DIY Builds
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Do you wash white with cold or hot water?

For washing heavy white fabrics like sheets, towels, and thick socks, a hot water wash is your friend. For everything else, you're going to want to keep it dialed to warm or cool, depending on how delicate the fabric is. Check your fabric's care tag for best washing practices.

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With all the pre-reading and pre-treating finished, we can get down to proper washing.

Washing regular white clothes: A step-by-step guide

When we say “regular” whites, we’re talking about shirts, pants, jackets, sweaters, and any other day-to-day clothes. (We’ll get to towels, sheets, socks, and delicates later.)

Here are some basic steps to washing white clothes:

Pre-treat stains : Like we mentioned above, using either a stain remover, chlorine-free bleach, baking soda, or hydrogen peroxide to pre-treat stains before washing is usually a good idea. Gently rub the solution into the stain. : Like we mentioned above, using either a stain remover, chlorine-free bleach, baking soda, or hydrogen peroxide to pre-treat stains before washing is usually a good idea. Gently rub the solution into the stain. Most regular white clothes can tolerate warm — but not high — heat. Check your care tags to set a temperature your entire load can tolerate. When in doubt, go with a cool or cold water wash. For light wear and grime, your standard detergent will do just fine. If you’re dealing with particularly worn whites, add a laundry booster — or use a stain-releasing detergent instead. After the washing cycle is finished, check and see if any clothes are still stained. If you spot any stubborn stains, spot-treat them, then wash those garments again.

Washing white towels, sheets, and socks

Towels, sheets, and socks can generally handle higher heat than most regular clothes. You’ll still want to check their care tags to be safe. Otherwise, wash these items as you would your regular white clothes. A hot-water wash is ideal for these items, since it’ll kill bacteria and odors.

Washing delicate whites

Delicate whites require a bit more TLC than the rest of the bunch. For one, check your care tag to see if your delicates must be hand washed. If you can machine wash them, you should stick to a cool- or cold-water gentle cycle. If your delicates have buttons, hooks, or straps, use a mesh laundry bag to protect them from snags and other damage. Drying white clothes is an often-overlooked, but crucial, part of ensuring a bright final product. Over-drying can actually cause stubborn stains and yellowing, and that’s the last thing you want after all that hard work washing them.

How to dry white clothes

The best way to dry your white clothes is to hang them in the sun. The sun’s ultraviolet light will help brighten and whiten your white garments. If that’s a no-go for you, machine drying is a reliable backup. Here are some easy steps for machine drying white clothes to get the most out of your dryer.

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Does borax make clothes whiter?

Using borax in the laundry can whiten and brighten clothes, get rid of odors, and soften hard water to reduce mineral deposits left behind on fabrics.

How to Use as a Stain Remover

How to Use Borax to Improve Water Quality

How to Use Borax in Laundry

Using borax in the laundry can whiten and brighten clothes, get rid of odors, and soften hard water to reduce mineral deposits left behind on fabrics. What Is Borax? Borax is a natural mineral, sodium tetraborate, which has been mined and used for thousands of years. A chemical compound of the element boron, also known as sodium borate or disodium tetraborate, it is a soft, white, many-sided crystal powder that dissolves readily in water. Borax is already an ingredient in some laundry detergents, including DIY detergents, and it has many uses throughout the house, as well. Borax for laundry is safe to use as directed, do not ingest it, and keep it out of the reach of children and pets. Learn below how to properly use borax in your laundry.

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