How do you keep white blouses white?

[melisande]

I'm trying to take care of an all cotton short-sleeve blouse -- for some reason, it has got pinkish perfume stains on the arms.

Bleach will weaken the fabric, but I may have to resort to a weak bleach solution.

I generally don't buy many white blouses for this very reason. Any tips?

 

[SophiaLee]

The Clorox brand of Oxy stuff is awesome ( I think it's better than OxyClean ) . I usually let it soak in that few hours , then wash .

 

[melisande]

Is that also a bleach product? I've never bought it before.

 

[SophiaLee]

No it's not bleach , you can use it on any color . It's powdered . like powdered detergent and apparently does some type of oxygenating action to clothes to clean them . Is that even a word ? lol .

Anywho , it works very well . Doesn't weaken like bleach . it's a tad expensive though . Usually 10 dollars for a little bucket of it , but it lasts quite awhile .

 

[melisande]

Thanks so much! I'm going to try this out.

 

[BellaPaige]

Honestly, dry cleaning works for me.

 

[melisande]

I wish it worked for me. I am frustrated with dry cleaning -- I get blouses back with the same marks on them.

 

[kmccrea]

Have you tried putting some vinegar on your stains? I also wash the whites all by themselves. Not even the white stuff with prints goes in this load.
Take vinegar or lemon juice and apply it to your stain. Let it sit for about an hour in the sun. Put it in the washer all by itself or handwash. Check the shirt for the stains, if they're gone put it in the dryer. If not, repeat the vinegar or lemon juice process, leaving it in the sun even longer...all day if it's still dark or very visible. Back into the washer and it should be gone. Just do not put it in the dryer with the stains still on it or they will be on your blouse forever!

 

[evoque]

What whites doesn't go to the cleaners (tees, towels, and sheets) get washed separately with bluing. Any stains get an OxyClean paste scrubbed on and left to rest before going into the wash.

 

[melisande]

Have you tried putting some vinegar on your stains? I also wash the whites all by themselves. Not even the white stuff with prints goes in this load.
Take vinegar or lemon juice and apply it to your stain. Let it sit for about an hour in the sun. Put it in the washer all by itself or handwash. Check the shirt for the stains, if they're gone put it in the dryer. If not, repeat the vinegar or lemon juice process, leaving it in the sun even longer...all day if it's still dark or very visible. Back into the washer and it should be gone. Just do not put it in the dryer with the stains still on it or they will be on your blouse forever!

No, I haven't tried this but I like the idea. I don't dry blouses in the dryer at all anyway -- I always hang dry them. Also, I always do wash this blouse all by itself.

Thanks so much!