The main problem of white things is the appearance of yellowness. A shirt bought just a couple of months ago, with frequent wear, very quickly loses its appearance and acquires a yellow or grayish tint. Not all powders can cope with such a problem, and those that can penetrate deep into the fabric fibers and damage them, degrading the quality of the product. In such a situation, you will need knowledge on how to bleach a white shirt at home and not impair its quality.
Problem areas on a white shirt
As a rule, any thing fades and fades after frequent washing with an inappropriate or too caustic agent. The most problematic areas on a white shirt are the collar, cuffs and underarm area. In these places, the thing is most polluted. The collar becomes gray due to sebum and sweat, the sleeves get dirty from constant contact with pieces of furniture, and the underarms become yellowish due to sweat and antiperspirants.
Improvised means for whitening
To wash a white shirt from yellow spots at home and return it to its former fresh look, it is enough to know a few simple ways. All of them consist in the use of publicly available improvised means and do not require large expenditures. Everything you need to have at home:
- oxygen bleach;
- hydrogen peroxide;
- ammonia;
- laundry soap;
- whiteness;
- powdered milk;
- baking soda.
We can safely assume that every home has such a set of tools and products that will help at home save such a versatile wardrobe item as a white shirt from being thrown into the bin after yellowing.
oxygen bleach
Some housewives, oddly enough, do not often resort to bleaching things with oxygen bleach, referring to the fact that it is ineffective. Most often, the formation of such an opinion is its incorrect application. If you just add this product to the powder when washing, then the problem will not go away.
You can effectively remove yellow spots on a white cotton shirt at home using the 95 degree mode, and you don’t need to be afraid for the quality of the product, since the properties of the fabric allow this. If a white shirt with the addition of synthetic fibers, then the temperature should not be higher than 40, so that the thing does not lose its shape. However, the optimum temperature for washing should be indicated on the product label, which cannot be ignored.
peroxide and soda
With a 30% hydrogen peroxide solution, greyed sleeves and collars can be effectively dealt with. It is enough to soak a white shirt in two liters of warm water and pour the product into it. Before leaving the item to soak for half an hour, mix the peroxide with water well so that the cuffs and collar evenly whiten.
If you need to whiten a shirt at home, just add a little soda to the peroxide - this will remove the yellowness and effectively deal with problem areas so that there is no trace of pollution.
Ammonia
Cotton products are more resistant, and radical methods can be applied to them, which cannot be said about synthetics. Ammonia will help bleach the entire white shirt, not just the cuffs and sleeves. DTo do this, add four tablespoons of alcohol to five liters of warm water, mix thoroughly and put the thing there. You need to keep the product in the solution for at least three hours, and after that it is better to either wash it in the machine or at least rinse it.
Boiling
Whitening a shirt at home by boiling is an ancient method that was used back in the days when there were no products or special bleaches at hand. This method is still popular today, but it also has disadvantages.
Water is poured into a large saucepan. Its quantity is determined by eye - it is necessary that the white shirt freely absorbs water and is covered with it on top in sufficient quantities. The powder is added to the water, stirred, and then the product is immersed there. After the pan is sent to the fire, which should remain on until the shirt boils for half an hour. You can add soda or a tablespoon of mustard to the powder, which will certainly improve the result.
This method has significant drawbacks - prolonged boiling can adversely affect the quality of the product, and if you use this method often, then the thing, on the contrary, will acquire a gray tint. Therefore, it is better to use the boiling method to bleach a yellowed shirt at home occasionally.
Laundry soap
Whitening a shirt at home with laundry soap is also a very old method. With this tool, you can not only wash, but also wash various surfaces - in both cases, soap very effectively eliminates stains and stains. It is enough to wet and lather problem areas - sleeves, collars and armpits and leave the thing for a couple of hours. After the shirt should be rinsed and appreciate the effectiveness of this method. There are disadvantages - washing a white shirt is completely inconvenient, so this method is only suitable for local bleaching.
Baking soda
Another remedy that is used at home to restore the shirt to its previous appearance without bleach is baking soda.Firstly, everyone has it, so you don’t have to run to the store, especially if the thing needs to be bleached urgently. Secondly, this method is very convenient. Load a white shirt into the machine and add half a cup of baking soda to the powder. It's simple - no soaking, rubbing, etc. Washing on the mode of 95 degrees. with the addition of soda will give an excellent result.
White
To bleach a thing with whiteness at home is a rather aggressive method. This substance contains chlorine, so you should take care of safety as follows:
- ensure good ventilation of the room;
- protect hands with rubber gloves;
- remove all foreign objects and colored items away from the work area - if they get on them, the substance may leave faded spots.
A white shirt is bleached for no more than 20 minutes so that the fabric does not deteriorate. To do this, just add a couple of tablespoons of whiteness to a basin of warm water and dip white things there. After bleaching, garments must be thoroughly rinsed, and it is better to wash in a small amount of powder.
Powdered milk
Powdered milk or milk formula can always be found in a house where there are small children. The shelf life of such a product is usually short, but if it has expired, you should not immediately send milk to the trash can - it will still successfully serve in everyday life, as it can make a grayed white shirt snow-white again. A glass of milk can be poured into warm water, mixed well and immersed in the shirt collar. After half an hour, the problem area will need to be rubbed with a brush and rinsed under water. Dirt, after bleaching a shirt at home in this way, will go away easily, which will save not only on a new shirt, but also on expensive bleach.
There are a lot of improvised means in order to whiten a white shirt at home, and you should not immediately turn to expensive chemicals.Even if you do not pay attention to their high cost, bleaching agents can provoke an allergic reaction, and their incorrect or inappropriate use leads to material deterioration. In addition, there are always many safe means in the house to return a fresh-looking white thing without compromising health and wallet.
