The chemical reaction between the bleach and the polyester almost always yields a yellowed result. Never bleach white clothing that is polyester or a polyester/cotton blend.Thankfully, there are a couple of ways to prevent your whites from turning yellow in the first place:
Stewart’s Bluing is a popular brand and their site gives detailed instructions on how to use bluing correctly. Bluing adds a very slight trace of blue dye to the fabric, making it appear more white. Laundry bluing is an old trick to get yellowed or grayed whites to appear brighter. Note that this product should only be used on proven colorfast fabrics. It works to counteract that chemical reaction and return white clothes to their original bright condition. Iron-Out can be applied using the directions on the bottle. Often this excess iron in the water reacts with the bleach causing the yellowing of the clothes. If you have well-water, chances are there is a fairly high iron content in your water. Borax naturally softens hard water, so you could use it as a preventative measure when washing whites in the future. You can also put it in the ‘oxi’ dispenser if your machine has that feature. and then add to the rinse cycle of your washer. Dissolve 1-2 Tablespoons of Borax in 2 cups of water. If you aren’t thrilled with your results, move on to the other ideas.īorax is readily available at most grocery stores in the laundry aisle. Then wring out and allow to dry in the sun.
Soak the yellowed garment in the solution for at least 1-2 hours. Dilute 1/4 cup of lemon juice with 1 gallon of extremely hot water (boiling, if possible).
Here are several suggestions to try if you’ve got yellowed or dingy whites:Īlthough I am very willing to pull out the big guns, I like to first start with the remedies that are least harsh. Please see my disclosure policy for more information. So once this happens, how do you get rid of the yellow? Can you get rid of the yellow? However, its chemical makeup can often make white clothes turn yellow. Household bleach (sodium hypochlorite) is often used as a laundry booster or whitener. If you are a faithful bleach user, it is the bleach that is probably the culprit. Are your whites looking a little yellowed? Do they seem dingy, but you can’t quite figure out why?