White and gray: can they be washed together and what rules should be followed?

Washing white and gray items together is undesirable, but if it is not possible to avoid this procedure, it is important to make it as safe as possible.

By observing certain requirements (low water temperature, no mechanical spin, correct choice of detergent), maintaining the brightness of the colors of your favorite things will not be difficult.

Let's take a closer look at whether it is possible to wash white and gray items in a washing machine to avoid shedding and loss of color.

Is it possible to wash at the same time?

When thinking about washing white and gray items together, you need to know exactly in which cases the result will be perfectly clean clothes, and in which cases the items will be damaged. Read about the rules for washing white clothes here.

In what cases is it allowed?

Washing white and gray items permitted in exceptional situations, provided:

• a very quick, refreshing wash is planned;
• gray clothes were washed many times (each time the colored pigment was washed out of the fabric);
• Clothes are cleaned without the use of aggressive detergents and at low water temperatures;
• colored and white items are wrung out only separately.

When is it undesirable?

From washing white and gray items together It is better to refuse in the following situations:

• colored clothes are washed for the first time (even with high-quality dyeing, when it comes into contact with water for the first time, the fabric sheds a little);
• washing requires mandatory soaking (the longer the contact of the fabric with water, the more color pigment it loses);
• The upcoming wash will take place at high temperatures (the hotter the water, the more the colored fabric fades).

How to do it in the washing machine?

Strict adherence to the rules of co-washing in a washing machine will help maintain the brightness and purity of color white and gray clothes:

1. Before washing, all clothing must be turned inside out.
2. Lay out clothes in two piles: white items separately, gray items separately. Each stack is placed in a special mesh bag.
3. Set the delicate mode and minimum temperature level. To wash white and gray items at the same time, the water temperature should not exceed 30C.

   Washing is carried out only on a gentle cycle for woolen and delicate fabrics, without spinning.

4. Add detergent and start the washing machine.
5. After the washing process is completed, the items must be immediately removed from the bag and hung to dry.

Instead of special mesh bags, you can use old cotton pillowcases.

Choosing a detergent

Washing white and gray items together is only possible when using special universal products with a minimum surfactant content. It is very important that the powder contains no bleaching or chlorine-containing ingredients..

Drying

It’s not enough to know how to wash white and colored clothes correctly; it’s equally important to understand how to dry things correctly:

1. White and gray clothes should never be hung overlapping each other to dry.In places where fabrics of two colors come into contact, stains will certainly appear, which are extremely difficult to get rid of.
2. Before laying clothes out to dry (or hanging them on a line), they must be turned inside out.
3. Dry white and gray items only in a dark place. Otherwise, under the influence of direct sunlight, colored items will lose their brightness, and white items will acquire a yellow tint.

Tips on the topic

1. You can check whether gray fabric is fading in a simple way: moisten the clothes, wrap them in a light wet cloth and leave for ten minutes. If, after wrapping, dark spots appear on light fabric, you should avoid washing it together.
2. White and gray items should never be dried on heating appliances. Under the influence of high temperatures, the fabric changes its structure, dark matter becomes lighter, and linen acquires a yellowish tint.
3. When washing by machine, it is better to fill the tank halfway (the fewer items are loaded into the machine, the greater the likelihood of preserving the color of the clothes).
4. Manual squeezing will help speed up the drying process (white and gray items are wrung out separately).
5. If, after washing together, the white linen has turned gray, soaking it for thirty minutes in water with aspirin tablets (10 tablets dissolved in two liters) will help restore the whiteness and freshness of the clothes.

If a white item does fade, advice from this articles, if you are completely dyed, take a look here.

Conclusion

Strict adherence to the rules for washing gray and white items will help achieve ideal cleanliness results, while maintaining the brightness of the color of the fabrics.