Can you do anything with grey clothing

lisyloo

I have tried a number of commercial "whitening" products on clothing tht has gone grey.
Is there anything that can be done with grey items e.g. underwear?

Will bleaching work? (don't mind taking a risk).
I'm not sure it will as items are not actually dirty.
What is it that causes white items to go grey like this?

LittleWelshRareBit

I haven't got any suggestions for making things whiter but what about going the opposite way and dying them black. I have done this a few times and fell like I've got brand new things!

zincoxide

You could bleach them but it tends to damage the fabric and ruin the garment anyway - I'd suggest going a darker colour - it'll be easier and will look better.

As for it going grey - are you seperating your clothes into colours/darks/whites when washing, do you use the correct amount of washing powder? If so, check the U-Bend coming from the washing machine, if the water isn't flowing away freely then the dirty water will still be going around with your clothes, give it a clean out and see if that helps.

squeaky

lisyloo wrote:

I have tried a number of commercial "whitening" products on clothing tht has gone grey.
Is there anything that can be done with grey items e.g. underwear?

Will bleaching work? (don't mind taking a risk).
I'm not sure it will as items are not actually dirty.
What is it that causes white items to go grey like this?

Check out the Cleaning section of our MEGA Index sticky and look under "clothes" and also under "laundry" for all sorts of tips on whites.

Also, use our Indexed Collections to find the Save Zillions on Cleaning Index which has links to good advice on which powders to use for what and why.

Finally there's a very recent thread, within a page or two, about keeping white's white.

You can find these via my signature any time you see it or...

..you can use the Indexed Collections link in the Blue Bar at the top of every page which looks something like this:-

janb5

Also check your filter- generally at the front of your machine which sometimes gets clogged up and needs cleaning from time to time. Also as well as separating the darks from whiltes make sure you use the 50 degree cycle for your whites rather that 40 otherwise that might account for the `greying`.

arkonite_babe

Try dying them a different colour???

seraphina

I've heard that fabric conditioner can make whites go grey - I've stopped using fabric conditioner for my whites now but only in the past few weeks so can't tell yet if it makes a difference

recovering_spendaholic

My Mother in Law told me years ago that you should steep greyed whites in a solution made with steredent tablets and water. It works but it depends on what kind of fabric it is - synthetics seem to come out whiter than pure cotton. Bleach makes stuff go a kind of horrible creamy colour for some reason. I use two steredent tablets in a bucket of water.

ladygrey_2

I only ever wash whites on there own and with a powder for whites and no softener

thriftmonster

I use bleach diluted in a bucket for the school white polo shirts half way through the year. It does knock a bit of the stuffing out of the material but it gets then to the end of the school year still white (although I only do it once or twice a year)

Pink_Flamingo

You know the story, you get a nice white bra and before long it is a shade of grey! A year or so ago I saw those two posh cleaners on 'Too posh to wash' put some in water with an ingredient in it and they came out brilliant white, but I can't remember what this ingredient was. Does anyone know what it might be? :rolleyes: