Q: My wife has a shirt that is red with white trim. I did not see the shirt and I started a load of reds. I filled the tub with warm water and Clorox color safe powder. I put the clothes in to soak. Big mistake on my part.

When I went to wash and pulled the clothes out of the washer, the shirt was red with pink trim.
How do I get the shirt back to the original way, red and white trim?

A: I hate when a good intentioned deed goes bad. Unfortunately, I probably don't have much good news for you. New dark colors are notorious for bleeding for a few washes and should always be washed/soaked with similar dark colors. That's why I always recommend sorting at least whites, lights and darks to avoid the problem in the future. Plus, the extra time soaking just allows more of that unstable dye to bleed off and be available to deposit on other items.

I would try the following:
To have a better chance at red dye removal you will need to kick it up a notch on the bleach scale to liquid bleach like Clorox® Regular- Bleach. So we need to know if the lighter colored items can stand to be bleached.

Just do the simple Bleachability Test on any colored portion in a hidden part of the shirts (2 tsp liquid Clorox® Regular- Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden color section area like inside seam, hemline or cuff; wait 1 minute and then blot with towel;; no color change means it is safe to use bleach on the item).

Then follow the recommended presoak procedure (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular- Bleach in 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

If the colors are not bleachable, then I would presoaking/applying Liquid Clorox2® for Colors Color Safe Bleach (Apply; rub in; wait ~ 5 minutes; then wash immediately with detergent and 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; this will usually be barely perceptible wash-to-wash.

Q: I love hanging my clothes out to dry but have had to quit because they smell so bad every time I hang them. What causes perfectly washed clothes to stink so bad after they've been hung out to dry? Any information would be very helpful. Thank you very much.

A: WOW!! I also love that great outdoor, fresh air smell on the clothes plus the energy savings of not using the dryer. I'm stumped on this one. Best guess is that there is some "foreign" odor that the clothes are picking up.

Some clarifying questions:

• Is this on everything or certain items?


• Is it the same or different on all the clothes?


• Did these items used to be OK and just suddenly changed?


• Have you changed laundry products or the way you wash them recently?


• Have you noticed any strange smells outdoors when hanging or retrieving the clothes from the line?

Q: In 1965 I was given a white cotton twill apron from the "A&P Tea Co." meat department. I put my name across the apron with a permanent magic marker. I am trying to remove the name. I put the apron in a bucket and covered it with Clorox bleach. It sat for 2 hours. I rinsed in cold water and washed it in the machine with hot water and Tide. The name is untouched. Can you help?

A: Wow A&P, that's a name I haven't heard in a while. I'm afraid I don't have any good news for you. The operable word in your description is PERMANENT magic marker. This stuff is NOT supposed to come off and in my experience; it doesn't even after several treatments/soaks/washes. Unfortunately you will either have to live with the name or find a way to cover it.

Q: I sprayed two light khaki pants with Clorox Stain Out. They faded in the area that I pretreated. It also got onto other fabrics in the wash and it looks as though I put Clorox Bleach on them. What can be done about this? These were very expensive pants. Thank you for any advice.

A: This is quite baffling. The fading you describe usually is caused by bleach contact and StainOut does NOT contain any bleach. I have also seen this when Clorox2® for Colors is left on the item and dries. This is the result of the brightening agent which helps make the item look brighter, is "set" in that spot. Again, StainOut does NOT contain a brightening agent. It has surfactants to solubilize the stains but nothing that should cause lighter colored spots.

I would try wetting and retreating the area with liquid detergent then rewashing. If it is surfactants, they would be resolubilized and removed. Also check the StainOut bottle to be sure nothing has been added and consider not using it again.

Q: My toddler has an off-white stuffed lambie that she loves to suck on the ears and legs. It begins to stink very bad with her saliva germs from her mouth so I have washed it and disinfected it with Clorox Bleach. After 3 days or so, I have to bleach it again. She also has a colored bunny. My question is: Does Clorox2 for Colors have the same disinfecting ingredient as the Clorox Bleach for whites? I would like to disinfect this bunny too. Thanks for you help.

A: Kids always seem to have those favorite toys/blankets that have to go everywhere with them. The white one might benefit from a short bleach presoak (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of warm water for 5-10 minutes) before laundering. Then, launder in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. This might extend the "life cycle."

On the colored one, this is a question that I get a lot. Unfortunately, there currently is NOT a product for disinfecting colored clothes/items. Our Clorox2® for Colors 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 way 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.


• Use the hottest dryer setting recommended on the care label. While the dryer isn't capable of completely killing, it will help lower the germ count.


• Check the items for Bleachability. It's surprising how many things labeled as "Do Not Bleach" are actually OK to use liquid bleach. Do the quick Bleachability/colorfast test on a hidden part of the colored item (2 tspn liquid Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden color section area like inside seam, hemline or cuff; wait 1 minute and then blot with towel); no color change means it is safe to use 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.

I just returned from my second trip to Canada to help promote the Ultra Javex® Bleach by Clorox introduction. I made several appearances in Ottawa and Kingston this trip and in Toronto before. I really enjoyed the friendly people North of the Border.

I found that as the laundry category has been changing there is a lot of consumer confusion regarding shrinking products and usage. Those are much smaller bottles and those measuring caps seem so small. Manufacturers have removed water and made the new formulas more concentrated. To get the same results you will be using 25-50% LESS product.

It is more important than ever to follow directions; use the measuring cap and do NOT just pour your usual amount into the washer. If you are glugger and splasher, doing your usual pour will now mean you could be adding twice as much product as before. It may seem that you are using up that new bottle much faster than before because you are. Actually if you are continuing your old habits, you may find your clothes do look cleaner but that is an expensive price to pay.

There is also some potentially good news with the new liquid detergents being more concentrated makes them even better pretreaters. So now when you find those grease/oil stains, rub a little into the stain and let it sit 3-5 minutes before washing.

Same holds true for bleaches whose usage volumes have also been decreased. Be sure to look at the recommended usage amounts and try to follow them to maintain your satisfaction with your laundry products.

Q: My wife has been unable to do the wash for a long time. A friend suggested that I use bleach to wash a pair of her white slacks that has many stains. But how much? Should I soak them first, or can I just add some to the wash machine and how much? The washer is a Calypso Whirpool.

A: I could probably help you more if you had provided the fiber type of the slacks and the types of stains. This would allow me to be sure you should be soaking (e.g., 5-10% Spandex should not be soaked, but cotton and poly/cotton are OK) and whether bleach would work on the stains (great for drink and colored stains, but would use liquid detergent on greasy/oily stain, for instance).

The presoak directions are: 1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of warm water for 5-10 minutes to be done before laundering in the laundry tub; drain and then, launder in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Your couple of glugs was probably a little aggressive for a couple of inches of water. The Calypso should have a bleach dispenser that you can use to add the Clorox® Regular-Bleach; fill to the line or use the 3/4 cup recommendation.

Here are some general tips:

• Don't forget to sort by whites and colors


• Check the garment label for laundering instructions


• Don't be shy about pretreating and presoaking to jumpstart your stain removal


• Use the recommended amount of product


• Check for success after you wash and BEFORE you dry it - you may need to repeat the treatment


• Separate lint attractors and spreaders when drying

It's never too late to learn the laundry game. Use my blog for understanding the basics and even specific issues.

Q: Is there any way I can turn my curtains from a light blue color to pure white by using bleach? They do not match my new bedroom color scheme. If not, I'll try a pink Rit dye, to come to a purple color, but I'd rather have white because I may not get the shade of purple that I want.

A: I'm not quite sure of the fiber composition of the blue curtains. Cotton ones will be easier to change than poly/cotton since the dyes are not as good and can be easier to remove. You might try a bleach soak (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of warm water for 5-10 minutes) before laundering. Then, launder in hot water using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. If the curtains are old and soiled, extending the soak time and/or washing in bleach may not be good for them, but this should lessen/remove the color. If they are poly/cotton, your second plan of Rit dye probably is best.

Q: My daughter has a white sweatshirt with red sewn-on embroidered letters. She wore her sweatshirt while working at a car wash fundraiser and now the sweatshirt is pretty dirty. Any suggestions on the best way to wash the sweatshirt?

A: It is not clear from your description what the composition of the sweatshirt or red letters is. This has a big impact on how I would proceed. Also it would be helpful to know what the soil(s) on the sweatshirt are likely composed of.

So here are some general approaches you might try:

• Are the red letters bleach-safe? If they are bleach-safe, you have a lot more options and probably have a much better chance of getting the item "clean". If possible, do the quick Bleachability/colorfast test on a hidden part of the red letters (2 tspn liquid Clorox® Regular - Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden color section area like inside seam, hemline or cuff; wait 1 minute and then blot with towel); no color change means it is safe to use bleach on the item. If they are bleach fast, I would recommend using the Clorox® Bleach Pen Gel on the significant dirt spots (apply and use the scrubber tip to penetrate/loosen the soil; wait 1-2 minutes) before washing in the hottest water recommended on the care label.


• If the letters are not bleach safe, then hopefully it is color safe and is not going to "bleed" during laundering. You may need to consider a pre-treat or presoak to improve your removal. If pre-treating, using a good liquid detergent or Stain & Soil Remover (Liquid Tide, Shout, Zout, Spray'nWash) or for presoaking I would do this with a good powdered detergent or color safe bleach (Tide or Clorox2 for Colors) following label directions and soaking for at least 1 hour.

I am assuming the dirt is mostly road dirt/grime and not greasy dirt. These dirts are mostly fine particulate which is why the soaking and hot water washing is recommended. If there is grease involved, then you will benefit from the pre-treating before the hot water wash.

Q: I got tomato sauce on a white rayon blouse. I used Clorox Bleach Pen Gel on it, and the stain disappeared, but after washing there were yellowed stains where I had used the Clorox Bleach Pen. After checking your website, I tried Clorox OxiMagic on the yellow stains, but it didn't remove them. Is there anything else I can do to save this blouse?

A: Very good choices in dealing with this type of stain. I suspect that the yellowed portion remaining on the blouse is the oily component that was not removed and may have been set and discolored from dryer drying. The colored portion of the tomato sauce was removed by the Bleach Pen. The best approach for removing oily components is usually pre-treating using a good liquid detergent or Stain & Soil Remover (Liquid Tide, Shout, Zout, Spray'nWash). To apply, rub a small amount into the yellow spot, wait 5-10 minutes, then wash in the warmest water recommended on the care label. Check for success after washing as you might need to repeat the treatment.