Tips for whitening towels

squeaky

justin138 wrote:

I'm thinking of dyeing my dingy white towels a pastel colour - see my towel thread.

Yes, I've seen your towel thread and since this is a follow on of the same subject that you raised as a possiblity there I shall add your post on to it.

tinkerbelluk

Another question from me I'm affraid. I have some egyptian cotton towels that are badly stained from god only knows what and to be honest I don't really want to throw them out.

Any ideas on how I can get the stains out. I've tried a hot wash but not a boil wash yet - will this do it or is there something magical that I am missing

mattogier

tinkerbelluk wrote:

Another question from me I'm affraid. I have some egyptian cotton towels that are badly stained from god only knows what and to be honest I don't really want to throw them out.

Any ideas on how I can get the stains out. I've tried a hot wash but not a boil wash yet - will this do it or is there something magical that I am missing

I assume that they are light colour towels?

Could you dye them a colour that is darker than the stain?

:-)

Matt

bobsa1

If they are white have you tried nappisan (sp) or soaked them in white vinegar?

janb5

Hi! I consider myself quite a stain queen but I draw the line at towels! I bought some lovely ones at BHS which were terrific until my son ` bleached` them with his acne cream! If they are still absorbent, then use them up until they are shabby or relegate them for swimming towels etc.

Primark do some lovely ones in their luxery range £7 for extra large, £5 for medium and £2 for hand towels.

brindles01

If they are white I would just keep popping them into a boil wash. If they are coloured they might have to be relegated to dishcloths etc.

tallulah_beaulah

Have you tried spraying the stains with neat vinegar before washing? Sometimes this works on stains.

I have heard that boiling up whites in a saucepan with washing powder does wonders for stains. Personally, this approach has only ever ended in disaster for me - over boiled soap foam all over the hob and floor! But it might work if you're more sensible than me.

To save the towels, I'd go for dyeing them. It'd give them a new lease of life and if they're good quality cotton they will probably take up the dye beautifully. I have one really stained towel, but am waiting to build up a few before dyeing so that I can get my moneys worth out of a packet of machine dylon!

Zed42

You don't say if the stains are darker or lighter than the towels? ie, bleached or not???

Also, what colour are the towels ...

Sorry to be so pernickety...

If the towels are light in colour and the stains dark ... then sunlight does wonders (although in this weather ..... wait till Spring!) (or ... cough ... bleach!)

If the towels are dark in colour and the stains are light (bleached) ... then dye may be the only way to go ...

newleaf

Dye may not cover the stains either, it depends what has caused them. It does warn you about this on the box. I accidentally bleached a green towel once and tried to dye it a darker shade of green, but the dye (Dylon machine) didn't take on the bleached area. I tried dyeing a stripey towel (burgundy & cream), using Dylon colour remover (which pongs to high heaven) first. It didn't remove the darker stripes completely, but it did reduce them to a very pale shade and I thought they would cover. I used a very dark brown Dylon machine dye, but the towel still came out with stripes - in two shades of brown!
Also, beware if there's any decorative trim on the towels. The dye needs a very high temperature to set and this can spoil any trim which is not 100% cotton.

Fruball

Not sure if this is a dumb question but how do I bleach my towels ?

All my white towels are off colour now and I want them back to white. I don't want to pour bleach in my machine in case it 'rots' the rubber as has happened to me before.

Is there something that will bring my towels back to white, or should I just dye them blue rather than chuck them away ?

Thanks for reading this