Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Can somebody please help? I need to get my whites white again they are grey in some parts. I tried everything lemon, vinegar, Oxiclean, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and bluing too, but still they are the same.
Try drying in the sun.
I have socks with blue and pink heels and toes. Is it okay to wash them with regular whites?
I have a white towel with sewed on colored appliques. I can't use Clorox, and the towel looks grayish. How do I whiten?
By Sandy
Put in a container with warm water about a gallon and about 1/2 to a cup of hydrogen peroxide and let set for a while. Rinse.
I put my white tops in with coloured clothes and then into the dryer. They came out discoloured and one top went slightly blue. How can I restore the colour without ruinning my tops?
By shannonm52
Rit "color remover" has worked for me in the past.
Does anybody have any ideas as to why my underwear has turned grey especially my bras? I have already tried using a whitener product like a sachet in the back of the machine which is supposed to get rid of the grey and take laundry back to white, but to no avail. I really want to get my bras back to white again so any ideas would be great. Thanks.
By Joanne
I was told by a single dad once that using dishwasher detergent in your washing machine will make dingy white things look like new again. I tried it, results were okay, not like new though, but not grey anymore.
Instead of the dishwashing powder, can I use the Cascade action pacs dish tabs? That's all I have. And they're white powder with blue (Dawn) and orange fluids in them.
By Christal
If it says on the package that it's made for the dishwasher, then you can use them. I personally love the convenience of the tabs, and they are not messy like the powders are. They are probably a bit more expensive to use per load than powders, but they're worth it to me.
Now, if you're talking about using the tabs for the washing machine, I don't know if tabs made for the dishwasher could be used in the laundry. Definitely not use laundry tabs in the dishwasher....you'll have suds all over!
I live in Hyderabad India. i always wear white, khaki or linen shirts. Slowly they are turning into white grey which I don't like. Please, I need someone to help me by guiding with products available in Hyderabad, India.
By Sreekanth
Can you get plain white distilled vinegar? Using it in the rinsing water works a treat to brighten whites.
There may be products in your shops - you'd be looking for the words 'laundry bluing'; Robin Blue and Reckitt's Crown Blue used to be widely available in India but you have to know to look for it! You can also get it from Amazon if you can order online.
Bluing works better than anything else to brighten whites, it's amazing! But if you can't find it in your town, try the white vinegar because it works almost as well as the bluing.
My husband has a white microfiber shirt that he loves but it is turning gray and splotchy, particularly on the back. It has some white spots on it from using a bleach pen to remove stains. This just shows how gray the shirt has become. It says not to bleach it but I really want to get it white again! I wonder if our well water could be partly to blame. What should I do?
I use Oxyclean or Rit Whitewash to get my whites "white". You can find it at the grocery store.
What can be used to get a greyed lace bra back to white again?
By Lorna P
Oxyclean and follow directions on label. FBR, soak overnight. Be sure to mix with warm water to dissolve.
My white sweater turned grey, but it has a black design on it. It says "Paris Darling" in black with the Eiffel Tower
By Serena m from Vancouver, BC
I have some uniforms that went from bright white to dingy. I've tried borax, Rit, peroxide, Cascade, bleach, and baking soda... none of which have worked. Help!
By Cjones
What can I use to get cold water whites (tops, bras, etc.) white again?
By J.L.
This is a page about cleaning whites without bleach. If you choose to not use bleach for your whites there are other options for getting them clean and white.
Even if you use bleach, sometimes your whites are dingy and gray after washing. This is a page about whites not looking white after washing.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Does anyone have ideas how to get dingy whites bright white again? So many of my white t-shirts are starting to look off-white or light tan.
I'm a poor college student, so when I do my washes, I tend to mix colors and do it on cold. That way colors have less of a chance of running.
Put Cascade dish washing detergent in your white laundry to make the whites their whitest.
How do I get whites whiter in the laundry? I normally use a rust out product from Wal-Mart but was wondering if anything like vinegar, baking soda or something else cheaper would work? We have hard water - live in the country.
What can I use in place of bleach for whitening whites?
Tips for washing white clothing.
