Q. I run a wellness center where we specialize in massage therapy. How can I disinfect the linens without damaging their color?

A. Great question, and one I hear a lot. For your white and bleachable light colors, it's pretty straightforward – simply wash in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Unfortunately, there currently is NOT a product for disinfecting colored clothes. Our Clorox 2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster contains hydrogen peroxide as its active ingredient. It is a much weaker bleach than the sodium hypochlorite found in Clorox® Regular-Bleach and is not capable of meeting EPA disinfecting requirements.

As I have written previously, the best ways to reduce germ counts in (colored) laundry are:
• Use the hottest wash water recommended on the care label. You might also do more than one wash on these items to further reduce the bacteria count.
• Consider washing the items of concern separately so the germs are NOT spread to more items – transfer can occur in the washer and when transferring/handling from the washer to dryer.
• Use the hottest dryer setting recommended on the care label and dry the items separately to maximize germ reduction. While the dryer isn't capable of killing all the germs, it will help lower the germ count.
• Also, check the items for bleachability. It's surprising how many things labeled as “Do Not Bleach” are actually OK to be bleached. Do the following quick bleachability/colorfast test on a hidden part of the colored item:
o Add 2 tspn. liquid Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water.
o Apply a drop on a hidden color section area like inside seam, hemline or cuff.
o Wait 1 minute and then blot with a towel.
o No color change means it is safe to use liquid bleach on the item.
• If bleach-fast, consider a quick bleach soak (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of warm water for 5-10 minutes) before washing in the hottest water recommended on the care label.
• Finally, to prevent further germ spread, I would do a white load using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach after these items had been washed. It will act kind of like a mouthwash for your washer.

Q. I had heard that bleach should be used before adding detergent because detergent neutralizes the actions of bleach, but the Clorox instructions direct users to add at the same time. Should I separate these phases?

A. There are several ways to add bleach to your washload. Our standard directions are to add bleach WITH the detergent as the wash water is filling and BEFORE the clothes are added. The reason is you want to dilute the bleach concentration before you add the clothes. (NEVER pour full-strength Clorox® Regular-Bleach directly on fabrics).

Another way to add bleach is to add it to the bleach dispenser on the washer. This delays the addition like the approach above and on new HE machines is the ONLY way you can add bleach.

Finally, on the label you will see "For best results" where we recommend mixing the recommended amount of bleach in a quart of water and waiting 5 minutes into the wash cycle. There are several reasons for these recommendations: bleach will react with several key detergent ingredients like enzymes and fluorescent whitening agents and decrease the detergent's effectiveness (not the other way around).

So, in summary, you have lots of choices to get the great bleach benefits you are seeking.

Q. What is the difference between Regular Clorox and Clorox UltimateCare Bleach?

A. Clorox® Regular-Bleach has a higher bleach concentration, a special polymer for removing specific metals to help provide the whitest whites and is a registered EPA disinfectant for laundry and hard non-porous household surfaces. Clorox® UltimateCare Bleach has a special thickening system, lower bleach actives (so it's gentle enough to pour directly on stains), and has a great Soft Cotton scent.

Q. I always presoak my whites in hot water with Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach. Is there an optimal amount of time for this phase?

A. Generally, with presoaking, we recommend a limited exposure time prior to washing (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in a gallon of warm water for 5-10 minutes before laundering). Wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label with detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular- Bleach The same approach is recommended for Clorox® Ultimate Care Bleach. But, Clorox® UltimateCare Bleach is gentle enough to pour directly on stains, so this may be easier than your presoak approach if you have a few specific stains to treat.

Q. I have a few small rust stains on my white towels, any suggestions?

A. The trick to rust removal is to avoid the stain. Your best chance at removal is using a rust remover product. Summit Instant Rust Out and Whink Rust Remover are two such products. These can usually be found in Home Depot/Lowes or hardware stores. A word of caution: ALWAYS read the label directions and pretest, as they should only be used on whites/colorfast colors (check on hidden color area before using).

Q. I melted some shredded cheese in a tortilla for a snack. When I started eating it, some of the oil from the cheese oozed out the side of the tortilla and down my cotton (light green) shirt and onto my blue jeans. Do you have any suggestions for how I should treat the stains?

A. Since it is an oily stain, do not wet it before proceeding. The best option for this probably is to pretreat with a good liquid detergent (Liquid Tide) or dishwasher detergent (Dawn). Try applying; rubbing into oil stain; waiting 5-10 minutes; then washing in the warmest water recommended for the item. Always check for success before drying, or consider air drying so you don't "set" the stain if it's not completely removed. If not completely removed, repeat the procedure.

Q. I have some really bad blue stains on almost all of my white laundry. I have added bleach to my laundry load, and it doesn't seem to help. I have used the Clorox Bleach Pen and that doesn't seem to get the blue out either. Do you have any ideas on how I can fix this?

A. Usually these types of stains are from dye transfer from a colored item that got mixed into the load by accident. However, all of your attempts to remove them with bleach suggest that these may not be dye transfer. Washing and pre-treating should have removed the blue dye. Another possibility is that this is from some other source, like fabric softener, which you would treat by rubbing the stains with bar soap and then rewashing.

Q. I have several white camisoles that are made of basic stretchy tee-shirt cotton, with lace at the throat and for the straps. I washed them with Clorox Ultimate Bleach in an all-white load. Now, the shirts are brilliantly white, but all the lace on every shirt turned a pale ice blue. How can I get the lace white again?

A. I wondered if these camisoles had been previously washed with liquid bleach (Clorox® UltimateCare™ Bleach) or was this their first exposure to liquid bleach?
I'm suspecting that the camisole and the lace are 2 different materials (the body probably has a high Spandex® content while the lace may be nylon). Sometimes certain nylons contain a "brightener" to enhance their appearance. These brighteners are susceptible to change when the wash water has a higher pH, which UltimateCare™ Bleach usage can cause.
Unfortunately, this is not reversible as the chemical structure of the brightener has been changed during washing.

Q. I have a black & white shirt, and when I washed it, the black bled into the white. So now instead of having a black & white shirt, I have a black and dingy white shirt. Is there anything I can do to return the white to its normal color without bleaching the black?

A. I have seen so many dark color/white stripe items that end up with this problem. Our Marketing folks like the "looks" of these for commercials and print ads, but there is such a range of quality in the dying that one really ends up rolling the dice when you buy one of these garments. When these dark colors are 100% cotton, they are notorious for bleeding for a few washes. When they are solid colors, they can always be washed/soaked with similar dark colors. Unfortunately, I probably don't have much good news for you. Your only hope is to try to bleach the affected area, but I doubt the item can handle that without bleaching out the black color.

I would try the following:

First, we need to know if the black colored stripes can stand to be bleached. Just do the simple Bleachability Test on any colored portion in a hidden part of the shirt.

• Add 2 tspns. liquid Clorox® Regular-Bleach to 1/4 cup water
• Apply a drop on a hidden color section like the inside seam, hemline or cuff. Wait 1 minute and then blot with a towel. No color change means it is safe to use bleach on the item.
• Next, wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label with detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach
• If the black color is not bleachable, then I would try presoaking/applying Liquid Clorox2® for Colors Color Safe Bleach:
o Apply; rub in; wait approximately 5 minutes; then wash immediately with detergent and the recommended amount of Liquid Clorox2® for Colors Color Safe Bleach in the warmest wash water recommended on the care label.
• Check for success and retreat if needed BEFORE drying.

Also remember that washing in hotter water will SLOWLY remove additional dye over time. However, this will usually be barely perceptible wash-to-wash.

Q. I have four blouses with varying cotton to spandex combinations. They are in various "shades of white,” and I would like to rejuvenate them for additional wearing life. Instructions call for a cold water wash. Can you help?

A. I'm not quite sure from your description if the "various shades of white" were original color or something that has developed over time from your wearing and laundering. Spandex-containing items are known for holding odors and being hard to clean. Generally, the usual methods of cleaning normal blouses should work here with a couple of “watch outs.”
The key properties we are trying to preserve here are the stretch and appearance. To preserve stretch, you cannot be aggressive with laundering and drying. Thus, one avoids hot water washing and either air-dries the item on a flat surface or tumbles it on a low setting in the dryer. For best appearance, make sure you wash it in the warmest water recommended on the care labels. Also, use a good detergent at the recommended amount, and I also recommend adding Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster. Another option might be to add a presoak using the Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster before the wash to help get a cleaning boost.

Also, it is not recommended to use liquid bleach on Spandex items. The higher the Spandex content, the more likely some yellowing may occur with repeated washings.