I occasionally use vinegar in the softner dispenser. When I use Oxyclean I sprinkle the powder form on the clothes, just one scoop (maybe a quarter cup?). When I have the liquid oxyclean I put it in the pretreat dispenser, the same level as my HE detergent. You can also use a bluing agent (a small amount goes a long way). I only use that maybe once a year and I'm out right now so I can't remember the brand name or if it's OK for septics. They sell it at grocery stores. I only use a capful.

Do you have well water?

Try Mrs. Stewart's Bluing

Here is a link that might be useful: Mrs. Stewart's web site

I think you're on the right track suspecting the well water. You should have it tested and see what you have to deal with. I'd advise caution before adding things like bluing and stuff without knowing what you're dealing with. You might need to consider a water filter.

Personally, I can't understand why people want to use bluing. I can often see it. I know many can't and that's the point of the optical illusion but it looks downright silly to me under certain lighting to see people with blue clothes that they think are white.

Turning gray can be caused by a lot of reasons. Too much detergent, not enough detergent, mixing clothes that shouldn't be mixed, and more. Vinegar probably won't help whiten anything.

You could also experiment with different detergents and see what works best for your situation. People will scream different brands, but it really varies with the water, temperature, clothes, soil level and a lot more. I'd definitely look for something with enzymes and concentrate more on the detergent than the additives. To me, the detergent is the primary cleaner. Additives should just tweak the results.

BTW, what temperature are you using? You might need to increase the temperature. Assuming you're on well water, I hope you're not trying to use tap cold water!

It would help to know more about what you're using for temperature, cycles, detergent, additives, fabrics, etc. Otherwise, it's pure guess.

I rememember my grandmother using a rinse on her hair to make it less yello and more silver. Sure looked blue to me, LOL.

Cynic, believe it or not, our city water is usually colder than our well water was. That said, I wouldn't use it for most loads.

Try STPP (Sodium Tripolyphosphate) as a laundry additive. Use it in a proportion of between 1:4 and 1:2 to the detergent, depending on your water conditions. Start at the lower end of the scale (1 oz STPP to 4 oz. detergent for example) for several loads, see if the whites look better. If not increase to 1:3 (1 oz STPP to 3 oz. detergent). If you have VERY hard water, 1:2 may be needed (1 oz. STPP to 2 oz. detergent). Note that once the wash solution is charged with STPP, typically less detergent is needed than if STPP wasn't being used. It may take several washes to get the improvement, but once you find the right dosage, there should be an improvement. You can use it on all your wash, not just whites.

My water is 11 grains hardness. I use STPP at 1:3 -- 1 oz. with 3 oz. detergent in my HE machine. Perhaps a tad extra STPP on very dirty loads.

Here is a link that might be useful: STPP at The Chemistry Store

Blueing is nothing more than an optical illusion, similar to the effect of a blue filter on the lens of a camera. Bluing absorbs the yellow part of the light spectrum, counteracting the yellowing of fabrics. Blueing washes out after a few washes and you'll still have gray clothes. It doesn't correct the original problem - just masks it - which is probably caused by hard water mineral deposits and detergent build-up.

You also have to use more detergent in hard water (check the recommendations on the bottle), or use ingredients to soften BOTH the wash water and the rinse water (see link below).

If you are using cold water for washing and the water temperature is 65°F or colder, the detergent will be ineffective. Detergent manufacturers and care lables define cold water as 80-85°F.

If you are using detergents (not homemade soap), they already have whiteners and optical brighteners (blueing) in them.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Water Quality and Laundry Problems

Definitely sounds like hard water. I have hard water. I usually use oxi clean, white distilled vinegar, or lemon juice to brighten my whites back up. Its been working so far. Hanging them in the sun helps a lot too. I have also heard laying whites on a nice grass area is good. Something to do with the natural oxygen the grass gives off, apparently whitens up whites. I have never tried it myself.

whatever happened to CLOROX?

I know Boxersdaughter. I use Clorox or LCB in very small amounts on whites. Just a little of it goes a long way. I always wash the whites as the last load on laundry day because I don't use fab softener in the whites and I feel like the bleach sort of cleans the machine somewhat as the last load washes.

CLOROX is the wrong choice to whiten gray clothing if it is caused by hard water. When Chlorine Bleach mixes with minerals in hard water it can cause the clothing to yellow, which may be an improvement over gray, but that's still not the desired white.

When Chlorine Bleach mixes with iron in hard water it can cause holes in clothing - NOT an improvement over either gray or yellowing whites.

Chlorine Bleach isn't safe to use on all fabrics (slik, wool, spandex stretch fabrics, blends of these fabrics), or certain fabric finishes.

-Grainlady

The subject line is a common phrase among technical types, and isn't as snarky as it may come off here. I don't even know what eulogia's washer manual says. Anyway... I looked at the troubleshooting section of a few manuals online. Not all of them mention gray laundry. But in the ones that do mention it, the remedies are: use hotter water, and use more detergent. Makes me wonder if eulogia is a victim of bad advice regarding detergent dosing.

I agree that bleach causes yellowing in hard water and it does a number on elastic over time. I would not use it on bras.

What detergent did you use?

In addition to what detergent you are using, how much are you using?

Currently Persil non-bio gel pod. Use only one at a time. Has happened before with other liquid detergents too though.

And I used oxi-clean in that load that did the damage, as well as having the cycle on "sanitary" ie the hottest.

Do you know your water hardness, by chance? I am just trying to see if you are using enough detergent in your loads. If you have hard water, one pod might not be enough. In my experience, gray laundry is one of two things: Insufficient detergent especially in hard water, or not rinsing well enough.

I will add, that I have had elastic turn gray from too high of a wash temperature. Sanitary is pretty hot, 160F+ on a Bosch. I find elastic is alright at 140F max, but any higher wash temps than that the elastic will weaken quicker and potentially can turn gray.

Yes, I think the heat setting must have been the primary culprit. Perhaps I'd better only do towels and linen on that setting in future.

At first, I thought it was the blue color of the TIDE detergent making all of my whites turn grey during hot water wash. So I bought CLEAR detergent. Still turned brand new white underwear grey. Then I tried oxi pods with my clear detergent on the sani cycle hottest cycle. still all the whites turned grey. This grey thing only started happening when I got a front loading HE ASKO brand washer. I tried the color grabbers to help absorb the grey with my whites. THERE IS NOTHING IN THE WASH THAT ISNT WHITE! So where the HECK is the grey coming from?????????? Going crazy! HELP

I would switch to Tide with bleach powder and try that. Liquid also has a tendency to build up in machines and cause different problems over time. Do you use fabric softener?

Sparky gave great advice

Also wonder how much iron is in your water

Are you following Asko's detergent usage recommendations?

Asko says using too much detergent can cause laundry to turn gray or dingy, but some people say it's caused by too little detergent, not too much. That's what the manual for my Miele says too.

Strickland & timatha, what is the size of your washer?

I suspect you may be using too much detergent as suburbanmd stated.

See if you can find out how much detergent are in those Pods. I think they usually use about 3 TBSP which is probably more than needed, hence greying.

Also, if you are washing synthetics, I would not go higher than hot.

I had a couple pairs of white synthetic (polyamide polyester) underwear that I included with towels in XXtraSanitary … big mistake.

They are grey now and don't seem to be returning to white even after multiple washes compared to white socks/towels that returned to white if it was caused by over-dosing detergent.

Not rinsing enough also causes dingy clothes.

I use white vinegar in the rinse compartment of both my washing machine and my dishwasher. Works great and helps to keep the machines clean as well.

Also, bleach is bad for your septic system as it kills off the bacteria needed to help with decomposition.

I have had that problem with socks and underwear for ever it seems. I just buy new every 6 months and throw away the old. The cost and trouble to try to keep them white would be more than just replacing them. IMHO The old Tshirts make good shop rags, polishing rags, etc too.

This post is so old that I am not sure anyone is still reading it but if you found a solution, please let me know. I have the same problem with my GE front loading HE washer. I don’t even buy white colored clothes anymore. I tried with and without bleach. we don’t have well water but I am sure it is very hard water. I don’t know how to measure the iron content as some have mentioned. Oxyclean and vinegar have not helped either.

Try CALGON water softener. White bottle, 16 loads. About $6.00 at Publix supermarket. I use Calgon, Tide HE original liquid and BIZ powder in my compact GE front loader. (I use less than recommended amounts because of the reduced machine size, 2.2 cu. ft.) I think after a few washes using Calgon, a top tier detergent and BIZ you'll be seeing whiter whites. (BTW...Arm&Hammer is, in my opinion the best of the second tier detergents.)

STPP is better than Calgon and probably cheaper in the long-run.

Don't use chlorine bleach with iron-content water (or on blood stains). A chemical reaction can cause yellowing.

Phosphates were removed from detergents for environmental reasons. I'm not going to add it back in.

Twebbz, I respect your choice not to use phosphates however you do realize that you flush more phosphates down the toilet than what would be added to an occasional stubborn load of laundry.

Last I checked removing phosphate from household detergents did not even come close to solving the problem.

I also wonder about the other 3 ingredients that took the place of phosphates...what impact they are having on our eco system.

MIGHT BE A DIRTY HOT WATER TANK: I have this problem with synthetic whites as well. My house was built in 1908. Sometimes my water at the faucet runs yellowish brown bc of the old galvanized pipes. I suspect the hot water tank is very dirty inside. Hot water heater should probably be drained and refilled every year. There are youtube videos on how to do it. I just need to prioritize this task before I do any more loads.