TAKE CARE OF YOUR WHITES

It’s a task to keep your whites shining white! With the pollution, dust, and summer sweat, and even climate change; our wardrobe classic, the favourite white shirt ends up looking off-white soon. Not classy, right? The moment we see our white clothes turning yellow, we dash to the bleach bottle. Stop right there! You could be doing more long term damage to your favourite white pieces by using bleach. 

Why not Bleach?

Are you aware that bleach is very harmful to your skin? If you are suffering from skin rashes and red spots, it might just be the bleach you use while doing laundry. In extreme cases, it can cause internal damage to your skin, as it is highly caustic and corrosive. While it does a good job at making your laundry appear white, it damages the clothes you own. Yes, that’s right, your favourite basic white tee might just give up after a few more washes! It is the ultimate chemical masked in store-bought laundry products along with a host of optical brighteners. These merely brighten the clothes but they do not necessarily clean them and they also damage natural cloth fibres.

However, if you are still keen on opting for bleach, try and choose an oxygen-based bleach and dilute it with warm water before adding it to your clothes. Soak them for 8 hours overnight and then wash them normally with Koparo’s Laundry Liquid to show your clothes some much-needed nature’s goodness!

Sun to the rescue!

The Sun’s heat might be the reason why your whites turned yellow but Uno reverse: Sun’s ultra-violet rays have the power to fade out all the off-white, pale yellow colours out of your white shirts! It acts as a natural bleach, and also works well to get rid of all the germs and bacteria hidden between the crevices of the fabric. Wash your white clothes normally and do not put them in the dryer. The sun will dry them for you- and gradually fade away all the unwanted colours, leaving your white clothes, white.

Citrus Soak your whites!

Your yellowing clothes might just need the power of 100 lemons! Well, no not really. Pre-soaking your clothes in hot water with just a couple of lemons might do the job. Martha Stewart even recommends you boil your clothes in water along with the lemon juice. Afterwards, let them soak in with the natural bleaching agents of the lemons. However, ensure that the fabric you are putting in can be washed in hot water. One other alternative I find useful is to add lemon juice along with your laundry. Tried it through my school-going years with 100% great results for my white uniform shirt.

White Vinegar solution

Another great DIY solution that is feasible for everyone is White Vinegar. Being highly acidic, it neutralizes the sweat particles on your yellowed laundry and brings back the original colour along with its shine and a great smell. It is also recommended to add ¼ cup of white vinegar with warm water and wash your clothes normally. If your whites need some extra attention, throw in ½ cup vinegar in a bucket of lukewarm water and let it soak overnight.

Baking Soda

An ingredient found in our kitchens and favourite bakes, baking soda is a great addition to the DIY bleaching agents for your dingy and soiled white clothes. Take 4 litres of water and add just a cup of baking soda and you’re good to go! The sodium bicarbonate present in it is a great way to whiten your white clothes.

To include baking soda in your usual laundry load, add ½ cup of it along with your clothes in the washing machine and it will work like magic!

Bluing Technique

Blue colouring for clothes or ‘Neel’ as we desi people call it, is an old-fashioned technique of adding blue colouring to your soiled white clothes. While this may sound counterproductive, it works great as it adds a trace of blue iron pigment that makes the fabric appear whiter to the human eye. However, it is important to dilute the colourant before adding it to your whites, or your yellow whites might just turn into navy blue! That happened to me a few times I was laundry in charge. It's possibly the least preferred way for me.

Using a Natural Laundry Liquid

Nature is truly the cure for everything- even your dirty laundry. If you’re looking to whiten your clothes, get your hands on Koparo’s Laundry Liquid. It has lavender, lily, and bergamot along with eucalyptus extracts. Bergamot will get rid of any soiled, yellow substances and eucalyptus will get rid of any unwanted dirt and grimes. Your clothes will come out smelling like a garden, literally! Go ahead and try it out, you have nothing to lose (except those harsh stains!)