how do I get my sheets their whitest.?

Question

I am a guy so I am kinda dirty. I usually just shower in the morning so my white bed sheets tend to look dirty. I washed and bleached them three times yesterday and still didn't get them as white as I wanted. I have let them soak in bleach water for a day, and it came out with some spots really white while others not so white. I used the oxy clean which worked pretty good but still it seems like my mom and grandma know some secret to getting sheets to be extremely white. I have asked them but they won't tell me. I generally just throw all the sheets together and bleach them.

Answer 1

Your mom and grandmother might use white vinegar and hot water to get whites their whitest and helps the washer with a cleaner rinse cycle, softens clothes and reduces lint and static cling. Believe it or not over bleaching can yellow whites. And vinegar can be used for many things around the house.Vinegar works wonders to clean a coffee pot, deodorize, clean pretty much anything from fabrics to walls.

They also might be using Borax. Which can be found in the laundry detergent aisle.

Both, Borax or vinegar, are used to soften hard water which can be a culprit to dingy sheets and whites. Both are used to boost regular detergents, clean the house, and many other uses around the house.

Answer 2

Try soaking them in Biz before washing. Use a non-chlorine whitener on white cotton sheets.

If you are sleeping without teeshirt or PJ's then your sweat eventually yellows and erodes the fabric. Try PJ bottoms & a teeshirt if you can tolerate it, otherwise...just

Always wash them at least once a week.

You could buy colored sheets like taupe, gray, etc. and it would be less of a problem.

If you have very hard water, or iron in the water, that could be a problem. You can get a water conditioner which will help quite a bit. Put a little fabric softener in the rinse cycle too.

Answer 3

G'day Ben V,

Thank you for your question.

I would try a pre-wash spray on the stains. In Australia, we have a product called Napisan which was developed for nappies or diapers but works on all laundry. I recommend you try it or another similar nappy washing treatment on it. After all, your sheets can't be as dirty as nappies.

If all else fails, you can buy new sheets which is called the bachelors solution.

Regards

Answer 4

Be very cautious if you're utilizing bleach on Egyptian Cotton. While susceptible alkalis akin to ammonia, borax and silicate of soda, and bloodless dilute bleaching sellers don't seem to be dangerous to the fiber Bleaching sellers have got to be used simplest underneath managed stipulations as too prime a temperature or awareness WILL ruin the fiber.

Answer 5

Yellowed / Grayed Whites: Rit®, the makers of clothes dye, makes a white-wash that works well for bleachable and non-bleachable clothing that has yellowed or grayed.

As mentioned above, you can also hang yellowed clothes out to dry whenever possible to reduce the yellow.

Here are links to laundry tips
http://housekeeping.about.com/od/laundry/
http://kitchen.robbiehaf.com/LaundryTips.html

Answer 6

Dry them on the clothes line, in the sun...