What will happen to laundry if the tag says Do Not Bleach but I used bleach?

Question

I'm washing white sheets with bleach, and realized after I threw them in the wash that the label said Do Not Bleach. What can happen to them? They're 100% cotton and white.

Answer 1

Bleach will break down elastic over time. It may have said don't bleach for the reason that the fitted sheet has the elastic and it would shorten the strength life of them or mabe this label is printed on all the company's sheets meaning they probably put out colored ones too and you don't want to bleach colored ones, of course. Yes, like others said, bleaching can cause possible yellowing on the cotton but you shouldn't have any issues, I wouldn't think, this one time. In the future, try something like Clorox bleach for colors to sanitize your sheets from time-to-time, it does help with getting rid of any body grime and possible bed bugs!!

Answer 2

If you have already used it then you will definitely find out the results in the final rinse. Rarely use regular bleach in the laundry anymore. Mainly use detergent boosters and bleach alternatives. Should not be any significant damage hopefully.

In all white items, subsequent variations in the tone of white is what the manufacturer is trying to avoid by warning no bleach.

Answer 3

They will probably be OK, though it's true that the bleach can leave spots. In future, though, if there's no real reason to bleach them, why do it? (I know this time was an accident.) Or if you need to use bleach, fill your washer first, add the bleach, agitate for a few seconds, and then put the laundry in. This will evenly distribute the bleach in the water and you'll be less likely to get those spots.

Answer 4

Maybe nothing but I washed my daughter's white cotton shirt and it turned a light pink so we read the washing instructions and it said no bleach and I had used Tide with bleach. I washed it with nothing but white clothes so it had to have been the bleach in the Tide that made it turn pink. I thought you could bleach cotton I guess I was wrong. lol

Answer 5

You can ruin them. Sometimes the bleach will leave yellowish spots on the item that even a professional cleaner cannot get out.

Answer 6

Probably nothing. It could damage them if you do it continuously, bleach will destroy material with repeated use. I used to bleach all my socks until they started falling apart. Now I only do it occasionally.