Bedroom - This is the part of the house that only the owners of the house see. But even in such a secluded corner, everything should be impeccable - from the wallpaper on the walls to the linens on the bed. Over time, light-colored fabrics fade, acquire a gray or yellow tint, and become covered with old stains. Detergents and folk remedies will help restore bedding to its former freshness.
Understanding the types of pollution
Oil traces from hand cream, colored stains from a colored towel that has faded on the linen, or yellowness are the reasons why sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases lose their attractiveness. Depending on the cause of contamination, it is necessary to use different methods.
We return the whiteness to yellowed laundry
After many washes, light-colored fabric can acquire a gray, yellow, or light green tint. There are several reasons for this negative impact:
- Washing water with a high iron content (more than 7 degrees of hardness), nitrates.
- The use of washing powders, stain removers with a high content of phosphates, flatates, and hydrochloric acid.
- Regularly wash light-colored bed linen with dark-colored items.
Folk methods that use gentle detergents will help restore a presentable appearance to products. In addition to the loss of natural shine and color, stains of various origins appear on the fabric.
Linen with stains
Regular care is not enough to cleanse fabric from dirt. Stains must be treated before washing. Modern housewives use synthetic stain removers, but folk recipes can be an excellent alternative. Stains of various origins are removed by the following means:
- Gasoline – oil-salt contamination.
- Turpentine - oil paints, birch tar.
- Kerosene – traces of vegetable oil, products based on it (sprats, fried foods).
- Vinegar – stains from fish oil, rust.
- Ammonia - traces of egg yolks, whites, chocolate, brewed coffee.
- Soap solution - blood stains, traces of sweat.
It is recommended to first dry greasy marks with an iron - place a clean cloth on the stain and run the heated device several times. After using each product, the product must be washed and rinsed thoroughly.
Special industrial bleaching agents (some recommendations)
The easiest way to whiten yellowed sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases is to buy a stain remover at the store and wash the items in its solution. But, this method requires compliance with the rules:
- Before washing, you need to study the manufacturer's recommendations on the label: temperature, spin, warnings.
- You need to pre-soak your laundry separately from other items, especially colored ones.
- Chlorine-containing products are not suitable for cotton fabrics with embroidery - its aggressive components destroy natural fibers.
To achieve maximum whitening effect, you need to use products marked “for white”, which include: sodium perborate, fumaric acid, subtilisin.
Traditional methods and instructions
Food products, “grandmother’s” recipes, and pharmaceutical products are no worse than synthetic stain removers in removing yellowness and old stains from bed linen. You can restore the fabric to its former cleanliness and freshness by boiling or simply washing.
Boiling
The procedure for boiling clothes, towels, and bed linen began to be used back in the 14th century in Europe, America and Rus'. The purpose of boiling products was not only hygienic cleaning of dirt, but also disinfection - the destruction of deadly viruses, bacteria, and infections. Today, this function is performed by professional preparations, and boiling is used as a way to eliminate yellowness. Recommendations for digestion:
For the procedure you will need a large container - a bowl, pan, boiling water.- The laundry must be placed in cold water with diluted detergent, and only then heated.
- You need to boil the wash for at least 2 hours, stirring regularly with a wooden object.
- After boiling, do not remove it from the container, but leave it in it until it cools.
To add shine and eliminate yellowness, add methylene blue solution (blue) to the water for rinsing boiled bed linen in the proportions of 5 drops per 10 liters. water.
Important! If you place dirty laundry in boiled water, the yellowness and stains will not disappear, but will penetrate even deeper into the fabric.
No boiling
If there is no desire or opportunity, then you can turn yellowed items into snow-white ones using regular washing. They do this in the following sequence:
- Soak the products in hot water (60 degrees) for 2-10 hours.
- Before washing, remove the laundry from the water in which it was soaked and twist it.
- Prepare a solution for washing: 5 liters. warm water, take 200 ml of soap solution (dry or liquid stain remover).
- Place bedding in the solution and squeeze thoroughly for 5-10 minutes.
- Rinse the products 2-3 times (until the soap bubbles on the surface of the water disappear), add a few drops of blue to the last rinse.
This is the sequence for hand washing. Using a washing machine makes adjustments to this list: the first three points do not change, but instead of 4 and 5, the laundry wrung out after soaking is placed in the drum and the appropriate mode is selected.
Using various whitening components
You can remove a gray or yellow tint from fabric using different methods: washing in an automatic machine, boiling, using store-bought bleaches. No worse than these methods, substances that are in the medicine cabinet or in the kitchen of every housewife can cope with the “dirty” tint on linen.
Aqueous solution of bleach
Back in the Soviet Union, this product was a leader in the list of popular household chemicals. Modern housewives also use whiteness to add freshness to clothes and textiles. To prepare a fabric-friendly solution, use water: 10 liters. cold liquid is diluted with 30 ml of the product. The laundry is soaked in this solution for 1 hour, then wrung out and washed in the usual way.
Important! Whiteness cannot be used to lighten thin cotton fabrics, items with colored embroidery and patterns.
Eliminating yellowness with baking soda
A completely safe ingredient for health - baking soda - is found in every kitchen. They also use it to bleach laundry that they are afraid of ruining. To prepare the solution you will need: 10 tbsp. soda, 5 tbsp. ammonia, 10 l. water. All this needs to be mixed and poured with the product, left for 3 hours. Then it needs to be wrung out and washed with the addition of washing powder.
Using hydrogen peroxide to whiten bed linens
Hydrogen peroxide is a component of bleaching hair dyes and is used to treat wounds in medicine. In both cases, its action is aimed at destroying dirt, so it is also used to bleach laundry. To prepare homemade bleach you need 30 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 30 ml of ammonia, 5 l. water. Mix the components, bring to a temperature of 70-75 degrees and dip pre-washed bed linen into the solution, leave for 30-40 minutes. After this, wring out the products and dry them in the open air.
Recipe for making ammonia based bleach
Mix 120 ml of ammonia with 10 liters. cold water. Soak the laundry in this solution for 35 minutes, then rinse, squeeze lightly, and dry in clean air. When ammonia gets into the water, it neutralizes magnesium salts, which are a sign of yellowness.
Using potassium permanganate to restore the whiteness of yellowed laundry
When mixed with water, potassium permagant becomes pink, but when yellowing is removed, it does not color the fabric pink, but makes it snow-white. The reason for this “magic” is the addition of detergent. To prepare a stain remover, you need to add a glass of a slightly red solution of potassium permanganate to 200 g of dry washing powder or finely grated laundry soap.Mixed components should be added to 10-12 liters. boiled water and pour the product, cover with a lid and leave for 6-8 hours, then rinse several times in cold water.
The effect of vegetable oil on fabric yellowness
In Soviet times, smart housewives used vegetable oil not only to fry cutlets, but also to remove marks on fabrics after eating them. Recipe for making bleach: grate 200 g of laundry soap on a fine grater, dissolve it in 8 liters. hot water, add 200 ml of sunflower oil to the solution. Soak the laundry in the resulting mixture, leave for 1-3 hours, then wash with the addition of washing powder.
Effective bleach based on laundry soap
Despite the appearance of powders, gels, and stain removers, laundry soap has not lost its relevance. It is used to prepare a bleach for yellowed bed linen, which can be added during each wash. Recipe: mix 250 ml of thick soap solution with 100 g of baking soda and 125 ml of borax. In a low concentration, this product will protect things from yellowing, and to whiten, 200 ml of the product should be diluted in 10 liters of water, soak the laundry for 3 hours, and then rinse thoroughly.
The role of mustard in whitening bed linen
Mustard not only burns the skin, but also effectively whitens pillowcases, sheets, and duvet covers. It is used to eliminate yellowness on synthetic fabrics - dilute 400 g of mustard powder in 5 liters. water, pour the product composition and leave for 10–12 hours. After this, the laundry is washed with powder manually or in a washing machine.
How to properly remove yellowness from bed textiles with ammonia alcohol
The method is simple and affordable - 5 liters. warm water, 150 g.baking soda, 30 ml of ammonia alcohol, stir thoroughly. Next, you need to dip bedding in the solution, leave for 3-4 hours, then wash with the addition of washing powder, rinse thoroughly and dry the items in direct sunlight.
Preparation of turpentine-based bleach
Using turpentine you can remove yellowness and old stains from flannel. To do this, prepare a solution: stir 50 ml of turpentine in 8 liters. warm water, add 20 ml of boric acid. You can soak the laundry in the solution for 1–2 hours, then wash and rinse thoroughly.
Bleaching method using egg shells
The easiest way to restore the whiteness of bed linen is to take dried eggshells, grind them into powder, put them in a fabric bag and wash them along with the items. This product is machine washable.
What is the best way to whiten bed linen?
Before choosing a bleaching method, you need to study the composition of the fabric. The degree of contamination or yellowing also occurs: items that have slightly lost their whiteness are enough to be soaked for 2 hours in a soap solution, and for very gray or yellow fabrics only white is suitable.
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