bleaching clothes / sheets

thriftmonster

I presoak the kids polo shirts for school in a dilute solution of bleach and then push them straight in the washing machine after that. It does soften the fabric a little but it's fine

Churchmouse

Minky2Slice wrote:

So I can just put some normal household liquid bleach into the washing machine dispenser, say where I would normally put the fabric softener? (front-loader machine) - (DONT laugh people - I'm not blonde, just really uhm... 'unexperienced') just checking, as I thought i would do this, but i have to be careful, dont want any bleach stuck somewhere and the next person's black washing to come out white as well!! :eek: that would just be nasty!!

I have a nice pair of white pants that now still have a brown stain on the back after I've washed in a white-only load! (brown stain=from where i was sitting on a wood bench on the weekend, just in case u were wondering!)

Be very careful using ordinary bleach for laundry! It's a chlorine bleach and unsuitable for lots of fabrics. Basically only suitable for 100% cotton with no special trims or finishes.

Check the wash label before you do this. A triangle means it can use ordinary bleach, but I'll bet it will have a triangle crossed out, which means NO.

If you do use it you add it with the detergent, definitely NOTin the fabric conditioner compartment. As I replied earlier I like ecover laundry bleach which is safe for most things even coloureds.:D

tootles_2

I have never had to bleach my whites, I wash them on a 60o wash with soap powder and soda crystals. If I have some thing white that is stained I just soak the offending article in a weak bleach solution for a couple of hours and them out it through with a white load. Bleach will rot your clothes if you use too strong a solution.

tawnyowls

Something like Ace laundry bleach would be safe enough, or use a non-hypchlorite bleach like Vanish or Oxiclean.

saving-grace

tawnyowls wrote:

Something like Ace laundry bleach would be safe enough, or use a non-hypchlorite bleach like Vanish or Oxiclean.

I was going to suggest Ace bleach too as you can apply it directly to the stain (and then you must wash it straight away)

Rachie_B

i never have to bleach my whites

i just use washing powder with a scoop of soda crystals and a squirt of stardrops in the dispenser

then allow to dry in the line in the sun (preferably!)
this keeps my whites white and smelling lovely too

chika

You can buy a special powder bleach for washing machines, its about £1 in Wilkinsons. Ace works really well on delicate fabrics and I also use it to "bleach" coloured items in the machine.

To be honest im no domestic goddess and I usually just add a few squirts of whatever household toilet cleaning bleach I have to the soap dispenser as its is filling up. It works great and keeps my clothes really white.

gemmaj

I love jersey sheets in winter - so much warmer. But over summer I have changed all the bedlinen. I have a really good condition fitted jersey sheet in pink. Is is possible to turn it cream? I'd settle for white!!

I've never done any fabric dyeing before (except tie-die tshirts when I was a kid:rotfl: )

stuart264

Check out the Dylon Dye Website at http://http://www.dylon.co.uk/main.htm has loads of "how to's" on there.

Take one tip from someone who has used the machine dyes wash anything you want to dye first but WITHOUT using fabric condition (a bit of borax in the wash works wonders to) and you get a much better result.

angie_loves_veg

Now that dd has started school, I am discovering just what a mucky pup she is! I cannot seem to get her school shirts (Woolies non iron) clean through the normal 40 degree wash or even soaking in handwash powder first.

I am thinking of bleaching them, but have never bleached clothes before :rolleyes:

Do I need a 'special' laundry bleach, or can I use the bottle of 'household bleach' languishing at the back of the cupboard?
How much bleach/water do I need?
Hot or cold water?
Spot on the mucky bits, or just stick the whole shirt in?
How long should I leave it there for?
Does it need to be laundered 'normally' afterwards?

oh, and will it work!!?

Help!!!