Q:  Many of my white button-down shirts within time tend to turn slightly off-white, yellowish.  I've tried washing with bleach but it doesn't help.  What should I do?

A:  This is a question I get a lot, and it deserves a long answer.  I wish I knew a little more about your wash habits.  Since your whites have yellowed over time that could indicate a long term cleaning issue.  Here are some factors that affect cleaning and whitening that you may be able to change and see better results.

1. Detergent choice—Make sure you are using a good detergent that contains brighteners and enzymes in addition to surfactants and builders.  Review the ingredient list—better detergents often list the purpose of the ingredients.  Plus, the better the detergent, the better the improvement in performance when you add bleach.


2. Use the correct amount of detergent—Under using detergent will result in poor performance, especially if you wash heavily soiled items or extra-large loads, or if you have hard water. That’s when you actually need to add extra!


3. Choose a “hot” wash temperature—The higher the wash temperature, the better the cleaning.


4. Don’t overload the washer—Clothes need to circulate/tumble freely through the wash water for optimum cleaning.


5. 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.  Perhaps your clothes washer has a bleach dispenser that limits the amount of bleach you can add to 1/3 cup.  In that case, you can experiment with smaller loads, and fill the dispenser to the “max fill” line.

It’s important to note that there are also a few situations when using Clorox® Regular-Bleach can cause whites to yellow:

• Fabric not safe for bleach—You should never bleach garments made with wool, silk, mohair, leather, and spandex. They are damaged by exposure to bleach, which can include yellowing as well as fiber deterioration.


• The fabric finish yellows—Sometimes a finish applied to the fabric/garment will react with bleach and turn yellow.  Hopefully these garments are labeled "non-chlorine bleach only".


• Concentrated bleach exposure—If cotton is exposed to undiluted or extremely concentrated bleach solutions, it can yellow.


• Poor water quality—When the household water supply contains large amounts of metals (like iron and manganese), they react with the sodium hypochlorite active in bleach to form colored materials that can deposit onto clothes.  The best way to handle this problem is to install a water treatment/filtration system to remove the impurities.

Since your shirts have yellowed over time, there’s a good chance you can whiten up the shirts again (as long as the yellowing wasn’t caused by metals).  Here are some techniques you could try:

1. Soak the items in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water.  Fully submerge for 5 minutes, then wash in hot water using detergent + ¾ cup bleach (or fill the dispenser to the max-fill line).  This is ideal for dingy yellow build-up from poor cleaning over time.


2. Overnight pre-soak with powdered Clorox2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster. Add 1 scoop Clorox2® to 2 gallons hot water, and stir to be sure the product dissolves.  Fully submerge the items for 8 hours or overnight.  Rinse the soaking solution, and then wash in hot water using detergent and additional Clorox2®.  This is ideal for white shirts that contain a small amount of spandex, which should never be washed with Clorox® Regular-Bleach.

Keeping whites their best can require a bit of work, but definitely pays off!  It’s always good to prevent yellowing in the first place, but hopefully these tips do the trick.

Q:  Can you use Clorox 2® with a detergent like Woolite® extra dark care?

A:  Clorox 2® Stain Fighter and Color Booster can be added to any detergent to help with stain removal and brighten colors.  There's a lot of great information at http://www.clorox.com/products/clorox2/how-to/.  For dark items that people don't necessarily want to be "brighter" you can also use Clorox 2® since the low level of oxygen bleach in the formula is safe for most washable fabrics.  It's always a good idea to check care labels for instructions from the garment manufacturer on whether or not to use a color safe or non-chlorine bleach (like Clorox 2®).  If you aren't sure, you can also test for colorfastness as follows:

• If using powdered Clorox 2®, dissolve 1 teaspoon of Clorox 2® in 1 cup of hot water. Soak a hidden area of the garment in the solution for 1 minute. Rinse and let air dry. The garment is safe for washing if color does not fade or bleed.


• If using Liquid Clorox 2®, apply 1 drop to hidden area. Rinse after 5 minutes and air dry. The garment is safe for washing if color does not fade or bleed.

My favorite technique for keeping dark colors (especially blacks) close to their original color is to keep them out of the dryer—this requires some planning ahead since air drying takes more time, but it really pays off. 

Anyone else need tips on keeping items dark or bright?  I noticed neon is a big trend this year for spring fashion!

Q: A few white items were washed in a color load and turned blue. Some of the items were all white and others had colored patterns. I did not put them in the dryer.  Currently, I’m soaking them in 1 cup white distilled vinegar and detergent.  If this doesn't work, what else can I do?

A:  That's too bad about the blue dye transfer.  The good news is that you should be able to restore any bleachable items with a bleach soaking solution!

Start by figuring out if any of the white or colored items can be safely bleached (even if they are labeled "only non-chlorine bleach").  First, check the care label and eliminate any items that include wool, silk, mohair, spandex, and leather – these fabrics should never be bleached.  For the colored part of the remaining partially colored items, check for colorfastness to bleach with this simple bleachability test:

• Dilute 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular-Bleach in ¼ cup water


• Apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the each item (like a hem, cuff, collar, or inside seam)


• Wait 1 minute then blot dry


• No color change means the item can be safely bleached. 

For the white items, and any partially colored items that passed the bleachability test, try soaking them in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach diluted in 1 gallon cool water for up to 5 minutes, then rinse them thoroughly.  Air dry the items, and check for success (it’s important to keep the items out of the dryer so the heat doesn’t set any remaining dye). 

Hopefully the fugitive blue 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 then you may need to try RIT® Color Remover, which can usually be found at drug and hardware stores.

Q:  My white t-shirt tag recommends the use of non-chlorine bleach only. I have Clorox® Regular-Bleach, do I need Clorox2® instead?

A:  That's good you are looking at the care label in your shirt! It should also contain information on what the shirt is made of, but sometimes that information is split onto two tags. One can be attached to a side seam and the other at the back of the neck, so you may need to look thoroughly.  I say this because you will want to check the fiber content to see if the shirt contains a small amount of spandex.  If it does, then you should not use Clorox® Regular-Bleach and should instead use Clorox2®.  That's because spandex (along with wool, silk, mohair, and leather) should not be washed with Clorox® Regular-Bleach; its bleach active is sodium hypochlorite, and will break down the fiber/fabric.  Cotton, polyester, and cotton/poly blends, on the other hand, can be safely washed with Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  Often a garment or textile manufacturer produces a single style in a variety of colors and puts the same tag on all of them regardless of their wash-ability.  The most amusing example to me is a white towel!

Q:  How do you get a pink color out of clothes that bled from a darker garment when it was accidently put in with lights?

A:  What you describe sounds like dye transfer and you should be able to restore any bleachable items with a bleach soaking solution. 

Start by figuring out if any of the partially white items are safely bleachable (even if they are labeled "only non-chlorine bleach").  First, check the care labels and eliminate any items that include wool, silk, mohair, spandex, and leather – these should never be bleached.  For the colored parts of the remaining items, check for colorfastness to bleach with this simple bleachability test: dilute 2 teaspoons Clorox® Regular-Bleach in ¼ cup water; apply a drop of this solution to a hidden part of the each item (like a hem, cuff, collar, or inside seam); wait 1 minute then blot dry; no color change means the item can be safely bleached. 

For the white items, and any partially colored items that passed the bleachability test, try soaking them in a solution of ¼ cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach diluted in 1 gallon cool water for up to 5 minutes, then rinse them thoroughly.  Air dry the items, and check for success (it’s important to keep the items out of the dryer so the heat doesn’t set any remaining dye). 

Hopefully the fugitive pink color will be gone, but if it is lighter, then repeat the bleach soak again.  However, if the bleach soak leaves the pink color unchanged, then you may need to try RITÒ Color Remover, which can usually be found at drug and hardware stores.

Q:  Can I use Clorox® Regular-Bleach in my old washing machine to clean it?

A:  This is an interesting question!  My first thought is yes, but your washer is old so it depends on the condition of your machine.  If enamel or metal surfaces inside the washer have been chipped or scratched, then the machine could be rusty.  In that case, it may be time to replace your washing machine to avoid rust stains from transferring to the clothes. 

However, if your washer is in generally good condition, you can run an empty cycle selecting hot water, two rinse cycles, and adding 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach as the washer is filling.  If you can't automatically select an extra rinse, then simply do that manually and restart the washer when the first cycle is over. 

Does anyone else need some helpful tips on cleaning their washer?

Q: I have red wine and sauce stains on my cloth napkins and tablecloths.  What would be the proper ratio of water to Clorox® Regular-Bleach for a soak in a bucket (not machine)?

A:  The proper ratio is 1/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water.  Fully submerge the items for 5 minutes, and then drain the soaking solution before washing the items in the hottest water recommended on the care label using detergent + 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach.  Air dry the items to make sure the stains are all the way out.  This is particularly a good idea for food stains because often they can be "combination stains" that require multiple approaches to get all the way out. 

You mentioned sauce stains – these can contain an oily component and a colored component, and it's best to treat the oily component first.  In that case, try rubbing a little liquid dishwashing detergent onto the stain first.  Wait for 5 minutes, rinse the stain with a little warm water and then do the bleach soak. Red wine, on the other hand, comes out beautifully with just the bleach treatment.

Do any other readers have some post-holiday stains that are proving difficult to remove?