Anyone found a good product to whiten clothes that have

[yy4me]

yellowed? Ladies, you know what I mean. The perfectly good bras that have yellowed from a chlorine bleach trip or just age and washing. They are too expensive to toss and are in good condition. Soon lighter clothing will make it necessary to whiten up these old grey or yellow things. This also applies to cotton/poly blouses.

Just got a delivery from a e-bay seller--my ebay store. The prices were good on the bras I buy. I can't seem to find them around here any more. Search by style # and Manufacturer. I know that size fits. Brand new, in box, never unfolded.

[CC]

1. When I used to have to wear a white uniform I used

Rit whitener & brightener. It worked great to bring the white back to white and even worked pretty at brightening colors. I've never found anything else that worked as well.

[yy4me]

11. Hi CC, I tried the Rit as you suggested and the blouses look

great. Will buy another package for future use. It did nothing for the bras however, I'll keep up that search.
I have a feeling the spandex, or whatever the stuff is, has turned and will not whiten. They just look unattractive but I can't get myself to throw then out

Thanks for the Rit tip.

[calico1]

2. Are these bras white?

If they are, consider changing to skin tone color for bras. It shows less under white tops than white, contrary to popular opinion. My mom was no fashion plate but this was one very good piece of advice she gave me. I never buy white bras except for the occasional sport bra.454

For your existing bras, try hanging them out on a sunny day. As long as it isn't hot it shouldn't ruin them. For your white tops the same applies. Especially if they are white the sun is great for whitening them.

[yy4me]

6. Yes, they are white--or were. When we have good weather

I hang clothes on the line. This has been a long winter, no clothesline, no sun. Maybe the sun has made some difference before. I think I'll take your advice and buy beige in the future.

[Warpy]

10. I discovered the tan bra in junior high

the first spring a spotty oaf yelled "Nice bra!" and snapped the strap that was all too easy to see under a thin white shirt.

(My Irish backhand made sure he never did it again, but the lesson was learned by both of us)

[NMDemDist2]

3. Mrs Stewarts Liquid Blueing?

that's what my Grammy always used on her white uniforms

[yy4me]

4. I have not seen blueing since I was a kid, back in the days

when starch came in little meltable blue rectangles, and to iron, you sprinkled water from a soda bottle with a sprinkle cap, rolled your clothes up and refrigerated them overnight. Nice and damp. You could iron carefully but would probably scorch half of the pile.

[NMDemDist2]

5. I found it in PHX in the local Safeway

might be worth checking the top shelf at your local grocery

if not you can always order it online

http://www.mrsstewart.com/

[hippywife]

7. I always add borax.

And then let the whites soak in it and the laundry soap for awhile. I don't know if this will whiten something that's yellowed but it seems to keep things from yellowing. :hi:

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

8. I have some old linen napkins that had yellowed. I tried all

of them: oxyclean, Mrs. Stewart's bluing & YellowOut. Nothing worked. I asked in the cooking & baking group and was told to try Biz. I thought it would be harmful, but was told that that is what linen antique dealers use. Worked like a charm. You can even leave them in up to week if you have to.

[yy4me]

12. HI wakemeupwhenitsover,( bless copy and paste),

Thanks for your tip about yellowing of clothes. I checked out everyones suggestions and did use the Rit. I read the Biz box and put that one back because of the enzymes. Have quite a bit of trouble with allergies and products that contain enzymes are on the list.
Thanks for the tip.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

9. Thank you for this thread. I have several favorite blouses that are getting dingy.

I'm going to try the Biz and Rit, & see which works the best.

What is your Ebay store? I'd like to check it out,

[Viva_La_Revolution]

13. I'm going to try all of this tips on my Painter's Whites...

Thanks everyone!

[kittykitty]

14. HERE'S HOW TO DO IT! I was an antique dealer for 30 years and had to deal with white clothing

I've had white antique dresses, cotton underwear, baby baptismal dresses, blouses,napkins, pillowcases,etc. etc. These items varied from slightly yellowed to tan and speckled with brown spots from drops of something. Usually they had been packed in a trunk.

This is close to miraculous:
Get a large pan or soup kettle, depending in the size of the garment you want to treat. Get powdered Snowy Bleach, and add about 1/4 C to a 4-6 quart kettle, or a couple Tablespoons to a large pan. You can even use a little more. Add water to accommodate the garment generously. Heat it up to just about boiling and stir to dissolve the bleach. Put the garment(s) in the pot and submerse it. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally. It may take a couple of hours if you have an antique fabric that is brown and spotted, or only up to 1/2 hour if something is slightly yellowed. You will see the water becoming yellow to brownish depending on how bad the garment is stained. Finally, rinse well and launder, if desired. Drying in the sun is a nice finishing touch.

I don't know how this method would work on bras because of the elastic. Also, the sun sometimes yellows elastic.

Another whitening trick. Put regular hydrogen peroxide on a spot. Put in the sun till spot fades. Then, and this is important, neutralize the peroxide with white vinegar.

Once I bought a trunk full of antique baby christening dresses. They had some brown spots on them I treated the spots with peroxide, and laid them on the grass. The spots disappeared. I took them to an antique flea market, and they sold well. Then I noticed faint yellow spots developing on the remaining dresses where I had spotted them. I withdrew them, and felt terrible for the customers who bought them and probably found yellow spots on them when they got home. That's when I found out about neutralizing with white vinegar.

I hope this will help your whitening problems.

[yy4me]

15. Great , I also have some old linens that could use your method.

I will try the blouses with your recipe this weekend. For small items, I use a large jar with a screw top. Half full hot water, laundry soap and the small things like hankies and doilies. Shake well. Normal scrubbing may rip these delicate things but the shaking is easy on the goods that need a good wash. Sometimes I leave them overnight in the jar and that helps too.

[kittykitty]

16. The "simmering" does not seem to hurt delicate things. Let me know if the results when you try it.

The jar sounds like a good idea. Doilies and hankies can be done with my method, just as long as you are careful stirring. I usually let the pot cool down somewhat, and then take it to the sink and run cold water into the pot. Then drain the water out and run warm water and take the things out and examine them, etc.