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davestexas

Yellowing

davestexas
11 years ago

Have a bunch of White cotton t-shirts that have been stored and now yellowed. Tried washing with TideHE and liquid chlorine bleach, but that didn't do/help much. Shirts were clean to begin with.

Wondering if this stuff I see on TV all the time, 'oxi-clean' will do the job to get the yellow out?

Thanks

Comments (16)

  • dadoes
    11 years ago

    Chlorine bleach can itself cause yellowing on some types of fabrics. Give oxy-bleach a try ... may or may not help.

  • sparky823
    11 years ago

    Look for White-Brite at Wal/Mart. Either in the laundry section or in the Plumbing section. I know that sounds crazy to be in that dept. but I have seen it there where they have drain cleaners and septic tank additives. I have used it for some old white stuff and it helps get the yellow out.

  • MiMi
    11 years ago

    I use powdered Biz for this problem, a good soaking will take the yellow right out...I use it on antique linens also and antique crocheted items.

  • sandy1616
    11 years ago

    Do you have well water? I'm not sure what White Brite is but if the yellowing is due to your water then chlorine bleach will make it worse and oxygen bleach won't help much either.

    If it is due to iron in your water, and the problem is minor, try adding vinegar to your rinse cycles. If that doesn't help then try running a load of your yellowed, clean whites with some iron out. I'm guessing that White Brite is similar to Iron Out.

    Laundry detergents are alkaline. Chlorine bleach attracts metals. Iron out is an acid. Vinegar is a milder acid.

  • davestexas
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you for the responses. Have front-loader machine. Bought a small tub(24oz) of oxygenated stain remover. I want to try pre-soaking the whites, but tub has only pre-soak instructions for 'washable surfaces'...1/8th/16oz water. Only tub I have to use is bathtub. If I fill tub 1/3rd full, how much of the stain remover should I use? Water temp make any difference? Plan to soak 30mi then wash with TideHE and a color beach. Good plan?
    Thanks for the help.

  • dadoes
    11 years ago

    I hand-soak small items in a bathroom sink.

  • davestexas
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Not enough bathroom sinks for a bunch of t-shirts which is why I'm using the tub.....didn't ask about where

  • Cavimum
    11 years ago

    Just wondering out loud... Is there any reason you couldn't just run an 'extended' wash cycle with the oxy-bleach and the hottest water you dare use on the tees (which is probably 'HOT'), in your FL washer as a 'soak'? (I'm guessing your have a FL since you can't soak)

  • davestexas
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Not sure about that. I've had this type machine only few months. Using my old agitator I could just fill it and pull the plug, but this one doesn't 'fill'. Best I can tell I'd get a 1:45min cycle on White/Hot. No extended cycle option.
    The product instructions direct putting 1 scoop into empty washer, then add clothes. I'll use that cycle after the tub-soak and, I guess, guess on the number of scoops into the tub. Should be interesting! Thanks

  • Cavimum
    11 years ago

    @davestexas - on our old TL washer, whenever I left the lid up (open), the washer never went into a rinse cycle. Stuff sat there until I closed the lid. That's how I soaked entire loads of laundry in the washer. Maybe it will work for you?

  • davestexas
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Front Load washer. Very little water is used during each part of a cycle. Don't believe entire load is ever completely covered in water. Thanks for the idea tho

  • dadoes
    11 years ago

    Depends on the machine/model involved. Some frontloaders do have a soak option. The drum runs for a moment every few mins to flip the items over. Soaking does not necessarily require the items be fully immersed-and-floating in gallons of water for the duration ... they just need to be kept wet/saturated.

  • herring_maven
    11 years ago

    davestexas: "Wondering if this stuff I see on TV all the time, 'oxi-clean' will do the job to get the yellow out?"

    So-called oxygen bleaches are based on sodium percarbonate, which, essentially, is anhydrous (dry) hydrogen peroxide. Add water, and you get the same hydrogen peroxide that you purchase in the brown bottle at the drug store. Drug store hydrogen peroxide generally is a 3% solution (that is, 97% water).

    One hundred percent pure sodium percarbonate is not sustainable except in a laboratory, because sodium percarbonate is strongly hygroscopic; that is, it absorbs moisture from the air as soon as it is produced. If you have a humid environment in your laundry roon, you will do well to keep any sodium peroxide bleach in a sealed container to minimize absorption of water from the air.

    OxiClean comprises sodium percarbonate and fillers. The fillers make the box larger and the cost-per-ounce of the stuff lower, but the filler does not bleach. You will get better bang for the buck than you can get with OxiClean by buying nominally pure sodium percarbonate -- actually about 95% -- from a chemical supply house or through mail order (the Internet). The closest you can get to pure sodium percarbonate among branded products is Ecover brand powder bleach, which, like the mail-order no-brand stuff, ships at about 95% pure, and provides good value for the money.

    Sodium percarbonate has as good a chance of solving your yellowing problem as any other wash additive.

  • Cavimum
    11 years ago

    @davestexas - Please, do let us know how your shirts turn out, which method you used, etc.

  • sandy1616
    11 years ago

    Oxygen bleach is most active over 100. A long soak at a low temp isn't likely to do much. Running them on hot would be more effective. How do you normally wash your whites?

  • sandy1616
    11 years ago

    Oxygen bleach is most active over 100. A long soak at a low temp isn't likely to do much. Running them on hot would be more effective. How do you normally wash your whites?