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| These are the yellow stains after about the 4th wash. I've just sprayed them with Ocy-Clean. |
Some time ago I noticed I had a few white blouses that were yellowing in my closet but I never got around to trying to deal with them because these are items that I seldom wear. I've read that if you don't wash white clothing (or linens) on a regular basis, they start to get yellowed from dust and other particles in the air. Often the sleeves of tops hanging in the closet are affected because these parts are usually exposed more to the air while hanging in the closet.
I wanted to wear some of these light, white tops due to the very high temperatures we've been experiencing this summer. I did some research on line about how I could get rid of the stains. Oxy-Clean is a ready made stain remover that I read could be sprayed on clothing and left for 10-60 minutes before laundering. I also read that if I scrub the stains with laundry bar soap and let them sit or soak the clothing over night in a solution of vinegar and water, that my stains would be removed. I decided to try all three approaches.
Altogether, I treated the stains about 7-8 times. The stains are far less noticeable but they are still there and the items of clothing are still not wearable. I think part of the problem is I may have washed these items before and inadvertently set the stains by washing them in warm or hot water. That apparently is a "no-no". I've used cold water in my recent attempts. I will give these items a rest for a few days and try to scrub them out again. I think another 3-4 times might accomplish the job.
Have any of you had to deal with stubborn stains like this? If so, were you able to get rid of them? Would you like to share your approach.
26 comments:
Hi Penny. No I haven't any direct experience I am afraid but someone suggested lemon juice and leaving to dry in sunlight. I am hopeless at housekeeping and wold probably just stick the clothes in bleach myself. However not so good for delicate materials really. I read somewhere you could try white vinegar and salt and even denture tablets, also peroxide, baking powder and water. Let us know if you find a solution. xx
I haven't a clue. My granddaughter got her white jeans quite muddy and I told her to soak them overnight in cold water and oxyclean, then use the scrub brush on anything left before she washed them. I've seen her in the jeans again, so apparently it worked.
Hi Penny,
I have been experimenting with hydrogen peroxide for stained clothing: I used some in the bleach dispenser of my washer with a load of whites which I accidentally "pinked" and dried them in the sun. It helped after one try, so I am encouraged to try again.
Good luck!
Wow, Penny, you are much more diligent in your washing attempts than I am. I would try once or twice, then probably cry.
LOL
Dimple's idea of hydrogen peroxide sounds good. I've never heard of using denture tablets as Jan suggested, but I have a ready supply of them.
I can sure understand why you'd want lightweight white clothing in a heatwave, though. Bunches of sympathy from me.
K
sorry, no idea.
Hi Jan, thanks for the additional tips of what to try. I think I have some denture tablets somewhere that I used a few times for cleaning the toilet bowl. If I can find them, I will give them a try :-)
Hi Kay, you make me laugh. Since you have a supply of denture tablets, I recommend trying to get stains out of your clothing next time ;-) It isn't so hot here today but we have had a nice long spell of hot and sunny days.
Lucky you/her. I think any excess mud would be hidden in the lighter coloured threads of the jeans too.
Okay, no problem. Thanks for visiting Denise.
Oh that sounds good too. Did you just use the regular hydrogen peroxide that you buy from the pharmacy for disinfecting? I wouldn't know where to purchase the 20% peroxide but the 3% is commonly available here at the local pharmacy.
I can't remember if you have nappy (diaper) wash in the U.S.? that takes our stains wonderfully.. You soak the article in hot water with the powder. Dry the aticle in the sun, its a great bleacher...Hope you get them looking better
Hi Crystal Mary, I don't live in the USA. I live in Canada. I have no idea about the diaper wash but years ago when I used to wash diapers we just used laundry detergent and bleach. I'll keep my eye open though!
I don't think I have ever encountered this problem, so I can't help you. Once something is beyond help I usually take the buttons off and use it as a rag or throw it away, unless there is a lot of useable fabric in it, that is. I have a whole stash of that kind.
If I really can't salvage something, I do keep the fabric as scraps. In this case, the fabric is still quite on all 3 shirts so I want to try and save them. I have too much fabric anyway. I bet you know what that is like, lol.
Pen - try White and Bright. Rit makes it. I used it once when I had a red sock accident in a load of whites. It worked like a charm.
I'm afraid I'd just throw bleach at yellowed items - in a diluted solution of course. They do small awful afterwards though...
Caroline
Thanks for the suggestion, Annie. I might look into that. In the meantime, I found some other product which I will write about if it works!
Hi Caroline, I understand. I only use bleach on whites if it isn't something nice like a blouse. One of the items is linen, the others are cotton. I'm still experimenting. I just bought a new product yesterday which I'll write about if it works. I see it has great reviews on Amazon too.
Unfortunately, I, too, have been unsuccessful getting yellow stains (due to extended time in the closet) out of white fabric. I get fed up with trying to remove the yellow and then just give the item away to a thrift store.
I understand. I know it is a lot of work and so I tend to delay dealing with the stains. My delay makes it harder to get the stains out.
Hi, there. First time commenting, but I wanted to thank you for your recent comments on my blog. I also have a suggestion I found worked for making my whites, whiter. It's an old trick of yor, which my mum passed on to me to get her white cloth nappies clean.
Basically you boil the clothing in boiling water and hang out to dry. Part of the reason white material starts to yellow, is because soapy residue and grease can build up in the cloth.
I tried this trick recently after I tried to whiten some linen by soaking in soapy water. When they came out yellow once again, I tried my mums boiling water trick and it worked. You may not need a vat of boiling water, if you have a hot water cycle on your washing machine.
You don't need to clean your whites in hot water all the time, just when they start to yellow. It worked for me and I couldn't believe how simple it was. I just used the hot water cycle on my washing machine without adding soap. It came out white for the first time in ages. :)
Thank you Chris for taking time to read and comment on my blog. I will definitely be adding this tip to my bag of "tricks".
I once got some stubborn stains out of some white linen by rubbing the stains with fresh lemon juice, sprinkling the resulting damp areas with salt, and letting the fabric sit out in strong sunlight. I had to repeat the process a couple of times, but it eventually worked without harming the fabric. Hope this helps.
Another good tip to add to the repertoire. Just as I'm about to experiment more, our sunshine is going away for awhile.
This was very interesting reading all the solutions. Mine was peroxide, too. I have also read something about using it with baking soda. Hope something helps. It's no fun to lose a favorite garment.
Hi Lynda, I'd read that you can mix peroxide with baking soda to make a paste to put on the stains. However, I have no idea whether 3% peroxide will work or whether you need 20% (the latter of which is not so readily available here).
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