Despite the contrary belief that it is difficult to whiten towels. It's actually possible to make your white towels white again. You just have to find a way to make your dingy towels look good once more. Either it's for you or for your guests, you should try whitening towels. You can whiten your towels with simple everyday substances. It doesn't even take a lot of time to complete the whitening process. Once your white towels are becoming discolored, you can use non-chlorine bleach. You should only bleach your white towels once in a while. If the manufacturer's instructions say that you can't use bleach, try white vinegar or baking soda instead. Below are a few methods to help you get white towels white again.
Method 1: Use Hydrogen Peroxide
You can apply a small quantity of hydrogen peroxide on the stain and leave for about an hour before you wash the towel. You can machine wash your white towels with ½ cup of baking soda and mild laundry detergent. Using both baking soda and detergent will help to remove stains and whiten the towels. During the rinse cycle, add 1 cup of white vinegar into the machine. Vinegar will also brighten the white towels and help clean the cloth throughout the cycle. Then, tumble dry the towels well. You can start the entire process over again until it's brightened.
Method 2: Use Baking Soda & White Vinegar
Another whitening process with baking soda goes like this. Wash using a washing machine on a hot water cycle. Add mild laundry detergent and a cup of baking soda to whiten the towel. Next, add a cup of white vinegar during the rinse cycle to brighten and soften the towels. Then, tumble dry properly. You can repeat the wash cycle again for a more desirable result.
Method 3: Soak Towels with Baking Soda
This method also involves using a bleach-free solution but it takes another approach. You are to dissolve baking soda in water and soak with the white towel. Mix a cup of baking soda and a gallon of warm water in a large basin. Pre-soak your white towels together with the baking soda solution for about 2 to 6 hours depending on how worse off the towel is. You can also pour laundry detergent inside the large basin and leave to soak. This helps to give more whitening power. Next, you should remove the soaked towels and wash them in the machine. During the rinse cycle, put ½ distilled white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. Normally, you are to use water to wash towels but you can also use cold water as it helps to prevent seams shrinkage and maintains the color too. When it comes to drying, you can dry in the sun or use the dryer. The sun acts as a natural bleaching solution so it can help you whiten towels and yellow armpit stains on white clothing. While using the dryer, you should avoid dryer sheets and use wool dryer balls to absorb the moisture. You wouldn't want to have marks on your white towels after all the stress you have undergone to make sure they become white again.
How to Wash White Towels?
Not many people know how to wash white towels properly. Some make so many mistakes and they end up with discolored or stained white towels. You should know how to wash white towels in order to avoid fading or dinginess. After you wash towels, they should look extra bright, feel soft, and smell really good. Let's look into how you can wash your white towels correctly.
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Only wash with other white towels
This is probably the first thing you should know. Whenever you want to wash your white towel, never put it in the machine with other colored towels or clothes. To maintain the whiteness, you should only mix white towels together in the same washing machine.
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Use a cold wash cycle
It is generally known that people wash towels on a hot wash cycle. However, a cold wash might also help to keep the towels in good condition for a very long time. A cold wash prevents shrinkage in fabrics, maintains color shade, and keeps mildew away.
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Don’t over-dry
When you overdry towels in the tumble dryer, there is a risk of damaging the fabric's cotton fibres and you might end up with a coarse towel. You should take your towels out of the dryer before they are completely dry. Then, hang them up for some natural air. Make sure the towels are fully dry before you fold them up and keep in your linen closet.
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Use a small amount of detergent
When you add too much detergent to your towels, there is a chance that there will be some residue left. If your towel isn't rinsed clean repeatedly, there might be a build-up of the detergent which can make your towels lose its softness and damage the fibres. You should use a minimal amount of detergent preferably liquid.
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Don't use bleach
Bleaching your white towels can weaken and damage the fibres. If you love to bleach, you can go with non-chlorine bleach. But you can wash your white towels with baking soda and use distilled white vinegar to rinse.
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Puff them up
You can use dryer balls to beat the fabric in the dryer. Alternatively, you can also pack a few tennis balls in a bag for this. This helps to fluff the fabric to make it more soft and absorbent. You should not use dryer sheets because they affect the towel's absorbency. You can also shake the towels out before you can put in the tumble dryer.
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Don't wash too often
It's advisable to wash your towels after three or four days of usage. You might not want your towels to get dirty but you should not overwash them. You can even rotate your towels so you don't use a particular towel too much. Too much washing weakens the fabric and it might not last long.
