Bleaching a blue shirt. How to bleach a shirt at home using improvised means? Use of special substances

Evgeniya Studenikhina

A white shirt gets dirty quickly. But this problem can be solved using simple methods.

Whitening a white shirt at home

The following methods are offered for this:

How to bleach a white shirt, ridding it of yellowness

Against yellowness, you can use sodium bicarbonate, sodium tetraborate, lemon juice and other means:

Soak the product in 1 liter of water. Dissolve a glass of powdered milk in it in advance. This method is perfect for whitening cuffs and collars;
Place the eggshells in the washing machine, first placing them in a bag with strong material;
To remove traces of makeup, you can wipe the stain with a detergent recommended for washing dishes. By the way, professional makeup artists wash their cosmetic tools this way.

How to quickly whiten white school shirts

White clothes can be bleached in different ways, depending on the degree of contamination and the causes of its occurrence.

In order not to spoil the item, pay attention to the maximum permissible temperature conditions, which must be indicated on the label:

How to bleach a white synthetic shirt

You can return your clothes to their former whiteness using oxygen bleach. Place hot water, add bleach in the required proportion and soak the clothes overnight. In the morning, rinse the item well in cold water. Place the shirt in the drum of the machine, set the mode required for your type of fabric.

To maintain whiteness, choose a specific powder for white items. If the shirt is heavily soiled, make the following solution:

pour hot water into the basin;
add 2 tablespoons of ammonia and 3 tablespoons of peroxide, a handful of washing powder and 5 tablespoons of salt;
mix everything well and soak the shirt in it for 1 hour.

Don't know how to bleach the collar of a white shirt? Peroxide has wonderful whitening properties. Dilute 3 tablespoons of peroxide and 1 teaspoon of soda in three liters of water, dip the shirt in it for 40 minutes, then rinse and wash in a warm solution with soap. The product will perfectly whiten the collar.

Add 100 grams of powder and a couple of drops of potassium permanganate to boiling water to get a light pink tint. Place the shirt there and cover with cling film. When the liquid has cooled completely, remove the product and rinse in plenty of water.

In addition, there is a simple folk remedy for how to bleach a white shirt - boiling. To do this, pour water into a large saucepan and pour a handful of hand washing powder into it. Place the blouse in the solution. Place the container on the fire, then bring the liquid to a boil. After half an hour, take out the clothes and rinse them in water. Remember that frequent boiling leads to rapid depletion of tissue.

After numerous washes, the item may lose its attractiveness and acquire a yellow tint.

Use the means at hand to whiten your blouse

The problem can be solved by means available in every home:

Laundry soap - wet the shirt in water and rub thoroughly with the product, paying special attention to heavily soiled areas. Wash after three hours.
Hydrogen peroxide - dilute in water and mix thoroughly, place the blouse for thirty minutes. To improve the effect, you can add a small amount of soda.
Ammonia - prepare a solution, dip it in it for three hours.
Citric acid - dilute it in water, immerse the shirt in the liquid and rinse after two hours. To achieve a better effect, add soap shavings or regular washing powder to the solution.
Potassium permanganate will quickly return your favorite things to their former whiteness and freshness. Dissolve a few crystals in soapy water until the water turns soft pink. Let the items sit for five hours, then wash as usual and rinse thoroughly, changing the water several times.
Baking soda is another option for how to bleach your favorite white shirt at home. Add it along with the powder to the washing machine or basin.
Whiteness - lower the product into it for twenty minutes, turn it over periodically. Remember that this product contains chlorine, so it does not leave other things nearby - if whiteness gets on them, an unsightly stain may appear.
Powdered milk - fill the container with water and add the product, mix thoroughly, wash the item.
Boiling - pour the powder into a container filled with water, place the product in the resulting solution and boil for thirty minutes. You should not carry out this procedure too often, otherwise the fabric will lose its quality.

A shirt can be bleached using various bleaches. They easily remove stains and are suitable for almost all light-colored items. Acid compounds are very popular and can be used for both white and colored clothes.

Bleach

Bleaching by fabric type

Before washing light-colored items, determine the type of fabric - each has its own characteristics.

Therefore, the methods listed above are not universal.

Items made from cotton can be bleached in three ways:

Boiling - pour water into a container and add washing powder. The procedure takes thirty minutes, the clothes must be constantly stirred so that the whitening occurs evenly.
For yellowed items, laundry soap is suitable - soap the item and place it in a plastic bag, tie it to block air access. After a day, rinse well.
Hydrogen peroxide and ammonia can easily combat grayness. Soak the laundry for half an hour and then rinse.

A cotton shirt will turn snow-white after boiling

Everything is very simple with them. Place clothes in the vinegar solution and leave for two hours, then wash with powder. Another option that will help get rid of yellowness is soapy water mixed with ammonia.

Turpentine will return a snow-white look to a linen shirt

To return things to a perfectly white color, use turpentine - just soak the item in it for twelve hours. If you regularly bleach linen clothes, prepare a soda solution. Leave the mixture for 24 hours, strain, pour into jars and use as needed. To prevent graying after washing, always add salt to the powder.

Before processing silk items, you need to carefully wash them. Bleaching should be done carefully so as not to destroy the structure of the fabric. There are several methods:

yellow stains are easily removed by alcohol - treat problem areas several times;
mix water, powder, ammonia, salt and hydrogen peroxide, soak the product for a couple of hours, then rinse - this composition quickly returns the lost whiteness to the fabric;
lemon juice - add to water, immerse things in the solution and leave for twelve hours.

A silk shirt requires careful washing

You should not use chlorine-containing bleaches for such products, as they may turn yellow and lose their attractiveness. Use other options for whitening:

Mix salt with water, wet clothes and leave for a couple of hours, then wash as usual.
Laundry soap will help get rid of yellow stains. Place the items in cool water, after three hours, rub the soap until foam forms. Soak for another hour in hot water without rinsing off the product. Then wash the product and carry out the procedure again.
Aspirin is a great way to remove stains. Dissolve two tablets in water and apply the resulting slurry to contaminated areas two to three hours before washing.

Soak the shirt in saline solution

The most problematic parts of a white shirt are the cuffs and collar. To return them to their dazzling whiteness, use the following methods:

Stain removers and bleaches - dilute according to the instructions and be sure to follow safety precautions.
Laundry soap - easily cleanses all dirt. Rub the product with it and leave it for a couple of hours, then put it in the wash.
Talc – will help with small stains. Sprinkle it on a wet shirt and leave it overnight. In the morning the fabric will be perfectly white.
– removes greasy areas from the collar.
Vinegar – eats away stubborn stains. Soak the problem area in it and leave for thirty minutes.

Snow-white collar after bleaching

Before using any of these methods, determine the type of fabric - not all methods are universal.

Bleaching agents for shirts

Such products should be used only according to the instructions indicated on the packaging. To wash clothes, it is important to choose the right preparations. They are different:

Bleach containing chlorine is an aggressive product that gives good results. They are suitable for thick fabrics, but are destructive for silk and chiffon.
Oxygen compounds are an excellent option for children's things. Active substances do not affect tissue structure.
Optical brighteners are a product that does not have any effect on the material. During the procedure, a thin film is formed on the shirt, which returns its former whiteness.

Features of whitening

Your favorite shirt will stay snow-white longer if you set the wash temperature to the right temperature. In addition, it is important to follow other rules:

Always wash light-colored fabrics separately from other items;
separate linen and cotton from synthetics;
When stored for a long time, clothes turn yellow, so do not allow this to happen - stubborn stains are more difficult to remove;
when washing white items with colored inserts or embroidery, add salt to the powder - it will help preserve the color;
Bleaching worsens the structure of the material, so the procedure should be carried out every three to four washes.

If your favorite shirt has turned grey, yellowed or has stains on it, try one of the above methods. When using aggressive substances, do not forget to use protective equipment.

Svetlana Rumyantseva

White things are the very personification of purity and freshness. However, often we see a picture of a woman in a store wincing, shaking her head and putting her white shirt aside. Our wariness when buying white things is understandable - over time they become gray or yellow, and it is not easy to remove every stain without leaving a trace. So how to bleach a white shirt at home and restore its former attractiveness? Let's figure it out.

How to bleach a white shirt at home?

You, like any housewife, have probably asked yourself more than once the question “How to wash white shirts?” You can bleach a shirt, just like you can wash a white blouse, at home, without resorting to dry cleaning. If the appearance of a disastrous stain takes you by surprise or you find that your shirt has turned yellow, don't rush to run for bleach. Take a look around. More likely, What you need to wash your whites is right at hand.

How to wash a white shirt or blouse if it is dyed?

To begin with, we will give a couple of tips that will help you avoid the question of how to wash and bleach a shirt if it is stained.

New colored clothes, especially cotton ones, fade a lot, that is, they give off color a lot: try to wash such things separately not only from white ones, but also from things of other colors.
Always wash white items separately from colored items.. Believe me, this will protect them from painting 100%.
Even a small splash of color on a white shirt, blouse or T-shirt can add color to the white fabric. Therefore, such a thing should be washed by hand a couple of times and see if the color intensively leaves this part. If not, you can wash it with other white clothes; if too much, repeat the hand wash procedure several times.
The higher the water temperature, the more likely white items will be stained. For new things, choose a temperature no higher than 30 degrees.

So, the important rules for washing white clothes have been learned. Now let’s answer the question itself: how to wash an already dyed white shirt or blouse? We'll tell you about 6 main washing methods using:

ammonia;
potassium permanganate;
whiteness;
citric acid;
soda;
bleaches.

We will consider each washing method in more detail below.

How and with what to wash the armpits and collar of a white shirt from yellow stains?

The collar, armpits and cuffs are the most vulnerable parts of a white shirt. You can bleach a white shirt collar like this:

Stain removers and modern bleaches They will do a great job with the problem of stains on the collar of a white shirt. Follow the instructions for use and safety precautions!
Dirt on the collar is cleaned laundry soap. Generously rub it onto a white shirt and leave for 2-3 hours. After this, wash your clothes as usual. There will be no trace of dirt left.
For minor stains on the collar of a white shirt, it will help talc. Sprinkle this powder onto a damp shirt and leave it overnight. In the morning the fabric will be dazzlingly snow-white.
Grease is removed from the collar mixture of 1 tbsp. l. salt and 3 tbsp. l. ammonia mixed with 1/3 cup of water.
Vinegar also capable of cleaning a shirt collar. Dampen the collar of your clothing with vinegar and leave for 30 minutes. After that, wash as usual.

Whitening with ammonia

Bleaching shirts with ammonia is a method that has been known for decades. When combined with hydrogen peroxide, the effect is especially impressive:

For 5 liters of hot water add 1 tbsp. l. ammonia and 3 tbsp. l. peroxide. White fabric is pre-washed as usual. The item is placed in the solution for 1.5-2 hours.

Take care to ventilate the room where the mixture is applied, since ammonia has a specific unpleasant odor.

Clothes are rinsed with warm and then cold water.

An almost similar method, but consisting of only 1 component - ammonia. Dilute 4-5 tbsp in 5 liters of water. l. ammonia. Soak a white cloth in the solution for 2-3 hours. After soaking, wash clothes and rinse 2-3 times in cool water.

If you can't stand the smell of ammonia, try using hydrogen peroxide in combination with baking soda. You will need 2 liters of warm water (40-60°C) and 1 tsp. hydrogen peroxide. The mixture is stirred. You can bleach your shirt from yellowing using this solution with the addition of 1 tsp. soda To ensure that the color of the item remains uniform, stir the item while soaking. 15-20 minutes is enough. In this bleaching method, hydrogen peroxide can be replaced with hydroperite tablets (an analogue of peroxide). For 10 liters of water you will need 9 tablets.

Bleaching with potassium permanganate

A small strategic supply of potassium permanganate will ideally whiten white shirts. To prepare the solution you will need:

How to bleach a silk shirt

Before bleaching, silk items need to be washed carefully. Bleaching a silk blouse should be done carefully so as not to damage the delicate threads.. Whitening methods:

Yellow stains from sweat on a blouse can be bleached with alcohol. Rub the problem areas of the item 2-3 times.
The dazzling whiteness of silk fabric is given with a solution containing 6 liters of warm water (30-40°C), 1 tbsp. l. washing powder, hydrogen peroxide and ammonia, as well as 4 tbsp. l. salt. Soak silk clothes for 1-2 hours and then rinse in cool water.
A bleaching mixture of the juice of 2-3 lemons per 1 liter of water will help restore the former brightness of a white silk shirt. Things are soaked in this solution for 12 hours.

How to bleach a synthetic shirt

Chlorine bleaches have an unpredictable effect on synthetics: the item may turn yellow or lose its aesthetic appearance. There are other ways to bleach a white synthetic shirt:

Mix 300 g of salt with 5 liters of warm water. Place the items of clothing that need to be bleached in a container and soak for 2-3 hours. After this, wash the items with powder and rinse.
Laundry soap (72%) helps prevent yellow stains on synthetics. The clothes are soaked in cool water for 2-3 hours, after which they are rubbed with soap until foam is obtained. The white cloth is left in hot water for another hour, without the soap being washed off. An hour later, the item is washed and the procedure is repeated again.
Stains can also be removed with aspirin. You will need 2 tablets, softened in water. The paste is applied to stains 2-3 hours before washing.

Bleaching agents for shirts

Use bleaches according to the instructions on the package! To bleach a white shirt with bleach, you need to choose the right product. What types of bleaches are there and what are the features of their use?

Chlorine bleaches- an aggressive but effective remedy. They are used for dense fabrics and have a negative effect on delicate silk or chiffon.
Oxygen bleaches– a hypoallergenic product used to bleach children's shirts. Bleach does not spoil the structure of the item, does not destroy or deform the fabric. It is recommended to use oxygen bleaches in cool water.
Optical brighteners- a product that does not affect the tissue itself. Bleaching occurs due to the appearance of a thin optical film on the shirt, which gives the desired whiteness.

Features of white shirt bleaching

The shirt will remain snow-white longer if the washing temperature is maintained.

Follow the rules for washing white clothes so that they retain their dazzling color for a long time:

Light-colored fabrics are washed separately from other items.
Linen and cotton clothes are washed separately from synthetic fabrics.
When stored for a long time, white shirts turn yellow. Don't keep them like this. Stubborn stains are more difficult to remove.
When washing white items of clothing with colored inserts and embroidery, it is recommended to add table salt to the powder so that the color does not wash out and spoil the fabric.
Bleaching thins the fabric structure. White items of clothing should be bleached every 3-4 washes.

If your white shirt has turned gray, acquired a yellowish tint, or you have damaged the item with wine, sauce or other difficult-to-remove stains, use one of the suggested bleaching methods. When using aggressive products, think about protective equipment. Protect your hands with gloves and limit children's access to substances.

27 January 2014, 15:15

Every man should have formal clothes in his wardrobe, and every self-respecting woman should know how to bleach a white shirt at home. After all, everyone knows that white things are the most difficult to care for, and even the use of special washing powders for white things does not guarantee that the whiteness will remain sparkling and dazzling.

1 Preparatory stage

Time has passed, and my husband’s smart shirt no longer shines with its newness and whiteness: the shade has become more like gray or yellow, the collar and cuffs have worn out and lost their former appearance. You can, of course, throw an old shirt into rags, and immediately after that run to the nearest store and buy a new one. But the family budget does not always contribute to this, and the thing can be so beloved and dear.

A cotton shirt can be bleached by any means

Don't get upset and give up. There is a way out of this seemingly difficult situation. And not alone. The main thing is to analyze each individual case and decide which whitening method is suitable in a particular situation.

The very first thing you need to do is find out what material we will bleach. After all, each type of fabric requires certain care, and not all products can be used in some cases. The tag will tell you what fabric the shirt is made from. It always indicates the composition of the fabric, as well as information about what care it requires.

Bleach for white fabrics

The triangle drawn on the tag indicates which whitening method can be used:

an empty triangle, without additional symbols, indicates that any bleaching agents, even those containing chlorine, can be used;
if two parallel lines are drawn inside the triangle, this indicates that only oxygen-containing bleaches can be used;
The presence of a crossed out triangle on the tag indicates a strict prohibition on the use of bleaching agents.

After receiving the necessary information, you can safely buy the appropriate bleach. However, you can use old proven folk methods using improvised means.

2 Traditional methods of whitening

The lack of modern bleaches did not stop our grandmothers from wearing perfectly white blouses. And all this thanks to folk recipes.

Boiling white shirt

The most common folk bleaching method is boiling. To use it, take the required volume of water and add hand washing powder to it. Laundry soap, which must first be grated, is also excellent. The item requiring treatment is immersed in water and brought to a boil, then allowed to simmer for 30 minutes. After this treatment, you just need to wash the clothes as usual. You just have to remember that frequent boiling can ruin the fabric.

The next method of how to bleach a white blouse at home is soaking. To do this, the item is immersed in warm water, treated generously with laundry soap and allowed to sit for about 3 hours. Then washed.

How to bleach a white blouse if it has turned gray? Hydrogen peroxide will help. You need to prepare a solution of water and peroxide in the ratio of 1 tablespoon of the product per 2 liters of warm water. You need to soak the clothes for half an hour, stirring constantly for uniform bleaching. To enhance the effect, you can add a certain amount of soda to the solution.

If you need to restore the whiteness of cotton fabric, as a rule, use 4 tablespoons of ammonia added to 5 liters of water. A shirt should be bleached in this solution by soaking for 3 hours. Severely discolored cotton material can be bleached in a solution of ammonia, enhancing the effect by adding hydrogen peroxide, salt and washing powder. You should leave things in this solution for about 30 minutes, then wash them.

Potassium permanganate will help restore the whiteness of any type of fabric. No matter how scary this whitening method may be, practice has proven its effectiveness. The only obstacle to its use may be the absence of this purple powder in your home medicine cabinet. You need to take the required amount of hot water, add a little washing powder and potassium permanganate to it. The result should be a light pink solution. The yellowed shirt is dipped into it and left until it cools completely, while covering the container with film. When the water has cooled, take out the item of clothing and rinse thoroughly in running water.

3 Removing difficult stains before bleaching

In order not to be upset by traces of stains after bleaching, we should first fight them. It would be a good idea to consider several ways to remove the most common types of stains on white shirts and blouses.

Treating stains on a white shirt

A common problem for schoolchildren and office workers is marks from a ballpoint pen. Regular cologne copes well with such stains. You just need to apply it to the ink marks, let it soak in for just a couple of minutes and wash it off. If the contamination remains, the procedure can be repeated.

Chocolate stains can be removed using a paste of liquid soap and flour, which is applied to the stain and allowed to sit for at least 20 minutes. Then the area is washed in cold water.

A stain that appears during a meal seems to be an almost unsolvable problem. It could be a drop of fat or wine. It’s easier to deal with such stains if you immediately sprinkle them with salt and then wipe them with ammonia. If traces of lunch were discovered only after some time, they are removed by first soaking the fabric in hot milk.

Another way that will help get rid of grease stains is to use a solution of water and ammonia in a ratio of 2 to 1. Wash the stained area in it, and then wash it in warm water. In addition, you can use turpentine to remove grease stains, but after using it you will have to get rid of the pungent odor of this substance.

Sweat stains often appear on white shirts. Regular washing and bleaching will not save you from them, so you need to first get rid of them with soda and water. These two elements are mixed to form a paste and applied to traces of sweat, left to sit for an hour and cleaned with a soft brush. Then they wash and then bleach.

To bleach linen shirts, use vinegar, ammonia and turpentine. Treat silk shirts with hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice or vodka with glycerin. Synthetic products can be easily bleached with washing soap, potassium permanganate or milk powder. Chlorhexidine is suitable for removing special stains, and professional bleaches Vanish, Bos Plus, and Ace can cope with persistent yellowing.

There are many professional bleaches that remove stains of varying complexity. Their disadvantage is increased activity, which is detrimental to some materials. Therefore, smart housewives use gentle methods - folk recipes. Let's look at how to bleach a (white) shirt at home from yellowness, grayness and pronounced stains safely with vinegar, peroxide, chlorhexidine and other improvised means.

We bleach based on the type of fabric using traditional methods

Before choosing a whitening method, take a look at. It contains information about the water temperature, and whether it is even possible to wash the shirt at home (some materials can only be dry-cleaned). Failure to comply with these recommendations will lead to thinning of the tissue or other modifications.

Getting your linen clothes in order

Note ! If the clothing manufacturer allows boiling, then soak in boiling water. Hot water speeds up stain removal and improves whitening.

Ammonia

Despite its pungent odor, ammonia (pharmaceutical ammonia) has been used as a household chemical for many decades. It softens water, removes old stains and, when used correctly, whitens:

Dilute ½ ammonia in water.
Place the clothes there for 1.5–3 hours, depending on the degree of contamination.
Wash as usual.

Ammonia shows maximum effectiveness in combination with other folk remedies.

Turpentine

Turpentine is an aggressive agent, so use it if your loved one or has difficult-to-remove ones.

After the specified period, wash the laundry in a machine with double the amount of conditioner to remove the unpleasant smell of turpentine.

Note ! Use only purified turpentine as it does not leave streaks. If the product has a pattern or colored inserts, it is better to refuse processing, because the material may fade, become stained or discolored.

Soda and salt

A combination of salt and baking soda can be used regularly at home, effectively removing stains and keeping linen fabric snow-white.

Finally, wash your clothes as usual. If it appeared on the T-shirt, but it was not possible to remove it and wash it right away, then rub dry salt or soda (fine-grained) into the stain. The ingredients will absorb fat and make subsequent washing easier.

Bleaching a silk shirt

Silk products are delicate, so their bleaching is carried out with extreme caution. Use the following techniques.

Vodka with glycerin

These ingredients are highly effective against severe stains and overall whitening of a silk blouse. To remove a greasy stain, combine the components in equal proportions and apply to the stains (for 30 minutes). Repeat treatment if necessary.

To whiten, proceed according to the algorithm:

Dissolve 1 liter of vodka and 300 g of glycerin in a liter of water.
Place the blouse in the solution for several hours.
Wash with powder.
Rinse it out.

The resulting product will carefully remove fresh and old or tea. Never soak the fabric in the product for more than the prescribed time to preserve the quality of thin silk threads.

The combination of these components is suitable for any fabric and gives a dazzling whiteness, thanks to the bleaching properties of peroxide.

Dissolve a little powder in water, 5 tbsp. l. salt and a quarter bottle of oxidized hydrogen.
Place the blouse in there for 40 minutes.
Wash it and rinse it in clean water.

Note ! Do not use this recipe on items with bright accents to preserve their color..

Citric acid or lemon juice

This ingredient is gentle on fabric, but it whitens white cotton, silk, and synthetic shirts well and removes stains. The fruit juice is easy to use: pour the fresh juice onto the contaminated area, leave to soak for half an hour and wash.

Recipe for using acid:

Dissolve 100 g of lemon in warm water.
We immerse the item in the solution for a couple of hours, depending on its condition.
We wash as usual.

"Vanish";
"Bos Plus";
"Ace."

These products are safe for fabric to remove stains and restore snow-whiteness.

It is easy to bleach a white blouse or T-shirt using folk or special means, but be sure to take into account the information provided by the manufacturer (of clothing and bleach), otherwise the fabric will become thinner or lose its shape, which will render it unusable.

Larisa, October 15, 2018.