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Making whites white again.

Calm down, this is a laundry question.

I have a white duvet cover from ikea that has gotten dingy over the years and bleach isn't working to get that gross color out. Does anyone have any suggestions other than buying a new one? I really like this one.

NicThePoet 7 Mar 28
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39 comments

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1

Mrs. Steward's bluing.

Bluing the whites is as old as ever. If I am not mistaken, the whitening properties of this colloid was discovered by accident when a "piece of blue" fall in one of the batches where paper was being made ions ago

34

Have you tried setting it in front of the television and making it watch hockey, NASCAR, and the CMAs?

Ha! Epic

Dammit, you stole two of my responses 😛

@PeppermintDreads Haha, oh, there's nothing wrong with hockey at all. But if the goal is to make the whites whiter, hockey, NASCAR, and the CMAs are probably good places to start. ?

10

Glad to hear that laundry questions are welcom here. I have this really old shroud, but it was wrapped around Jesus for a while, and I'm sure you all know that there's no stain tougher to remove than 2000 year old, ground-in Savior...

oohhhhh shhiiitttt!!! ???

Lol I'm dead. ? But I might return this Sunday.

You'll never get that out.
Get a new shroud.

10

White, distilled vinegar is touted for removing yellowing from whites. It has a standardized acid level that cider vinegar doesn't, hence its use for pickling & preserving. A soak in hot water with vinegar, then a wash with blueing may do the trick if the item is made with natural fibers. If there is a nylon/poly fiber mix, it may not work as the man made fibers may be the culprit of the yellow tint (their base color may be yellow).

I've never heard of bluing before! I'll try that.

@WickedNicki My mother used bluing. It's a color mixing thing. Blue mixed with yellow makes white, is the way mom explained it. In fact, additive color mixing works that way, but mixing paints does not, that's subtractive

Bluing has been around for years. It comes in a fairly small bottle. Read directions and go from there.

@EdEarl theatrical lighting is another example of additive color process. Nice to see people who know something about color theory on this site!!

@WizardBill They do when mixing paints or pigments. That's subtractive color mixing, named that because the pigments absorb (subtract) some colors and only reflect blue or yellow. When you mix two pigments, they absorb more colors than each one individually.You see only what is reflected.

Additive mixing can be seen if you have several beams of light, e.g, blue and yellow. The blue added to the yellow gives white.

[en.wikipedia.org]

Yes, good old fashioned bluing...if it's cotton.

7

OMG I was all excited.....and then a laundry question? Lol. Nice click bait. ?

Haha, just keeping you on your toes!

@WickedNicki So, it was worded that way in the interest of good, clean fun, then? 🙂

@Meep70 Hahaha

4

Thank goodness for that, this tan has taken 60 years to acquire.
Chlorine based bleaches are not great for whitening fabric, try an oxygen based bleach or try htis one:
When laundering your bed linens, add half a cup of baking soda with your detergent at the beginning of the wash cycle. Then, at the start of the rinse cycle, pour in half a cup of white vinegar (don’t worry; that distinct odour will rinse out). These two natural whiteners also have a softening effect, so you can skip the fabric softener.

@Captnron59 yep, I wash me clothes every summer, whether they need it or not.

4

Haha... I clicked on this thinking you were referring to race....I couldn't imagine what I might find! And here you are talking about laundry.

Surprise! ?

4

Amway rust remover.

My Mom used this on all sorts of really old delicate things.

4

Ha! that's my favorite kind of trolling.

4

So much snark! Such win! So jealous I didn't think of it!

3

Try stuff like oxyclean: A sorta "oxygenation bleach" which is the opposite of clorine bleach.
And less damaging.
Also: Baking soda, and woolite,...

3

I use oxyclean and I've heard using baking soda helps

3

"Calm down, this is a laundry question."
ROFL
A week on the line in sun and rain. Got mine much whiter, and they were black jeans to start with.

3

Buy a new one! I got a double in 100% Egyptian cotton for £20 ($28 ) on Amazon!

Jnei Level 8 Mar 28, 2018

I've been perusing Amazon for a new one, but haven't found one I like as much!

2

I have worked in the garment industry before and I must interject a small fact here. In theory, the color of white in cloth is highly subjective. There are hundreds of shades and tinges. Whites range from blue white, to yellow white and everything in between. True Cadmium white is very hard to achieve. Personally, I always thought that blue white is more pleasing to the eye. But that's just me! Hope this helps a little. Jus remember, the human eye can distinguish close to 3 million colors, so good luck!

I saw something on NBC recently about a guy using lemon juice and white vinegar with a horsehair brush to remove stains. Good or bad?

2

Bleach with a hint of bluing.

Gohan Level 7 Mar 29, 2018
2

Just don't use a dryer between treatments. Rinse and let dry.

2

BTW, I've found that OxyClean is worth the money. I keep it on hand and use when needed.
It brighten dingy colors, too.

Good to know!

2

Depends on many things, the type of fabric, the thread count, what is the stain?..rust? other minerals?...some fabrics won't come back from that, some will. Try lemon juice, baking soda,
borax or maybe distilled vinegar.

2

I thought it was a Game of Thrones question! lol

2

i was convinced this topic was about something else

2

nuuuu!!! I was triggered.... but I couldn't SJW!

she got my attention to I thought maybe it was a new campaign slogan

Early April fools? Lol

2

There's always a duvet cover. I have seen them at Ikea and I think I saw them at Target.

2

Buy a new one.

2

People are swearing by Oxi clean laundry detergent

1

Color it. That grey or off-white color isn't that appealing; but a fresh color might be. Coloring kits are still available....hard to find, but there. Rit is the name of the most common coloring stainer; and it's available on Amazon.

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