My white laundry won't whiten! I've tried bleaching and soaking and still, discolored. Can someone help?

Question

I haven't been married very long and I'm not very experienced at housekeeping. So far in our marriage Ive just been chucking all the laundry into the washing machine without separating, pre-treating or any of that. I was very busy and this worked for a while. Now I am at home full time because we are pregnant and I will give birth soon, and I'm nesting. So I was doing the laundry the other day and realized all the whites look awful. The worst are my husband's socks and underwear. They are grey, dingy, some look discolored and stained (sorry tmi) and of course, he doesn't really care cos if they've been washed they're clean. He doesn't mind stains. But I'm terribly embarrassed that Ive not taken care of this! So... Ive been soaking and bleaching and soaking and washing all the whites. No change! I'm using Clorox no-splash bleach. Some of the socks are nice and white but the rest of it, just looks exactly the same.

What can I do because obviously the bleach isn't working. Or am I just not doing it right? Is there any hope for the underwear or should I chuck them out and get new ones? (Structurally they are still good)

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

I hear you!! I did the same thing when my hubby and I were first married. The longer I've been married, the more the dingy-ness bothers me.

Unfortunately you may not be able to get your whites back white again now. You may need to try the following when you get new clothes.

The best whitener I have found is to use vinegar instead of the regular liquid laundry softener. I just fill my softener dispenser in the washer with vinegar. If you don't have a dispenser, I think it's around 1 to 1 1/2 cups of distilled white vinegar I'm putting in the rinse cycle with no softener. It works just as well as softener, it's better on the environment and it whitens.

Answer 2

Always separate your coloured cloths from your white.

When clothes become grey and dingy,, it is very hard to bring them back to the whites they were... I am afraid there is not much you can do now, but in the future, always separate your loads..

Answer 3

Over time, chlorine bleach will give whites a yellowish cast. You can try liquid bluing. The brand I've seen most often in the laundry aisle is Mrs. Stewart's. It will help though you may have to soak some items for a while. If you use it, make sure you dilute it completely before adding it to the machine.

Borax and washing soda will both give your detergent a boost too. I don't use these two ingredients with every load. Just the really dirty or dingy stuff. Switching to a non-chlorine bleach may help in the long run too.  

Answer 4

I buy most of my clothes at thrift shops, and they are drab, too. I just presoak, in the washer, with dishwasher detergent for a couple of hours.  Then complete the wash with regular detergent.  Works on almost all the stuff, even baby food stains.