Happy Labor Day! It’s bittersweet to see summer coming to an end, but with fall comes hayrides, apple cider, and plenty of holidays to celebrate. I hope everyone was able to celebrate and enjoy a relaxing holiday.

Last week, I provided some tips on how to treat your summer whites before putting them away for the season. Today, I have some instructions on what you can do if you accidentally get dye from another laundry item on bleachable clothing.

You should be able to restore the item that picked up the color with a bleach soaking solution as long as the item is safely bleachable. Even though they are white, you still need to check the care label--don’t use the bleach soaking solution if the clothing contains even a small amount of spandex. You should also avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, and leather--these should also never be bleached.

If the clothing is bleachable, then you can proceed with a bleach soak. Fully submerge the slacks in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach added to 1 gallon cool water for up to 5 minutes, then rinse the slacks thoroughly. Air dry and check for success (it’s important to keep the slacks out of the dryer so the heat doesn’t set any remaining dye if it wasn’t removed). Hopefully the fugitive color will be gone, but if it is lighter, then repeat the bleach soak again. However, if the bleach soak leaves the dye transfer color unchanged, you may need to try RIT Color Remover, which can usually be found at drug and hardware stores.

How can I remove body soils from 100% Egyptian cotton sheets? Will Clorox bleach harm the sheets by aging them faster?

It’s a common myth that bleach is hard on fabrics, and I’m happy to debunk the notion. No, laundering with Clorox^® Regular-Bleach will not cause Egyptian cotton textiles to age faster or wear out sooner. Egyptian cotton is special because its fibers are longer than most other cotton fibers, producing stronger yarns and fabrics. In general, cotton fabrics naturally deteriorate just from wearing, washing, and drying; using bleach doesn’t accelerate this effect, regardless of the length of the cotton fiber. We have examined this extensively, evaluating a wide variety of white items commonly bleached: socks, underwear, t-shirts, towels, bed sheets, dress shirts and even baseball pants. Items were washed and dried 50 times, and we found no significant difference in fabric strength between items washed with detergent and those washed in detergent and liquid bleach. It also demonstrates how to use bleach safely as directed on the label, which relates to the first question: what’s the best way to remove body soils from sheets? Assuming they are white, I recommend using the hottest water possible, and adding ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach along with your detergent. However, if they are colored, then I would do a quick bleachability test to confirm the color is bleach fast: add 2 tsp liquid bleach to ¼ cup water, apply a drop to a hidden area (for bed sheets I like to test the hem that gets tucked in at the foot of the bed) and blot dry—no color change means the sheets can be safely bleached. If the sheets don’t pass the bleachability test, then I would add Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster along with your detergent, and wash them in the hottest water possible.

How would I go about whitening washcloths that were grayed by liquid body wash soap?  I have washed these cloths several times in my (HE) washer using normal laundry detergent and have had no success in getting the washcloths back to white.

There are some factors that affect cleaning, and changing your laundering habits may yield better results.  Here are some suggestions;

• Detergent choice: Make sure you are using an HE detergent — better ones contain brighteners and enzymes in addition to surfactants and builders — that is specially formulated for your washer.  Review the ingredient list, since better detergents often list the purpose of the ingredients.  A good detergent will also help bleach perform better!


• Use the correct amount of detergent:  Underusing detergent will result in poor performance, especially if you wash heavily soiled items or extra-large loads.


• Choose a “hot” wash temperature: The higher the wash temperature, the better the cleaning.


• Don’t overload the washer: Clothes need to circulate/tumble freely through the wash water for optimum cleaning.  It’s better to divide up a large, heavily soiled load into two smaller loads.


• Use the correct amount of bleach: That’s ¾ cup for a regular load, and 1 ¼ cup for an extra-large or heavily soiled load.  If your clothes washer has a bleach dispenser that limits the amount of bleach you can add, experiment with smaller loads, and fill the dispenser to the “max fill” line.

All this will help your results over time so you don’t have a buildup of incomplete soil removal. For the washcloths you have now, pre-soaking them in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water will help whiten them. Fully submerge the washcloths for 5 minutes, and then drain the soaking solution. Follow up with a hot water wash using detergent and ¾ cup bleach (or fill the dispenser to the max fill line).

What is the best way to remove marshmallow from clothing?

S’mores are a summer campfire staple, but they sure can be a sticky mess! Fortunately marshmallows are mostly sugar, water, and gelatin, and dissolve rather easily in water. You can also presoak the item in a detergent and water solution prior to washing for an extra cleaning boost. Add a few tablespoons liquid detergent to a gallon of warm water and fully submerge the item for 5-10 minutes. Next, pour off the soaking solution and wash the item in the hottest water recommended on the care label. Air dry the item and check for success--it's always a good idea to keep a stained item you are working on out of a hot dryer until you know the stain is all the way out so you can repeat a treatment if necessary to get a stain all the way out.

Is there a way to remove lip balm from clothing that it melted onto in the wash?

Wax can be easily removed from many fabrics by heating it slightly so it will transfer from the fabric and absorb onto a brown paper bag. If the clothing has been through the dryer, the wax has likely worked its way into the fabric so it could be more difficult to remove, but you can still give the following a try.

1.  Scrape away as much of the wax as possible with a dull knife.  Look for wax both inside and outside the pocket, too.

2.  Cut open a brown paper grocery (light weight) or lunch bag.  Be sure the bag does NOT have any wax coating on it!

3.  Place the bag over the wax spot (and inside the pocket if there is wax inside it, too), and then gently press with a dry iron on its LOWEST heat setting.  You should see dark brown splotches appear on the bag as the wax is absorbed.

4.  Reposition a fresh part of the bag over the wax spot (and replace brown paper inserted into the pocket with fresh paper) and gently press again with the iron.  Repeat until no more wax absorbs onto the bag.

5.  Pretreat any remaining stain (this is likely since the balm also contains natural oils) by applying Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster directly to the stain.  Wait 3-5 minutes, then wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label with detergent + Clorox2^®.  Air dry and check for success—repeat if necessary.

Brown paper bags are nice to work with to capture wax because it is very easy to see the wax absorb onto the bag. If the fabric is synthetic, it’s also important to work with the iron on its lowest heat setting so you don’t melt the fabric. Iron temperatures vary, so you may be able to slightly raise the heat setting if necessary to melt the wax—just do this carefully so as not to damage/melt the clothing. It’s always good to avoid trading one problem for another.

What is the best was to restore a dingy, white bathing suit to its original pure white color?

It can be very difficult to keep an item white that picks up body soil and sunscreen that may also have a “hand wash in cold water” care label.  If the swimsuit contains any spandex, then using a sodium hypochlorite based bleach like Clorox^® Regular-Bleach is out of the question.

To improve the appearance of your swimsuit, you can try an overnight presoak using powdered Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster.  Dissolve 1 scoop powder in 2 gallons of very hot water, fully submerge the suit in the soaking solution, and let it soak overnight.  Use a dishwasher safe dinner plate to weigh it down if necessary so the suit is all way into the soaking solution.  Let it soak for up to 8 hours or overnight, then pour off the soaking solution and wash the swimsuit in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent and more Clorox2^®.

Can Clorox be used on white clothing with black embroidery?

Normally I recommend the bleachability test to determine if a colored item can be safely washed with Clorox^® Regular-Bleach: Add 2 teaspoons bleach to ¼ cup water and apply a drop of the solution to a hidden part of the item; wait 1 minute and blot dry; no color change means the item can be safely bleached. With embroidery, it’s a little more complicated since it is virtually impossible to test for bleachability on a “hidden area” without potentially discoloring the embroidery thread if it isn’t bleach-fast. It would help if you knew the fiber content of the embroidery thread—if it’s polyester, there is actually a good chance that it will be bleach-fast, but this information is generally not provided, making it difficult to know for sure without giving it a try. With cotton embroidery thread, whether or not it is bleach-fast depends on what type of dye was used. Assuming you decide bleaching the item is important enough to take the chance that the embroidery may fade slightly or discolor, I would follow our “for best results” instructions, delaying the addition of the bleach as follows: Dilute ¾ cup Clorox^® Regular-Bleach in 1 quart water and add to the washer 5 minutes after the cycle has begun agitating.

If you decide against bleaching the entire item, you may want to try applying Clorox^® Bleach Pen Gel to any specific stains you are trying to remove. Just be sure to wash the item immediately after pretreating. Or, you could try an overnight pre-soak with powdered Clorox2^® Stain Fighter and Color Booster. Dissolve 1 scoop or 1 pack in 2 gallons water and fully submerge the item for up to 8 hours. Drain the soaking solution then wash the item in the hottest water recommended on the care label with detergent + more Clorox2^®. This approach is particularly good for white items that include spandex and therefore can’t be washed with Clorox^® Regular-Bleach or Clorox^® Bleach Pen Gel.

Is it sanitary to wash white towels and dish cloths and underwear?

Whether or not you combine all your white bleachable items with your underwear into one load or separate a few items to wash depends on the condition of the underwear. If there are any fecal solids present then I would consider washing those items separately from kitchen towels and cloth napkins. Otherwise it's perfectly reasonable to combine all your white items into one load. That said here are some other considerations to make sure you are properly disinfecting your laundry:

1. Use 3/4 cup of bleach for a regular size load with an average soil level, and 1 ¼ cup for an extra-large or heavily soiled load.  Using less than the recommended amount will not provide the correct amount of bleach active to disinfect the load.

2.  Don't overload the washer with too much laundry. Items need to circulate or tumble freely through the wash water for optimum cleaning.

3.  Don't overload the washer with items that have excess stain remnants still on the fabric. In that case it's important to increase the amount of bleach to 1 1/4 cup or wash two smaller loads if you must use a bleach dispenser to add bleach to your washer and it limits the amount of bleach you can add.

How do you remove tea stain from light blue jeans?

Since your tea stain is on denim, you can treat it by applying Liquid Clorox^® 2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster into stain and rub it in. Wait for 5-10 minutes, then wash immediately in the hottest water recommended using detergent and Clorox^® 2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster. Allow to air dry and check to make sure the stain is completely removed. It's important to keep a stained item out of a hot dryer to avoid heat setting any residual stain. That way if any stain remains, you can repeat the treatment as needed.

How do you remove pine sap from a cotton t-shirt?

Tree sap is a very challenging stain to get out. Try treating the stain directly with DeSolvIt^® or Goo Gone^®, which you can find at hardware stores. You should first test for colorfastness (apply a drop to a hidden part of the garments, rinse, and blot dry) if you want to be sure the product is safe for the fabric. If there is no color change, rub a little into the sap and then wash with detergent in the hottest water allowed (check the care label). Allow to air dry and then check for success. You may need to repeat the treatment to remove the stain fully, so it's very important to keep the item out of a hot dryer to avoid heat-setting any residual stain that would otherwise come out with a second treatment. You can also increase the length of time you pre-treat the stains before washing—just don’t let the product dry on the fabric.