Is there a way to genuinely whiten my towels w/o chlorine bleach?

[Soliloquy]

My towels are old but still quite thick and serviceable. But they're dingy. I will not use chlorine bleach. Chlorine-free bleach seems to be a scam--I can't tell any difference after using it, even after using it every time I wash my towels.

I'm a T4, using off-white, beige, or grey towels is a great idea, but not an option for me. :lol

:help

[Mother of Sons]

I was able to take dh's old work uniforms from grey back to bright white with a combination of era, stain liquid and laundry boosters. It took a few washes but they got there.

[expatmom]

Have you sunned them? (Probably easier said then done at this time of year!)

[Iarwain]

Overnight soaks in lots of OxiClean?

There's also old fashioned bluing (http://www.mrsstewart.com/).

[cro]

We have hard water, so all my whites end up dingy. Oxyclean and really HOT water do help a bit, as does sunning. I haven't had any luck w/ bluing, but it could be that I don't use enough.

[Soliloquy]

:doh I never tried soaking them overnight in oxygen bleach. Thanks, I'll give that a try! My mom used to use bluing when I was a kid. :heart What exactly is in that stuff? :lol

Sunning works with stains, I don't think it would work with dingy, mineral build-up. :think We do have softened well water now, but for years we had municipal water which, I am learning now is horrific for laundry! Lots of stains are coming out just from normal washing and everything smells so much fresher after being laundered in well water. Reminds me of my childhood. :heart

[Iarwain]

There's a page somewhere on the Mrs. Stewart's site that describes what's in it. I'll try to find it...

Near the bottom of this page (http://www.mrsstewart.com/pages/purpose.htm) there's a paragraph headed "What's in this stuff, anyway?"

[Autumn]

The smart aleck in me really wants to suggest pouring bottles of white-out in the wash, but I'll try to refrain. :shifty

[Annainprogress]

When I was a Young Farmer at the County Show, one of the other Young Farmers clubs used to "blue" their lambs for the turnout class - except whatever they used looked purple when the product was actually on, so you had this little line of purple lambs until they were rinsed off. They did look very white when done and it definitely have them an edge.

[mommylove]

When I was a Young Farmer at the County Show, one of the other Young Farmers clubs used to "blue" their lambs for the turnout class - except whatever they used looked people when the product was actually on, so you had this little line of purple lambs until they were rinsed off. They did look very white when done and it definitely have them an edge.


:laughtears We had sheep growing up & I am laughing at the visual. Too funny.

[schmamy]

I'd dissolve OxiClean in boiling water and then soak towels overnight. I've done that with stained shirts and not only did the stain come out, but I was :jawdrop at how blindingly white the shirt was--and it wasn't even a shirt I had noticed was dingy.

[Stiina]

what about Rockin' Green laundry soap? I've heard good things about it removing buildup.

[Soliloquy]

what about Rockin' Green laundry soap? I've heard good things about it removing buildup.

I have RLR which is basically the same formula, I think. It helps, definitely.

I'm going to try boiling water and oxy bleach. I'm not sure how to do it, though, I have a front-loader. Maybe I'll just do an overnight soak in hot. :think Or I could use a 5-gallon bucket.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[HuggaBuggaMommy]

Thanks for the tip with Oxyclean. We have the same problem - dingy whites due to hard city water (I miss our lovely, clean well water :sigh), and I really hate dingy whites. I don't have the same issue with towel color (:shifty) but we do have some white towels and sheets, and a lot of socks and underwear that just look unhappy.