Whites Aren't White After Washing

RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post by Grandma Margie (85) | (01/17/2007) Contact We have "iron bacteria" in our district water. The iron bacteria reacts with clorine bleach and will REALLY stain your clothes........sometimes bright orange! You can buy a product called "Iron Out" (I find it at our True Value Hardware store) and I used to buy a similar product from my neighbor who sold Amway products. It gets expensive if you have to do this very often. I learned to NOT use liquid clorine bleach!! I now use Tide with alternative bleach, Clorox II, Biz (an enzyme cleaner) or an all fabric bleach instead. I really like the "oxy-clean" type additive too. Dollar Tree sells a container of it by Awesome for $1 and it works great! That same size will cost $3 + at Wal Mart! I wash my whites in the hottest water and usually add half cups of any 3 of the favorites I mentioned earlier. I may let them soak for an hour to 4 hours and then I do an extra rinse at the end. I do this about every 2 or 3 weeks. I guess it works because folks are always asking "how do you keep your whites so bright?" Another trick I learned along the way..........if you have pastels, yellow, pink, blue, green......you know the pale baby colors.........they can start to look dingy so fast! I always wash them with my whites.....no clorine bleach remember........and they will come out bright and pretty again! RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post by Rubyred (7) | (03/11/2006) Profile | Contact I use a product called Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Bluing & my whites come out really white. I get it at the grocery store (Kroger) on the detergent isle, a little ways down the isle from the detergents. You wouldn't believe it, a product that turns the water blue, makes your whites really white. RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post By (Guest Post) (03/11/2006) Sounds like you have really hard water with a lot of calcium in it. Use a Brita water pitcher and filter for your coffee, for your wash use washing soda. It really seems to help boost your bleaching power, etc. RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post By Janet45101 (Guest Post) (03/10/2006) These two problems seem to be related;please ask your local water board to check your supply of water. It sounds as if it may be contaminated in some way. Good luck. RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post By Sheila (Guest Post) (03/10/2006) I don't know if you know this or not but bleach and laundry detergent don't mix when you put them in the water together. You should let your washer agatate 5 min.with the soap before you add bleach. Just put the bleach in a container and dilute it with water before you add it to your clothes. I'm sure you will see a big difference in your whites. By adding the bleach and soap together will make your clothes dingy. I also add oxi cleaner to my clothes, and 1 cup vinegar to my rinse. Hope this helps and good luck. RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post By (Guest Post) (03/10/2006) You probably need a water softener, but they are expensive and sometimes that is just out of the question, as with our family. What I use is a product called "20 Mule Team Borax" in with my laundry. It sure seems to help. Also, if there is ever a time when things come out all rusty or dingy looking, I can go to my city water department and they have a product that they will give me that will take the crud out. I do have to re-wash the items, but unfortunately, this is what comes with living in a city with extremely hard water. If ever there is only a small amount of rust on an item, all I do is use a product called Wink. It takes the rust out right before your eyes. It works great, but don't get it on your skin! Good luck! RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post by camo_angels (683) | (03/09/2006) Profile | Contact Oh, there is high level of Iron! They must have OOOOLD pipes in the area. The little town I lived in Iowa was like that on one side of the river. Nothing you could do about it, and that was in the school too! I don't blame you, If you find a home convenient for you! Good luck! RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post by kathleen48 (20) | (03/09/2006) Profile | Contact Thanks, but I am renting a Townhouse and don't know if something like that can be installed here. I don't like it here anyway. My lease runs out in July and I am looking for another house. It defintely won't be in South Portland, Maine. I have had well water and Portland City water and have never ever had to deal with this problem. My son took off one of my faucet screens and there was all kinds of red(?) stuff. Kathie Lee RE: Whites Aren't White After Washing Post by camo_angels (683) | (03/09/2006) Profile | Contact Sounds like your pipes/or area! Contact your City's office for water and they should give you information on what is going on. Try oxiclean on your whites, I have heard from others that may work. If it isn't your own pipes, I would contact Rainsoft or Culligan about looking in to install a system, especially with Reverse Osmosis (that gets any bad microbes/nitrates)