers. Things quickly lose their shape and attractive appearance. Therefore, many people refuse beautiful white things, preferring more practical colors. But don’t rush, there are many ways to safely bleach things. Let's take a closer look at them.

How to bleach faded items

Here are some simple recipes for bleaching faded items at home:

1. Use traditional chlorine bleach to whiten. Or use modern oxygen bleaches. The method of use of the products is indicated on the packaging label.
2. A reliable way is to boil the item in a soapy solution. It is better to use laundry soap. You need to boil things for 1-1.5 hours.
3. Prepare a dry mixture from 1 tbsp. l. crushed laundry soap, 1 tbsp. l. citric acid, 4 tbsp. l. large kitchen salt, 1 tbsp. l. potato starch. The stains are smeared with the resulting composition from the wrong side. The item is left in this state overnight and rinsed in running water in the morning. Next, the clothes are washed in the machine as usual.
4. A mixture of regular baking soda and 3% hydrogen peroxide is effective. For 2 liters of warm water take 1 tbsp. l. soda and 1 tsp. peroxide. Place faded items into the solution and heat them over a fire to 70 degrees. The basin with the laundry is kept on the stove for 10 minutes, and then the items are rinsed in running water.
5. A solution of potassium permanganate can also whiten things. To do this, add a handful of washing powder and a few crystals of potassium permanganate to a bucket of hot water to make the solution light pink. Dirty things are immersed inside and the container is covered with polyethylene. Soak the soaked items in the solution until it cools completely. Then the cleaned items should be rinsed in cool water and dried. 

How to bleach baby clothes

Kids leave stains not only on white clothes, but they also have to remove stains from tights, socks, and white shirts very often. One of the most effective ways to remove yellowness or grayness is to use a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. To clean, pour 1 tbsp into a bucket of hot water. l. ammonia and 2 tbsp. l. hydrogen peroxide 3%. Place dirty children's clothes inside and leave for 20-25 minutes. Then take out the white clothes and rinse them thoroughly with running water.

Stains from snow-white golf socks and tights can be removed with a solution of boric acid. You need to pour warm water into a basin, add 2-3 tbsp. l. boric acid. The laundry is kept in the solution for about 3 hours, then washed in the usual way. The solution also has a preventive effect against fungus.

If you have to clean a white item often, the fabric will quickly deteriorate. In this case, it is recommended to use a gentle solution - a soda solution. Apply 6 tbsp to a bucket of warm water. l. soda, 1-2 tbsp. l. ammonia. The items are kept in the solution for several hours, then rinsed and washed as usual. If there is persistent yellowness, clothes can be boiled in such a solution; it will not spoil the appearance even with regular boiling.

How to bleach wool

Wool fibers are durable and strong. A boring product can be unraveled and a new one knitted from yarn. But maintaining the white color in its original form after active wear is difficult. Using chlorine-containing bleaches can damage the fiber structure, causing wool to lose its shape and softness. Therefore, it is recommended to use traditional methods of bleaching woolen items.

1. Prepare a solution of cool water and hydrogen peroxide in a ratio of 8/1. It is necessary to prepare enough solution to completely immerse the woolen item in it. Next, white clothes are kept in a basin for up to 7 hours. If it is heavily soiled, it can be left overnight. Afterwards, the items are rinsed with cool water and dried out of direct sunlight.
2. You can use chalk for whitening. For one large woolen item you will need 0.5 kg of crushed chalk. It is poured into a basin and filled with water. Chalk particles do not dissolve in water; during soaking, you need to constantly stir the water. Chalk particles penetrate the wool fibers, bleaching it. After 40-50 minutes, the woolen item can be taken out and rinsed.
3. It is possible to soften the water when washing and remove yellow deposits from wool with a solution of baking soda and warm water. To bleach, items are immersed in the solution for 2-3 hours, then rinsed. If you add a little baking soda with each wash, the water will soften and things will not turn yellow.

How to bleach a dyed item

In order to avoid such unpleasant surprises as a white item being dyed, you need to carefully sort your laundry before washing. For colored items, use powder marked color; for white, use special products. Liquid bleaches have a milder effect; dyed items made of silk, linen, and wool can be washed with them. Painted items should be cleaned immediately without drying them.

If the item has recently been painted, then it can be soaked in a solution prepared from 2 tsp. ammonia and 3 tbsp. l. hydrogen peroxide diluted in 4 liters. hot water. The basin is placed on the fire and boiled for 40-60 minutes. Then the laundry is rinsed.

An effective remedy is a mixture of starch, salt and citric acid, mixed in equal proportions. The dry ingredients are diluted with warm water until the mixture has the consistency of thick sour cream. The paste is applied to the painted items from the reverse side and left overnight. In the morning, things are rinsed and dried.

All of these methods must be used separately. Do not boil clothes too often, the fibers will become thinner and the item will lose its shape. If you are unable to clean your items, you can use dry cleaning services.