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Keeeping whites white

montecristo#4

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How do you keep your whites white -- especially things like undershirts and white shirts? Mine always seem to trend towards yellow/gray over time, even though I am washing in warm/hot water with reasonable amounts of detergent, and of course keeping the whites separate from everything else.
 

Teacher

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A little bleach works wonders. Naturally, this is not for nice dress shirts; however, for undergarments that are easily replaced, there's nothing wrong with spiking the wash water with a bit of chlorine. (I've never noticed any deterioration anyway.) However, some people add as much as a full cup to a load, which actually turns whites yellow. A few tablespoons will do the trick very nicely.

A non-chlorine bleach works well for white shirts, at least for me. Perhaps some of the shirt makers could chime in and give us alternate information.
 

dah328

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I use a combination of Kabbaz and VersaceMan's processes for white dress shirts. I always soak them in hot water and oxyclean for at least a couple hours before I throw them in the washer. I also take a brush to the collars and cuffs if either are visibly soiled. As for white undershirts, I don't bother with any special treatment as they're inexpensive enough to replace (no Zimmerli for me) when past their prime.
 

Jovan

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Oxi-Clean tends to work wonders for both my dress and casual shirts. Every once in a while with my casuals I'll use bleach.
 

stach

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Oddly enough I've never had this problem. They put quite a bit of chlorine in the tap water here in NYC.
frown.gif
 

Luc-Emmanuel

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To keep white white, you have to put some blue in
smile.gif


!luc
 

Holdfast

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I've never had this problem... but I suspect the washing powder I use has some optical whiteners in it.
 

trogdor

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