Tips On How To Keep Whites White?

[Carry]

Hey ladies,

I read the topic on washing and how to keep towels soft, no problems there

But what seems to be a problem is keeping the white laundry white!

Of course I wash colors separately, use hot water and tried Hyter bleach, nothing seems to work ?!

Any one got a [grandmom's] recipe to get my stuff white again and keep it white?

Waiting for replies in my grey-was-once-white-favorite-shirt!

[ableguy]

Add to this anyone know where one can purchase bleach ( live in hua hin )

[Carry]

Bleach is sold in just about every minimart and 7 eleven, the most common brand is called Haiter and comes in different colored bottles. Kao Haiter bleach

Bloody hell not only isnt the bleach working that well the link doesnt either!!!

Edited August 10, 2011 by Carry

[sbk]

I've heard add vinegar to it, but if you are washing in cold water like I do then the only real way to get stains and stuff out of whites is to get one of those big pots and boil the clothes on the stove with a good dose of bleach (haiter as you point out).

ableguy, its called haiter and its everywhere, blue is basic, yellow smells better

[Samuian]

Bleach is sold in just about every minimart and 7 eleven, the most common brand is called Haiter and comes in different colored bottles. Kao Haiter bleach

Bloody hell not only isnt the bleach working that well the link doesnt either!!!

Bleach is basically halogenated Chlorine and very bad for the water and environment, in the "good old golden days" Indigo was used, in thai shops or on the markets you can still see smal packs of blue powder that is used as a last rinse with white linnens etc. after letto dray in bright sunlight - this was the original form of bleaching with out chemicals!

[Carry]

Bleach is sold in just about every minimart and 7 eleven, the most common brand is called Haiter and comes in different colored bottles. Kao Haiter bleach

Bloody hell not only isnt the bleach working that well the link doesnt either!!!

Bleach is basically halogenated Chlorine and very bad for the water and environment, in the "good old golden days" Indigo was used, in thai shops or on the markets you can still see smal packs of blue powder that is used as a last rinse with white linnens etc. after letto dray in bright sunlight - this was the original form of bleaching with out chemicals!

even better. does it work??

[billd766]

Sorry to add to the thread being an old man but I have a lot of problems trying to get the collar on my son's school shirts white again.

Any tips?

From SBK

Posted Today, 11:32

I've heard add vinegar to it, but if you are washing in cold water like I do then the only real way to get stains and stuff out of whites is to get one of those big pots and boil the clothes on the stove with a good dose of bleach (haiter as you point out).

That's the way my Mum used to do it when I was a boy in the 50's.

[sbk]

Only thing I've found is boil the heck out of it on the stove with some bleach. But it had better be all whites!

[Carry]

Only thing I've found is boil the heck out of it on the stove with some bleach. But it had better be all whites!

Yeah dont forget that red sock on the bottom...

But I never tried it, gonna give it a try tomorrow!

[GrahamF]

Only thing I've found is boil the heck out of it on the stove with some bleach. But it had better be all whites!

DISCLAIMER: This procedure is only for whitening clothes. Boiling oneself in water and bleach will not whiten ones skin and in fact may be harmful to your health!

[ktamp]

In the US I always had a scoop of oxyclean to whites and it keeps them white. There is a similar product called vanish available in most stores there. Give it a try.

[billd766]

In the US I always had a scoop of oxyclean to whites and it keeps them white. There is a similar product called vanish available in most stores there. Give it a try.

Been there, used that and it didn't do too badly and I soaked them overnight as well.

I have used Hygiene stain remover last time and it was a bit better again.

He IS a grubby little oik at times, much as his older step-brother was in the UK and indeed much as I was when I was a grubby little oik also.

I still love him but there are times when I think it would be a good idea to take his school stuff and wash it when he comes home and leave him in them while they wash.

[ktamp]

In the US I always had a scoop of oxyclean to whites and it keeps them white. There is a similar product called vanish available in most stores there. Give it a try.

Been there, used that and it didn't do too badly and I soaked them overnight as well.

I have used Hygiene stain remover last time and it was a bit better again.

He IS a grubby little oik at times, much as his older step-brother was in the UK and indeed much as I was when I was a grubby little oik also.

I still love him but there are times when I think it would be a good idea to take his school stuff and wash it when he comes home and leave him in them while they wash.

It may be the quality of your water. My maid used to work for another family as well as mine. She is excellent with laundry. The other lady was a friend of mine and complained to me about her laundry. I said something to my maid and she said it was the water. I knew it wasn't her because she did so well with my laundry.

[ktamp]

I also want to add that I think the thai brands of laundry detergent are inferior to ones available to in western countries. We were using the green bottle called USA and we had quite a few stains. I started buying Tide, Gain, or Cheer whichever I could find and I noticed far less stains. It's really expensive to buy those brands in thailand but it made a difference in our laundry and stains. My son's uniforms the first year we were there were stained beyond recognition. The new ones I bought when he outgrew them, the shirts are as white and stain free as the day I bought them and I gave them away when we no longer needed them.

[JeffreyMcCollum]

I have noticed this problem too. My bright whites turn a dingy gray over time.

A few things I noticed. Yes, some detergents work better than others. Not sure eth name but a blue and red with shiney sliver package worked best for me

I like the Purex american bleach the best. I find quart bottles in Big C

The Coin op top loaders just don't cut it. I have a wonderful front loader Seimens wash and dry unit, Niftly all in one

it heats the water and does a wonderful job. Spendy but worth it

[Goinghomesoon]

Soak overnight in a bucket with fresh lemon slices, or with a cup of vinegar. Then wash and dry in the sun. Warning: If you use the vinegar the clothes will smell a bit when they come out of the wash, but it should disappear when they dry. Once your whites are dingy there's not a lot you can do to improve the colour.

[ignis]

What ever happened to that Blue bag ?

remember my Grandmother and Mother back in the 50's and 60's always popped in the wash tub a blue bag..

[fletchsmile]

Tip1 - Be careful who you wear them with

Tip2 - Be careful where you wear them

Tips3 & 4 - Add 1/2 cup of vinegar or 1/2 cup lemon juice to washing load.

Tip5 - Don't put too many clothes in the washing machine at the same time. If you cram the washer full of clothes, dirt will redeposit on the clothing, so allow plenty of space and water. We're all guilty of this some time, cramming 10kg into a 7kg machine just so you don't have to do another load.

Tip6 Never dry clothes with a stain in. The stain may become permanent. So things like salt water or white wine on red wine are useful, as are Wet T-shirt competitions

Tip7 If you live in an area with hard water, add a water softener, as the minerals in the water can form deposits. (Another reason vinegar works)

Tip8 Dry whites outside in the open air. The UV light does them good. Think twice about your underwear though if it's the large embarassing kind, or the small sexy stuff and you live next door to the average Thai Visa Male.

Tip9 Similarly living in Thailand is preferable to North West England where it rains a lot. If you do happen to live in NW England do your washing on one of the 2 days in the year it doesn't rain and hang clothes out in the sun (that strange yellow object you see in the sky sometimes)

Tip10 Air your clean white clothes outside now and again if you rarely wear them or haven't worn for a while Clothes left in the dark turn yellow. [For airing dirty laundry you could try the General Section of Thai Visa. Many posters seem to already do this for some reason - particularly regarding their partner or spouse, which in a way, sort of brings us back to Tip1 again]

Fletchsmile the White

Edited August 18, 2011 by fletchsmile

[sbk]

Tip1 - Be careful who you wear them with

Tip2 - Be careful where you wear them

Tips3 & 4 - Add 1/2 cup of vinegar or 1/2 cup lemon juice to washing load.

Tip5 - Don't put too many clothes in the washing machine at the same time. If you cram the washer full of clothes, dirt will redeposit on the clothing, so allow plenty of space and water. We're all guilty of this some time, cramming 10kg into a 7kg machine just so you don't have to do another load.

Tip6 Never dry clothes with a stain in. The stain may become permanent. So things like salt water or white wine on red wine are useful, as are Wet T-shirt competitions

Tip7 If you live in an area with hard water, add a water softener, as the minerals in the water can form deposits. (Another reason vinegar works)

Tip8 Dry whites outside in the open air. The UV light does them good. Think twice about your underwear though if it's the large embarassing kind, or the small sexy stuff and you live next door to the average Thai Visa Male.

Tip9 Similarly living in Thailand is preferable to North West England where it rains a lot. If you do happen to live in NW England do your washing on one of the 2 days in the year it doesn't rain and hang clothes out in the sun (that strange yellow object you see in the sky sometimes)

Tip10 Air your clean white clothes outside now and again if you rarely wear them or haven't worn for a while Clothes left in the dark turn yellow. [For airing dirty laundry you could try the General Section of Thai Visa. Many posters seem to already do this for some reason - particularly regarding their partner or spouse, which in a way, sort of brings us back to Tip1 again]

Fletchsmile the White

good advice all around

[AyG]

The choice of detergent is important. Cotton will naturally yellow with age as it oxidises. Detergents specifically for white clothes contain optical brighteners - chemicals which absorb ultraviolet light and reemit it as blue light. This counteracts the yellowing and makes the fabric appear brighter and whiter. Detergents for coloured clothes or "all purpose" ones won't contain the essential brighteners.

[billd766]

I have sort of fixed the problem with my son's white school shirts.

My friend next door has offered to do the shirts for me and the 2 she has done so far are better than I can do them.

[cmsally]

We have mains tap water and well water to tap. We have to wash whites in the mains tap water otherwise they discolour.

Lemon for stains, a bit of the stain remover in the bottle with the roll on dispenser for collars. And then we use that blue stuff from the market to keep white in rinse.

About the best combination we can find.

[Beachbunny]

While looking for info on another topic I ran across this topic. What started my dilemma with greying whites was a front loading washer in a house

we were staying in in BKK. It would spin a couple a times in either direction and then just let the clothes sit in the "water saving" minimal amount of dirty water. yuck! On top of that the shortest wash cycle was 60 minutes.

Anyway, after moving in our new house I had my own washing machine but still those pesky grey whites. (deep well water) By accident, when soaking a white plastic bucket, I found that bleach was actually turning the water yellow. Many whites now say do not use chlorine bleach, I quit using it as it seemed that chlorine bleach actually made those clothes REALLY grey.

After trying almost every brand of washing machine detergent, I found that Attack in HOT water with Attack oxygen additive works very well at keeping hubby's t-shirts very white. I just run on the pre-soak cycle before the main wash and even his filthy socks come out white. IMO the oxygen additives work way better than bleach....also, Haiter bleach has a foaming agent which I wasn't especially fond of....when I did use bleach for household etc. (Just a side note,if you build a house and have a new well and disinfect the water lines etc, use Clorox brand bleach as there is no foaming agent.)

Beachbunny

[BKKdreaming]

I found somewhere that if you put a couple asprin that it helps ,

Tried it with dirty socks and undies and was amazed how well it worked !

its cheap and worth a try !

BK