how to whiten whites??

Question

I have extremely hard water- full of minerals and calcium. We actually have to replace all our faucets about every 12 to 18 months. because the faucets just rot away!! How can I whiten my whites- not just whites with colors on them, but even solid white clothing. Even with chlorine bleach after 2 to 3 washes, everything looks dingy- grayish, yellowed sort of color!! And of course the clothes you cannot use Clorox on look even worse!! I have tried Oxyclean, Clorox 2, etc, even old fashioned bluing on the solid whites, but nothing helps!! Sure hope someone can help me! P.S. My daughter is a Surgical Tech, and wears a lot of white, obviously she needs to look clean and bright, new uniforms are too expensive to have to replace every time you turn around!! HELP!!

Answer 1

Sounds like you need a water softener!

In the meantime, though, have your daughter soak her whites in a combination of RIT whitener & RIT dye (white, of course). This is what I used to do to my "hospital whites"! I only had to do it every three or four months, but if your water is that bad, she'll probably have to do it more often.

Answer 2

Chlorine bleach leach and oxy bleaches don't do much for yellowing and grayness cause by minerals in the water, but you're not out of luck. I have used this product http://www.ironout.com/brands/YellowOut.aspx with some success. Also, the makers of RIT dye have a couple of powders in the same display with the dyes at the supermarket. I can't remember which one in appropriate -- they have a couple of color removers and details ar eon the package. You don't want to inhale these powders.

You can soften water without a whole-house system, You can add a softening agent like Calgon just to your washing machine and it actually helps. But it only prevents discoloration; it doesn't correct it once it's in there. It's a pain to have to put it in the wash AND the rinse, but worth it for a full load of whites.

Answer 3

Well, Oxyclean has always worked for me....I soak the clothes in Oxyclean then wash them in cold water. I never use bleach because it makes whites yellow. Maybe you need to try saoked the clothes rather than jujst adding a scoop to the load.

Also, have you tried the whitener dye called RID. That works for me too. I use that for socks and it works great!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

You need to neutralize the hardness of the water.

Add a scoop of baking soda to each load. Put the baking soda in the water with the soap before adding the clothes to the washer. Once it's mixed you can add your clothes.

A scoop is about 1/2 - 3/4 cup. I use the scoop that comes with the 10 pound bag of baking soda from Costco/Sam's club.

Answer 5

Make sure you only use Clorox and only 1 cup at a time, try to pre treat stains. Cheap bleach yellow's cloths also. Good Luck

Answer 6

Try Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Bluing... it's in the laundry aisle and you just add a few drops to the rinse cycle.... the blue turns the faded whites into bright white! Everyone always asks me how I keep my lab coats so white....

Answer 7

Borax Booster

Answer 8

Hard water stops detergent from working (as you have noticed!). Detergent usually breaks the surface tension of the water, but in hard water it can't do this and can't lather.

You can buy water softeners such as http://www.spec-net.com.au/press/0205/waterco.htm

Or.. thinking a little laterally... install a large rainwater tank and use rainwater only in the laundry?

Answer 9

Ever heard of Didi 7 cleaner? I've been using it for about 20 years. It works great. I think Kroger still sells it. It costs about $10.99 a tube. Or you can buy it on the net at:
http://www.youcansave.com/didi.asp

Answer 10

when i wash my laundry after soap i used vinegar funny but it works for me. after soaping them soak them with vinegar and rinse it 2 times you (used downey if you like after rinsing it with vinegar)