Whitening bed linen in an automatic washing machine

Whitening bed linen in an automatic washing machine Bed linen has to be washed quite often. If after 5-10 washes the appearance of the set remains almost unchanged, then the snow-white sheets fade and acquire a gray tint. Even high-quality, expensive fabrics are subject to the “washing” effect. To once again rest on sparkling clean sheets, housewives resort to little tricks. We’ll tell you how to easily bleach bed linen in a washing machine, and what products will help you cope with the “grayness” of your set.

Cheap household chemicals will help

White bedding looks chic, but in real life it turns out to be completely impractical. It gets dirty quite quickly, even the smallest stains are clearly visible on it. In addition, after a dozen washes, the laundry takes on a gray tint.

There is no need to give up on a grayed set. It's easy to restore its whiteness at home. You can buy special household chemicals for whitening in the store or resort to cheap “folk” remedies. We will tell you which methods are considered the most effective and what will be needed in the process.

Boric acid. The sachets can be purchased at any pharmacy. To achieve maximum effect, you should soak the set in the washing machine. Almost all modern washing machines have this function. The bedding is placed in the drum, two spoons of boron powder are poured into it, and the “Pre-soaking” mode is started. Afterwards, the washing program is started with a water heating temperature of 60°C. It would be a good idea to select “Extra Rinse” so that the substance is completely washed out of the fabric.
Baking soda is a multifunctional product. It will help refresh sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases, and also clean the “insides” of the washing machine from dirt and scale. The method of application is simple: pour 100 grams of sodium bicarbonate into the dispenser and the powder that you usually use for washing. Start the “Cotton” mode, which heats the water to 60°C. This bleaching method is absolutely safe, so you can also refresh children's sets this way. The laundry removed from the drum will be as good as new.

In stores you can find special soda ash for washing; it costs more than baking soda, but their operating principle is the same.

Hydroperite in tablets. An antiseptic that is a combination of hydrogen peroxide and urea. Two “pills” are placed in the drum along with a set of laundry, washing powder is poured into the dispenser and the cycle starts. The program should be selected long, with water heating to a temperature of 60°C. It is better to set the “Extra rinse” function so that the substance is completely washed out of the bed.
Aspirin. This medicine is in almost every home medicine cabinet. You should crush 10 tablets and throw the resulting powder into the drum, along with sheets and pillowcases. Next, you need to start the mode corresponding to the type of fabric.

If the bed linen should not be bleached, but should be given a little brightness, you can use bluing. The product is diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 1. The resulting solution should be poured into the air conditioner compartment and run the washing machine at the desired mode. At the end of the cycle, the set will acquire a beautiful, soft blue hue.

Let's create a white effect

Chlorine-containing bleaches are quite aggressive towards fabrics.Of course, even after a one-time use of such a product, the bed linen will be snow-white. But there is another side to the coin - the set will become thinner, the fibers will become more fragile, and the thread weaving will weaken. To prevent this, it is better to choose household chemicals that are harmless to the material.

You can safely refresh your bedding set using optical brightener.

The components that make up such bleaches are able to reflect light. The product contains dyes that are not washed out when rinsing, but remain in the fibers of the fabric. The sun's rays, when hitting a sheet or duvet cover, are reflected with a pleasant blue tint. The linen looks sparkling and snow-white. optical brightener

The main disadvantage of optical brightener is the ability to cause an allergic reaction. So it is not advisable to use such a product for washing children's sets or the laundry of adults prone to allergies.

The power of oxygen

At home, you can restore the whiteness of a grayed bedding set in another way. Oxygen bleaches are effective, safe, do not cause allergic reactions, suitable for cotton, synthetics, and delicate fabrics. Available in two forms: liquid and powder.

Oxygen bleaches are made from carbonate or carbonate peroxyhydrate. During the cycle, the active substance breaks down into soda, which has a bleaching effect, and peroxide, which releases oxygen. Due to the saturation of water with bubbles, contaminants are much better washed out of the fabric fibers.

Today, housewives prefer the following bleaches with active oxygen:

Eco-Way Oxygen;
Sarma Active;
LionClean Plus;
Antipyatin Oxi-formula;
Spivak;
Vanish Oxy;
Greenfield Oxy Crystal;
Persol Extra.

The main advantages of oxygen bleach:

does not harm delicate fabrics;
works even in lukewarm water;
removes old, stubborn dirt;
completely rinsed;
extremely rarely causes allergic reactions.

As for the disadvantages, this is a decent cost of the product and quite a large expense. Although among oxygen bleaches you can find inexpensive packages. For example, Antipyatin with active oxygen costs about $0.6, and Persol costs only 30 rubles.

Bleaching using a machine

Almost all modern automatic washing machines are equipped with an additional section for bleach. Therefore, refreshing your bedding in the washing machine will not be difficult. The algorithm of actions will be as follows:

sort the laundry, dividing it into batches by fabric type and color;
Pour washing powder and bleach into the detergent tray into the appropriate compartments. Strictly follow the dosage;
turn on the machine;
select a washing program based on the type of fabric;
start the cycle.

If your washer does not have a separate section for bleach, you will have to do this work manually. After the main wash, remove the laundry from the drum, add oxygen bleach to the basin according to the instructions, and soak the set in the solution.

When choosing bleach, pay attention to the temperature at which it begins to act. Thus, good products with active oxygen are activated already at 40°C; some manufacturers recommend washing at 60°C.

Let's bring back the whiteness of linen the traditional way

There are several other methods that allow you to freshen your sheets, pillowcases and duvet covers at home. When you don’t have special bleach on hand, you shouldn’t be upset. You can restore the whiteness of a set of bed linen using ordinary hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, mustard, ammonia, vinegar and even laundry soap. Let's look at each method in more detail.

Hydrogen peroxide. How does it work? Fill a deep basin or directly into the bathtub with 20 liters of water at a temperature of at least 40°C. Add 330 ml of pharmaceutical product, soak the kit in the solution for 2 hours. It is important to stir the bed every 15-20 minutes so that cleansing occurs evenly. Then fill a large saucepan or enamel bucket with clean water, add washing powder with a bleaching effect, and place sheets and pillowcases. Place the vessel on the fire and boil for an hour. After boiling, all that remains is to rinse the laundry and dry it in the usual way.
Potassium permanganate. Due to the color of potassium permanganate, it may seem that these crystals do not fit in with bleaching. In reality, this is a very effective remedy. First, wash your laundry as usual. Then pour warm water into a basin and add manganese there. The liquid should be bright pink. The bed linen is soaked in the prepared solution for 6 hours. Afterwards, the kit must be rinsed and dried several times. In addition to leaving your pillowcases sparkling clean, this method allows for a complete antimicrobial treatment of the fabric.
White. This is a very cheap product, sold in literally every hardware department. Our great-grandmothers used this method of whitening, but even now it does not lose its relevance. The chlorine-containing composition is suitable for thick cotton; delicate fabrics may deteriorate after treatment.You should use bleach while observing all personal protective measures - washing is carried out with gloves, the room should be well ventilated. The method of application is simple: bleach is diluted in warm water, in the proportion of one spoon per 6 liters. Linen is immersed in the solution and left for 2-3 hours. Then the bedding is rinsed several times and dried on the balcony.

It is important to use chlorine-containing compounds very carefully so as not to damage the fabric.

Ammonia and turpentine. This mixture is suitable for washing cotton or linen. In thirty liters of warm water, dilute 30 ml of ammonia and three tbsp. spoons of turpentine. Soak a set of laundry in the resulting liquid for 2-3 hours. Afterwards, the sheets and pillowcases should be washed with regular detergent.
Vinegar. Also has a whitening effect. To make a working solution, dilute 150 ml of acetic acid, 30 grams of finely ground salt and 20 ml of peroxide in a bowl of warm water. Soak the bedding in this liquid for a couple of hours. Afterwards the fabric is thoroughly rinsed.
Mustard. Add 50 grams of mustard powder to a liter of warm water, let the mixture brew for 30 minutes. Then strain the liquid through cheesecloth and pour homemade bleach into a basin with soaked sheets. Wait a couple of hours, then wash the set and dry it.
Vegetable oil. This method is quite labor-intensive, but the result will surprise any housewife. Add 100 g to a large enamel pan filled with water. oils, washing powder and bleach in the dosage recommended by the manufacturer.Place the boiling container on the stove, immerse the sheets and pillowcases inside, wait until the solution boils, then reduce the heat and simmer the bedding under the lid for 1.5 hours. The final step will be washing as usual.
Laundry soap will also help restore the whiteness of the fabric. Grate the block, dissolve 150 g. soap shavings in the liquid, add 150 grams of baking soda and the same amount of borax. Pour this solution into a container of hot water, immerse the bed linen there and leave it to soak overnight. Rinse the kit well in the morning.

It’s not difficult to restore the color of grayed bed linen yourself. There are plenty of ways, you just need to choose the one you prefer and act. It is not necessary to wash by hand; there are many methods that allow you to bleach fabric in an automatic washing machine.