Q. I have hard water and I know not to use bleach as it yellows whites. I do have a water softener, and a system that removes the rust, iron and manganese from the water.
Do you have a product I could use that has the same properties as bleach, but does not yellow my whites?

Also I have a baby that started eating food—how do I clean carrot puree from her clothes? Some are white, some are colored, and mostly all are cotton. What is the best stain remover (that I can use in hard water)?

A. Hard water with metals and liquid bleach like Ultra Javex are not a good combination. The water softener, properly maintained, may allow you to use liquid bleach on your whites without generating the brown, yellow reaction products that end up depositing on clothes. And, our Ultra Javex has a polymer to catch and suspend these metals to prevent them from reacting with the sodium hypochlorite active.

Now for the fun part, baby food stains can be some of the toughest to successfully remove. Carrots and beets are so highly pigmented that they are always at the top of the hard-to-remove list, so to improve your chances of success, remove as much of the stain material as possible as soon as possible. Generally, I suggest a quick rinse right after eating by running under cool water, and trying not to rub more of the stain into the fabric. The more we keep it as a surface rather than ground-in stain the better removal you're likely to achieve. Right before you wash (again, dried out stains will be harder to get completely out) you should pretreat using Liquid Javex 2® Stain Fighter and Colour Booster, our milder oxygen bleach based on hydrogen peroxide. I would use the Free version if you are concerned about sensitive skin as the dye and fragrance have been removed. Simply apply to the carrot spots, rub in, wait 3-5 minutes, then wash in the warmest water recommended on the care label using detergent and Javex2. Check for success after washing and before you dry so that you can retreat the item if needed. After drying, these stains really can be difficult/impossible to get out.

The Javex2 is probably your best option for all your clothes. The oxygen bleach will not react with the metals to create the problems you were concerned about with liquid bleach. In fact, for hard water you might want to try the powdered Javex2 version, since it has special ingredients to help complex water hardness and will boost the cleaning power of your detergent. Always make sure any powder is thoroughly dissolved before adding laundry to the washer to prevent residue deposits on finished laundry.

Q. I would like to keep the germ content down on desk top fountains. How much Clorox would you recommend I add to a gallon of water which would be used to fill the fountains?

A. For the situation that you described, I would try the following:

• You need to make sure the fountains are well cleaned. If previously used, consider washing thoroughly, then running a solution of 1 tablespoon Clorox® Regular-Bleach/gallon of water. This should get rid of any residual bacteria and allow you to reduce the bleach level in the future.


• On-going, I would think that 1 teaspoon Clorox® Regular-Bleach/ gallon of water should be sufficient to keep the water fresh. You might want to change it out on a biweekly or monthly schedule to insure it maintains it freshness.

Q. Please let me know if Clorox® UltimateCare Bleach bleach disinfects. I use a public laundry room in an apartment complex and would love to switch from Clorox® Regular-Bleach to this gentler one, but must have the germ-killing capability.

A. You are wise to have a liquid bleach wash as part of your regimen, especially using a public laundry room. No telling what the last person washed and left in that washer. For these situations, I always recommend doing a white load first using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach to kill any leftovers and prevent them from being spread to your subsequent loads. Unfortunately, our only EPA-registered bleach is Clorox® Regular-Bleach, and I would stick with that. If in subsequent loads you wanted to use a gentler bleach, the Clorox® UltimateCare Bleach is a good choice, but it is not EPA registered.

Q. Hello, I have some expensive and nice sheets that have (2) issues:
1) The pillow cases are badly soiled from hair and they are discolored. You can almost feel the oil in them.
2) The sheets have grease on them from a malfunction in the washing machine.

These sheets are all cotton, and I was hoping to just dye them a dark color to cover all this as they are fairly new and I like them a lot. I am just afraid the dye would not stick to the material with the oil on there. Any suggestions would help, they are light colored and at this point I just want to get the oil and stains out. Oh—and I have a front load machine.

A. So, there’s no doubt that we need to get the machine grease and body soil completely off the items IF you are to have a chance at dying them another color. Any residual oil will either prevent the dye from attaching, or absorb extra dye making the oily spot(s) more visible.

For cotton items, I would recommend trying to pretreat using either liquid laundry or dishwashing (Dawn) detergent. Apply, rub into the spots, wait 3-5 minutes, then wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label. You might want to pause the washer and let the items soak for an extra 10-15 minutes during the wash cycle. Check for success after washing and before tossing the items in the dryer, as you may need to repeat the process (alternative is to air dry). If the body oils have been there for a while, they will be tough to get out totally.
For a little extra kick on the body soil, you can always test the sheets/pillowcases to see if it's safe to use liquid bleach. I recommend consumers do the quick Bleachability Test (2 tspn Clorox® Regular-Bleach in 1/4 cup water; apply a drop on a hidden 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. Now you have a couple of choices: I would consider doing a quick liquid bleach soak (1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach in gallon of cool water for 5 minutes) then wash immediately in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach. Check out the Laundry 101 video on my blog (http://www.drlaundryblog.com) for a demonstration of the test.

Q. I hope you can help me with the following two questions:

• 1. Can you please let me know which is the best detergent (in terms of removing stains/dirt and keeping the colors) for whites and which one for colors?


• 2. I’ve noticed that with some clothes I own with fabrics containing black and white, the white parts got a bluish look after washing the clothes with liquid Tide. What can I do to make the white "white" (as the original fabric was) and not bluish?

• 1. For general laundering, the leading brand is Tide and it's about as good as it gets. It comes in a variety of "types" and in liquid or powder form. Overall, most consumers enjoy the convenience of the liquid form; just measure, pour and go, rather than making sure the powder is completely dissolved before adding the clothes. Depending on your situation, detergent alone may not be enough to remove stains and soils, and another additive may be needed to get the job done like Clorox® Regular-Bleach for whites, or Clorox2® Stain Fighter &Color Booster, our oxygen bleach based on hydrogen peroxide, for colors. Unless you are washing delicates, the same detergent should work for both whites and colors.


• 2. The problem you're describing is dye bleeding, or transfer. It usually occurs on cotton items and is the result of the dye types and process used, especially for dark colors like black, which is usually padded onto the fiber. Subsequent washing in any product (even water only) will cause some dye to leave the fabric, which creates the blurring of the colors at the white/black interface. So I think it's a function of the item and not the detergent choice. If you have already dried the fade items, they will be more difficult/impossible to remove. Unfortunately, not all stripes or colors exhibit this behavior, so it is somewhat of a crapshoot when washing any of these types of garments. For solid colors, the solution is to sort and wash dark colors separately in cooler water to slow down (but not eliminate) the dye bleeding. The good news is that the amount of dye lost decreases with each wash. Fixes to the initial problem are few and based on liquid bleach which may not be good for the remaining black dye. We have Clorox® BleachPen Gel that has two tips (a fine point and a scrubber) which allows you to control where you apply the thickened liquid bleach. Before proceeding, there is a Bleachability Test on the label (apply a drop onto a hidden area with the dye fading; wait a couple of minutes; rinse and let dry. If no color change occurs, then apply along the lines and wash immediately with detergent).

Hello there,

As I've said many times before on this blog, one of the reasons to use liquid bleach in your white loads is to get the best cleaning, whitest whites and kill unwanted germs so they can't be transferred to other clothes. I came across a clip recently that I thought I would share with you all. It is from a segment on the “CBS Early Show” that addresses the issue of bacteria buildup in washers. (View the clip here: CBS Early Show, Germ Warfare: The Laundry Room.) CBS points out that with each load of laundry; your machine accumulates bacteria shed by the clothing being washed. They point out that eventually, the buildup can lead to some pretty unsanitary conditions within your washer. This is why it is so important to include bleach in your laundry routine.

To prevent bacteria buildup in your washing machine, here is what I recommend:

1. Try to do a load of white laundry at least once a week. For white clothing, I recommend washing with the hottest water recommended on the item’s care label and ¾ cup of Clorox® Regular-Bleach. This regular presence of bleach in your machine will help keep bacteria levels low in other loads where you don't use liquid bleach.

2. When faced with a particularly dirty load (anything that may have become contaminated with vomit, fecal matter—you get the idea), be sure to sanitize the washer after use. In this instance, it would be best to not introduce even your white clothing that can be bleached to this environment. Simply run the washer as usual, but without any clothes, and be sure to include ¾ cup of Clorox® Regular-Bleach. If you own a HE washing machine, run a Clean-out cycle at least once a month and leave the door of the machine open for a few hours in order to allow any remaining water to evaporate. These machines don't drain completely and the retained "dirty" water is an ideal place for odor-causing bacteria and mildew to breed.

These are simple steps you can take to keep you and your family’s clothing not only looking great, but also help prevent the spread of bacteria within your household.

Dr. Laundry

Q. What do you recommend for removal of an olive oil stain on a colored shirt? I have tried "Spray n’ Wash," but that didn't help this time. That has always been a good stain remover.

A. You didn't mention what type of fibers the shirt was made from, or whether or not you had dryer dried the residual stain. Synthetic fibers (polyester) tend to "hold" oily stains tighter, especially after drying, making the residual stain more difficult/impossible to remove.

For colored items, I find that a good liquid laundry (Tide) or dishwashing detergent(Dawn) are really good for oily stains, especially since they have gone to the new 2X formulas. They have a higher concentration of surfactants and solvent than the Spray 'n Wash. Pretreat by applying product to the stained area, rub into the stain (you might want to do this from the back of the stain), wait 3-5 minutes, then wash in the warmest water recommended on the care label with detergent and Clorox2® Stain Fighter & Color Booster, our oxygen bleach based on hydrogen peroxide. Check for success as another treatment may be needed. It may be best to air dry the shirt if the stain is colorless/harder to see.

Q. If used properly will Clorox completely and safely disinfect the soiled linens from the contaminations of an ambulance? Do you have information that documents the types of bacteria and virus Clorox will kill? Our local hospitals are no longer exchanging the soiled linens from the ambulances for clean sets. Our agency does not charge for its services, so in order to continue to offer this free service we need to cut costs where we can and therefore launder soiled linen vs. buying disposable linen may be more desirable. But how safe is it? I’m hoping you can provide me with back up information to substantiate a decision.

A. I definitely understand the need to cut the costs and doing more, more, and more. I'm not sure exactly what types of "contaminants" you are asking about. Generally, if blood is involved, you may want to clean/deal with that first and separate for better more complete removal as hot water tends to set this stain. Then a separate hot water wash with detergent and 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach will disinfect the linens. Both gram positive and gram negative bacteria can be removed as noted in the instructions from our EPA Master
Label below:

Also the product is effective at controlling a wide-range of contaminants as noted from another section of the label:

Q. HELP! A down vest exploded in my washer and is all over the 100% cotton quilted lining of a jacket. I've tried clothes brushes and several strong tapes to no avail. Aside from plucking this bird, how can I remove the down?

A. I know those little feathers are tenacious from some pillowcase experiences.
Other than the options that you mentioned, I was thinking the lint brush with its sticky surface and ability to roll it over the surface may be the best approach.

Q. I got metallic beige spray paint on a cotton dress. What can I do to remove it?

A. May not have good news for you. Once the paint has dried on the dress, you must now find a solvent to re-dissolve the paint without damaging/removing the dye from the dress. You will need to do some detective work to find the right solvent. Try paint thinner, acetone or GooGone. You will need to test each on a hidden area like seam or hem to insure it's safe to use without removing the dye. Apply a drop on the hidden area, wait 1-2 minutes, then blot with a towel. If no color transfer occurs, then you should be able to apply whichever solvent works. Apply the solvent to a fresh towel and dab it on the paint; using another clean towel, transfer any dissolved paint from the dress to the towel. Keep applying and removing to a fresh towel until the entire stain is removed. When completed, use some liquid detergent to treat the area (apply, rub in), and then wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label with detergent. I probably would air dry rather than risk any residual solvent fumes in the hot dryer.