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Bright Whites
The hottest (and coolest) color this year is — white! To get your
favorite clothes and linens their whitest white, try these five fabric
tips.
- For brighter, softer, stain-free clothes, add 1/2 cup baking soda to
your regular detergent in the wash cycle, then add 3/4 cup white vinegar
to the rinse. Soak really dingy clothes for ten minutes in the baking
soda-detergent mix before washing in the hottest water fabric will accept.
Vinegar smells should vanish after clothes have dried.
- To remove discolorations and make clothes smell as fresh as they
look, add your regular detergent plus one cup of lemon juice to the
wash water and let machine agitate before adding laundry. After clothes
have spun dry, line dry them in the sun — sunlight is a natural
bleach. (To remove stubborn stains, rub on a paste of lemon juice and
salt, let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then wash garments as usual and
dry in the sun.)
- To brighten delicates and knits, mix two teaspoons cream of tarter
in one gallon of hot water and soak overnight. Hand wash or machine
wash garments on the delicate cycle, using a gentle fabric wash or
detergent, such as Woolite®. Dry flat or as recommended on garment
labels.
- The mineral content of your water can turn whites a dingy gray. To
whiten, dissolve one cup of Tide®, one cup of Biz® and one cup of Cascade® in
a large load of hot water. Let your washing machine agitate to mix
the powders, then add clothes and soak several hours or overnight.
Double rinse with cold water.
- To remove perspiration stains from white or light-colored clothes, make a paste of meat tenderizer and water. Using a toothbrush, gently rub the paste into the stains before laundering. The meat tenderizer breaks down proteins, lifting perspiration out of the fabric and leaving clothes brighter and stain-free.
