How to Whiten Yellowed White Clothes Without Chlorine Bleach

Step by step

1. 1

   Pull out the whites

   Gather only white items, and keep every colored piece out. The ACI says to wash whites separately, and it warns that white synthetics can pick up dark dyes from other fabrics in the wash.

2. 2

   Fill the tub with warm water

   Fill a clean bathtub, laundry tub or big bucket with the warmest tap water the care labels allow. Count the gallons as you go, so you can measure the powder. Do not heat or boil the water, because the OxiClean label says not to.

3. 3

   Dissolve the powder

   Put on your gloves. Fill the scoop to line 3 for each gallon of water, the soak amount on the OxiClean Versatile label. Stir until it dissolves all the way before the clothes go in.

1. 4

   Soak for 6 hours

   Push the clothes under until they are wet all the way through. Leave them for 6 hours. The Versatile label gives 1 to 6 hours for a soak, and OxiClean’s own directions for dingy whites call for the full 6.

2. 5

   Wash hot with a full dose of detergent

   Move the clothes to the washer without rinsing. Put oxygen bleach powder straight into the drum before the clothes go in (the label says fill to the bottom of line B for a regular load). Add your usual detergent, measured all the way to the line, and wash in the hottest water the care labels allow.

   On a care label, “hot” means 112°F to 145°F. The ACI’s fix for yellowing from body soil is more detergent and the hottest water the fabric can take.

3. 6

   Check them before the dryer

   Take the clothes out and look at them by a window or in daylight. If they still look dingy, repeat Steps 2 to 5 before you dry them. The ACI says drying can set stains for good.

   What it looks like when it worked: the fabric looks white all over, without a gray or ivory cast when you hold it next to a new white towel.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

Some yellow will not move with a soak. Here is how to tell what you are dealing with.

• Yellow or brown spots on a whole load. The ACI says iron and manganese in your water supply can do this. Use a rust remover made for fabrics. Do not reach for chlorine bleach on rust, because the ACI says it may make the stain darker.
• The yellow came from chlorine bleach. The ACI says chlorine bleach turns silk, wool and spandex yellow, and that yellow cannot be removed. Many stretchy T-shirts and socks have spandex in them, so check the label before bleach ever goes near them.
• Yellow only under the arms. That is a sweat stain, and it has its own fix: How to get yellow sweat stains out of white shirts.
• Synthetic whites that always get short, cool washes. The ACI says treating synthetics as delicates, with short, gentle, cool washes, lets body soil build up. It suggests a soak in a product with enzymes or a detergent booster, then the hottest water the fabric can take.
• Very old, very gray fabric. The ACI says severe graying may be permanent. If a second round changes nothing, the fabric may be past saving.

Habits that keep whites white

Oxygen bleach does more to keep whites white than to bring them back. The ACI says so plainly, so these habits matter more than any soak.

1. Use enough detergent. The ACI lists too little detergent as a cause of both graying and yellowing. Measure to the line every time.
2. Turn the water up. Wash whites in the hottest water their labels allow. The ACI says to launder often in water at least 100°F.
3. Add a booster if your water is hard. The Arm & Hammer washing soda label says to add 1 cup with your detergent at the start of the wash in hard water. For an everyday load, it says half a cup.

Why it works

Every time you wear a white shirt, a little body soil soaks into it. The ACI lists too little detergent and water that is too cool as the causes of yellowing from body soil.

Wash after wash, what stays behind stacks up, a lot like grease building on a stovetop one splash at a time.

Oxygen bleach powder goes after that buildup. The OxiClean label lists sodium carbonate peroxide, and the ACI’s glossary puts that kind of ingredient in the family of non-chlorine bleaches, which release oxygen in water to brighten.

The long soak gives it time to work. Then hot water and a full dose of detergent carry the loosened soil away.