Hard water makes keeping whites white very difficult. My friend swears by oxy clean and soaking overnight in it. My MIL and my mom both insist on laying clothes on the grass or a bush. Something about the chlorophyl... My dogs would love that!!

I vote for OxyClean also. My Grandma usaed to lay whites outdoors in the sun on the grass to dry. Also she used lemon juice on stains. Just some of Gramma's hints.

Oxy Clean works great. Soaking overnight usually brings whites back to being white again.

Please do not soak in the washing machine, a high risk of water seeping out of the tub and down into the transmission. I did this one time soaking diapers. You might get away with it for a while and then one day the transmission is ruined.

I use triple action Purex, makes my sheets a bright white. Tide with bleach will do the same thing, but I can't stand the fragrance anymore.

I am also a big fan of Oxy Clean (they also make a rub-on gel type thing for really bad stains which works incredibly well). I do soak, normally for a couple of hours, but I'm usually doing a cold water wash so I soak in order to make sure the granules are completely dissolved. I also throw in a dash of washing soda and splash of vinegar.

I have used bleach generously in the past on whites, but have found that it breaks down the fabrics very quickly (terry towel bar cloths and tube socks come to mind). Now that we're on a septic system, I don't feel very comfortable using bleach so much.

I've never had a problem with my washing machine tub leaking. I'm older and have owned several washing machines - and I've always been a soaker. Maybe I've been lucky, but I'm pretty sure most washing machines are built with potential 'leakage' issues in mind, even though freak things do happen.

Oh, by the way, since I've been adding vinegar to my wash, I have not used a single fabric sheet or a drop of liquid fabric softener. It's been 6 years!

I only use fabric softener on towels, the rest of my clothes are fine without it. I don't use vinegar in my washer because you are not suppose to use it regularly in the dish washer. I think a clothes washer would be the same.

I don't soak anything except blood or chocolate. I soak it in the bathroom sink and use resolve if necessary, usually it is not needed. I wash my whites in hot water. My Mom boiled her whites and they were always white.

Thank you, all! I soaked my towels in oxyclean overnight...laundered and they look great! I'm going to try the lemon and sunlight too. Cool!

For whiter and brighter look of any fabric, just add a cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of lemon juice in a bucket of water and cleaning detergent solution. Mix all of them thoroughly and soak your fabric in it for 15 minutes. This will help you to maintain the clean bright look of your fabrics.

Purex Triple Action laundry detergent works. I quit using Tide because of fragrance and ridiculous pricing.