Tips and tricks from laundering expert Dr. Laundry
(NC)—After months of wearing dark, drab clothes, many Canadians fling open their closets to welcome the bright, white clothes of summer. This summer, keep your whites from becoming gray and dingy with the tips and tricks outlined below.
The great divide
The first step to keeping whites white is to separate clothes into loads according to colour (whites, lights and darks). Washing colours separately ensures dark colours won't bleed onto lighter fabrics which can cause graying and discolouration.
Whiten up
To keep your whites looking crisp and fresh try adding 3/4 cup of liquid bleach to each white load. When used as directed, liquid bleach is safe to use on almost all whites and helps remove stains and odours that detergents alone can leave behind. For colours, the ingredients found in oxygen bleach such as Javex 2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster by Clorox, remove stains but they also work to brighten colours and whiten whites.
Feelin' hot hot hot
To keep whites from looking dingy and discoloured, wash clothes in the warmest water recommended on the fabric care label. The hotter the water, the better the cleaning.
Overworked and overloaded
While it may seem more convenient to pack the washing machine full of a weeks worth of laundry, this is one of the biggest laundry mistakes you can make. Stuffing too many items into the machine at one time means the detergent has a harder time reaching all of the items, leaving dirt and stains behind.
Remember to always read and follow precautions and usage directions before using cleaning products, including storing cleaning products out of reach of children.
More information is available online at www.Clorox.ca.
Harold Baker aka Dr. Laundry is an Associate Research Fellow at The Clorox Company. He has spent 30 years remedying tough stains and solving laundry needs across North America.
- News Canada