What to do if a white item fades during washing: ways to return its original whiteness

A faded white item is a serious problem that even the most experienced housewife can face.

It is enough not to notice a small colored handkerchief for all snow-white clothes to acquire an uncharacteristic shade.

If such a situation occurs, there is no need to panic. There are effective and inexpensive ways to bleach faded whites, but you need to use them correctly.

So, what should you do if a white item has faded after washing, how can you return it to its former whiteness and original appearance, rather than bleach it and remove the foreign color? Find answers to your questions in the article.

How to return the previous look and color?

If the problem was noticed immediately after an unsuccessful wash, then you need to start fixing it immediately.

Waiting for clothes to dry is not recommended. Moreover, you can’t pet her. The soleplate of the iron will seal the paint securely into the fabric, and it will not be possible to remove it.

First you need try to wash the clothes again, eliminating the item that caused the shedding. The water temperature should be maximum, but not exceed the recommended values. Information about this is indicated on the product label.

You need to use powder for washing white clothes. It contains bleaching components that help remove foreign pigment from fabric fibers.

If after normal washing the white item does not return to its original state, you need to use heavy artillery in the form of folk remedies and household chemicals. Read about washing white clothes Here.

How to whiten with folk remedies?

You can bleach faded white fabric by boiling it in a soap-soda solution. It is prepared as follows:

• rub 40 g of laundry soap 72% (this is approximately ½ bar);
• heat 5 liters of water;
• add 15 g of soda to it;
• Mix all components thoroughly until they are completely dissolved.

During processing, things need to be stirred and heated. When the procedure is completed, the soap solution is drained and the clothes are rinsed in cool water. If it was not possible to bleach the fabric the first time, the procedure must be repeated.

There are other, no less effective folk remedies for bleaching faded clothes. These include:

1. Mustard powder. For every liter of water take 1 tbsp. l. powder. Soak clothes in a warm solution for an hour. There is no need to worry that things will turn yellow after processing. It will not happen.
2. Potassium permanganate. There are no exact proportions for preparing the solution. You need to focus on its color. It should be slightly pink.

   To enhance the effect, you can add grated shavings of laundry soap to it. An important condition for soaking is the absence of undissolved manganese crystals. Things are kept in the prepared solution for 2-3 hours.

3. Ammonia. To prepare the bleaching composition you will need 10 liters of hot water and 2 tbsp. l. alcohol Soaking time is 60 minutes. You need to work with ammonia carefully, in a well-ventilated area.
4. Hydrogen peroxide. For every 2 liters of warm water you will need 1 tsp. pharmaceutical antiseptic. To enhance the effect, you can add the same amount of soda ash to the solution. Soak the item in the solution for no more than 20 minutes. To ensure uniform whitening, it must be turned over.
5. Citric acid and soap. To prepare a solution in a volume of 5 liters you will need 2 tbsp. l. liquid soap and 1 tbsp. l lemons. For high-quality bleaching, the item is soaked in the solution for up to 8 hours.
6. Boric acid. To prepare 10 liters of bleach you will need 2 tbsp. l. powder. Things are soaked for an hour. A prerequisite is not only their subsequent washing, but also thorough rinsing.
7. Aspirin. To prepare a bleaching solution in an amount of 5 liters, you will need 7 tablets of acetylsalicylic acid. To make them dissolve faster, they need to be crushed into powder. In this composition, the item is soaked for 2 hours.
8. Turpentine. For 5 liters of warm water you will need 5 tbsp. l. turpentine. The clothes are soaked for 1-2 hours, depending on the intensity of the fabric dyeing.
9. Vinegar. To prepare 5 liters of bleach solution you will need 3 tbsp. l. vinegar with a concentration of 9%. Not to be confused with essence! The item is soaked in the resulting composition for 1-2 hours.
10. Dentifrice. It is used to remove local colored spots. The powder is diluted with water or lemon juice until a homogeneous paste is obtained. It is applied to problem areas and left for 30 minutes.

After completing the whitening procedure with any of the listed means, the clothes should be thoroughly washed and rinsed.

Household chemicals to help

You can bleach faded clothes using chemicals. Preference should be given to compositions that do not contain chlorine, caustic alkalis and acids.

Permitted components include: active oxygen, optical particles, enzymes, surfactants. Gels and liquid concentrates are used to care for delicate fabrics. They work even in cold water.

Universal instructions for using chemical bleaches:

• dissolve the required amount of product in water;
• soak the laundry, the soaking time is indicated on the package;
• rinse the item, wash it by hand or in a machine.

Not all products are equally effective. The top 3 inexpensive and effective bleaches are as follows:

1. Dr. Beckmann (optical brightener). To prepare the bleach solution you will need about 4 tbsp. l. powder (50 g) and 4 liters of water.

   Soak clothes in it for 60 minutes. The cost of a 100 g package is about 100 rubles. It's enough for 2 washes.

2. Vanish Crystal white (oxygen bleach). To prepare 4 liters of solution you will need 1 measuring cap of gel. Clothes are soaked for up to 6 hours.

   The cost of a 0.45 liter bottle is about 150 rubles. This product is universal and suitable for washing any laundry.

3. Persol-2 (oxygen bleach). To prepare 10 liters of solution you will need 2.5 tbsp. l. powder. Soaking time is 30 minutes. This product only works in hot water (60-70 degrees), and is also suitable for boiling.

   It is not used for washing delicate fabrics. The cost of a 200 g package is about 15 rubles.

Features of bleaching clothes made from different types of fabric

The type of fabric matters when choosing a bleaching method.To avoid damaging things, The following points need to be taken into account:

1. Cotton and linen items and white jeans are not afraid of boiling. However, during the cooking process they may shrink slightly. They can be bleached by any means, including bleach and boric acid. However, soaking time should be kept to a minimum.
2. Items made of wool and silk do not tolerate contact with aggressive substances. They can only be treated with liquid bleaches. An effective and safe folk remedy is mustard, soda and turpentine.
3. Synthetic clothes are washed at a water temperature of no higher than 60 degrees. It is not recommended to bleach it using aggressive agents. You can use lemon juice and vinegar solution.

The more delicate the fabric, the more gentle the wash should be. The water temperature is reduced to a minimum (up to 30 degrees), and the use of bleach and acid-containing products is abandoned.

If you are not sure that the fabric will react normally to the detergent, first treat an inconspicuous area of ​​it.

How to prevent shedding?

It is unacceptable to wash white and colored items together. They must be carefully sorted before loading into the drum.

Sometimes it happens that clothes fade in spots while drying. This can happen if you fasten white and colored wet items with one clothespin. It is not recommended to hang laundry in the sun or on a radiator to prevent it from yellowing.

Important Tips

To prevent the bleaching process from becoming fatal for clothes, you need to use the following tips:

1. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations for caring for the item.They are indicated on the label.
2. Do not use bleach too often, as it can cause fabric fibers to become thinner.
3. You need to rinse your clothes thoroughly after the bleaching procedure.
4. You should wear gloves when working with aggressive compounds. If the product has a pungent odor (ammonia, turpentine), then you additionally need to protect your respiratory system.

There are special napkins that capture colors (Brite, Paclan, etc.). They are used when washing white items with colored inserts. This avoids fabric shedding.

A few more ways to return the original color to white items that have been dyed after washing can be found in this article.

Video on the topic

This video will show you how to save faded white clothes:

Conclusion

Faded white things can be restored to their original appearance using folk remedies. They are easy to use and inexpensive. If the situation cannot be corrected, then you can use bleaches and stain removers.

To avoid having to repeat a complex whitening procedure in the future, It is necessary to properly care for light-colored clothing. First of all, this concerns the careful sorting of products before loading them into the washing machine.