Typical US FL's with heaters are capably of 155-160F on "sanitary" (or whatever) cycle. Higher temps, soft water, and capable detergent plus oxy-clean does it for me although I stop at 130F or so on my "whitest whites" cycle. Other's still use properly-measured dose of chlorine bleach.

Need to be wary of higher temps, however. Even pure cotton fabrics, which do fine with higher heat, are often sewn with synthetic thread which may not stand up to it. The result can be puckered seams and bindings that stay that way. The labels are never clear on what you're dealing with. Idea of "experimenting" is troubling because one dose of higher heat cycle can do permanent damage to fabrics and/or threads that can't withstand it.

If you're dealing with pure cotton fabric sewn with pure cotton thread, I would be more confident.

Now that I have a FL (Duet), I use Charlie's soap, and I'm using just 1/4 cup of chlorine bleach, with a vinegar rinse. It's very important to get all the soap out, no matter what you do, and FLs use less water overall, so I always use the extra rinse.

I do know that just a couple of drops of Mrs. Stewart's Laundry Bluing, added to 1/2 cup of white vinegar that goes in the fabric softener place (I never use fs)will give whites that dazzle. You have to use just a couple of drops--no more!

One bottle of laundry bluing will last me a decade. It's a mineral and is non-toxic (I have even used one drop in a vinegar rinse for my white hair--if you overdo it, you will discover the source of the phrase, "Blue Hairs.") You don't want the hair rinse to look blue, just use one drop in a pint of water or vinegar water.

One other thing that I wish didn't matter, but it does: Wash only WHITE things with WHITE things.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mrs. Stewart's Laundry Bluing

I think the key to really clean-looking white laundry is diligent pre-spotting or treating, before you put the items in the washer. Whites show every blemish, while colored items can camoflage small marks. Since no machine can successfully verify that a stain or spot has actually been removed, I don't rely on so-called stain-fighting cycles. I do this even though I have washers that automatically perform profile washes (mine are only fed cold water and have hefty internal heaters). With washers that start with heated water, pre-treating and checking that spots are removed before loading the washer is even more crucial.

I also believe in the power of pre-soaking as a stain fighter (completely submerged in a bucket, sometimes as long as 24 hours).

I find Spray and Wash to be an effective pre-treater, but I hate the smell. CS All Purpose Liquid is very good for oily or fat-based spots - it's a whiz at tackling ring-around-the-collar type body grime - but I don't find that it's as good at many other stains. I keep bottles of isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide as well as bleach standing by in my laundry cupboard. I also use CLR, or in a pinch, BarKeeper's Friend on iron or rust spots. And, of course, a good, enzyme-based detergent is very useful, as is correct dosing for your water chemistry and wash load. Depending on the challenge, I may use STPP and/or sodium percarbonate in the wash water.

I'll add something that I thought most people knew, but which I mentioned today to two different people who had never heard of it before: for blood stains, the most effective stain fighter is the saliva of the person whose blood it is. Failing that, a really cold soak will also help shift a blood stain, providing it hasn't been set by heat either in the washer or the dryer.

And of course, remember that most white items sold in the US have been treated with optical brightening agents on the bolt (meaning before they were sewn). Because of this, use of a detergent with OBAs will help keep that new look. OBA is actually a flourescent dye that gradually washes out which can result in a blotchy look; detergents with OBAs steadily replace the lost dye.

Commercial laundries rely on hot water, strong chemicals and good rinsing and they really aren't as interested in wear and tear on fabrics. Perfect, bright,whiteness can be achieved, but often at the cost of shortening garment life.

YMMV,

Molly~

Molly ~

Well, I will admit that I have never heard of saliva (of the person whose blood it is) as the best way to combat it on clothing. Not sure that I could get the person to suck on their clothing.

I will say that I scrub it with medium hot water and white soap and whatever doesn't come out I pour some hydrogen peroxide and that fizzes and takes it right out.

Robyn

Wow, that's a whole arsenal you have there, housekeeping.

For blood stains, the nuns in my boarding school would advise the girls to rinse the garment in cold water, then sprinkle the stain liberally with washing powder, and leave overnight (not soak) in a plastic bag. The item would come out perfectly clean.

I'm not so concerned with individual stains when I ask about washing whites, but just the overall result. I can't get mine to be really bright.

Hang your whites outside and let the sun bleach them.

Using bleach in hard water around here ends up yellowing clothing. Bleach is also very damaging to clothing. Hydrogen peroxide is a less toxic alternative to bleach. One-half cup 3% hydrogen peroxide in the rinse (do not mix with bleach or vinegar).

Blueing does not whiten fabric, nor does it remove stains - it's an optical trick - blue coloring covering yellowed whites. The human eye sees blue as the whitest-looking white.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: Hydrogen Peroxide - More uses than you thought.

Robyn,

You don't suck on the blood stain, you spit on it. Regarding medium hot water on blood, that's creating more work to get it out. Try cold water, even icy water, first and let it soak for a while. After that rinse and use an enzyme based pre-treater (it's enzymes in the saliva that do the job), let it work awhile (hours) then rinse. At that point you you may find you need the bigger guns of peroxide or LCB.

Regarding outdoor drying for bleaching or whitening purposes. I completely agree that it works like well, but be aware that too much will actually yellow both white linen and white cotton. Too much is days on end with washing. A single day would be just fine in most cases.

MOlly~

Molly ~

Thanks for clearing up that you spit on the blood stain instead of sucking on it. That whole questioning, on my part, sounds kind of weird, doesn't it? LOL!

Anyway, I use medium hot water and white soap because I am able to get out most of the stain within 2 minutes of handscrubbing. That left over amount comes out immediately with pouring hydrogen peroxide on it. No waiting for a while/hours for a pretreater or soaking.

If your regimen has worked well for you I am pleased. It is always good to know different options. I learned of the hydrogen peroxide to take out blood stains from this board and I have shared it with a few other people.

Thanks for letting us know how you do things!

Robyn

I guess I go more the "commerical laundry" type way. I get better results on my whites in my TL than my FL. I do a loosely packed large load, three scoops of Gain w/Bleach powder, Two caps of liquid OxyClean and run it through a hot wash, then stop it and run it through another hot wash before it drains. I then let it finish and restart it again on cold water and run a complete cycle with extra rinse added (total of four deep rinses). Then I do one more rinse with Downey and then tumble dry.

I get asked by patients all the time what cleaners I use to get such white clothes. Yes, it uses a lot of water but I like WHITE!

Justin

Justin,

Is it possible you are using 80-100 gallons of water per wash load? Astounding!

Perhaps you wouldn't need so many rinses if you used a more modest amount of detergent and oxyclean. Three scoops of detergent powder would do 12 or 15, or more, loads for me. Truly I think you have worked yourself up into excess dosage which I'm not surprised takes fives rinses to remove. Try cutting it in half, or less, and see how it works; then try reducing the number of rinses or repeat washes.

I think you'll still get very white whites.

Molly~

I worked for years in an animal clinic and blood stains on clothing was a common occurance. We treated the stains with hydrogen peroxide and washed in cold water. If the stain was old it took two washings and treatments, fresh stains came out immediately. Also we used rubbing alcohol or hairspray on ball point ink stains. Hope this helps.

Actually Molly, you're probably right. I just one day started this process, three sounded good and it has always stuck with me. Been doing it for several years. I could probably get by with rinsing less than I do, but I'm of the "let's just be sure" mentality. Since my washer empties in to a drain pipe, I have no way of knowing when the water runs clear so I rinse as many times as I do "just to be sure".

Justin

First... I have to tell you that your subject line made me laugh. A friend asked me recently what I'd been up to since my recent retirement. My smart mouthed (and I thought funny) response was to say: "The most exciting thing I do these days is to see how white I can get my wash!" Truth is... It is quite a challenge some times and very pleasing when achieved!

Keeping in mind that people have different situations to deal with, here's what works for me with my Whirlpool Duet frontloading washer:

I love the results I get from using an old fashioned bar of Octagon soap (less than $2 for a bar that lasts a long time) for tough stains like ring-around-the-collar. I dampen the stained area, rub the soap directly on, and then rub the fabric (by hand) against itself. In some cases the nail brush I keep by the laundry room sink helps to work the soap into the stain.

Peroxide works for me on most bloody stains, and I still depend on a mild Clorox soak for some badly stained white cottons. Usually I just use a small plastic bowl or tub and submerge the stained white items in a mixture of about 1/4 cup of Clorox to 1 gallon of cold water. And, if I'm doing a load of all cotton white things (like my bath towels and cloths) I'll usually add about 1/4 cup of Clorox where indicated in my washer's dispenser tray.

I use Tide HE -- about 1/4 cup per wash. But because of our problems with hard water I combine 1/4 of 20 Muleteam Borax with the Tide. (The Borax isn't expensive and it apparently softens the water and helps boost the detergent. There's a noticeable difference in the whiteness/brightness of the clothes when I use it.) When I put the combination into the dispenser tray I pour half of it into the "pre-wash" chamber.

I use the amount of fabric softener recommended by the labeling in the dispenser tray, set the machine for "whitest whites" and use the "pre-wash" and "extra rinse" features. (Those additional cycles use more water than usual, but I think it's needed when I do whites.) Results really look good to me!

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Information about 20 Muleteam Borax

lcp213nc, we have the same washer so I'll try your approach.

And here's my best recipe for washing whites: boil them for a quarter of an hour or longer in a large pot of water with some detergent. This worked on some dingy old sheets like a charm. It's completely impractical of course, but this is a tried and tested method that my mother and her mother used to use.