How to bleach white woolen items: methods and useful tips

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During the cold season, wool clothing is an excellent solution. It is warm and cozy, and wool is a very practical material that will serve you for a long time. But at the same time, such material requires proper care. Especially if it is a white thing. A snow-white sweater may turn yellow or gray after a few washes. It may appear yellow stains from sweat or other dirt. The problem with bleaching wool products is that certain methods cannot be used for this material, such as boiling or using chlorine bleach. At a washing temperature of 30-40 degrees, it can be difficult to remove stubborn stains. So how to bleach a white wool sweater, knitted sweater or knitted hat at home? Grandma’s recipes will come to the rescue and help you out in difficult times.

Baking soda

Almost everyone has this tool. However, this method of bleaching is more of a preventive nature. Housewives recommend using soda if very noticeable yellow spots have not yet appeared on white clothes.

To bleach wool products with this popular product, items must be soaked in 5 liters of water, the temperature of which should not exceed 30 °C, and then add 100 g of soda to it. The soaking time in this case is approximately half an hour. In addition, it is advisable to add a couple of drops of ammonia to the solution.

After completing the main process, when the clothes take on a fresh look, you need to rinse them in clean water and wait until they are completely dry. Thanks to such simple prevention, woolen products will retain their pure white color longer.

Review of specialized bleaches

Among industrial bleaches for delicate materials, there are entire lines of domestic and foreign products. The most effective and popular are Swan, Whiteness, Vanish, Boss, Sarma, As, Belle and Persol.

White is considered the most aggressive solution. It is based on exposure to active chlorine. It is advisable to use the product if other options have failed. For 1 liter of water use 1 tsp. Whiteness. Wool should not be soaked in the solution for longer than 20-30 minutes.

Swan is an acid-containing bleach and has a quick and delicate effect. A solution is first prepared from the powder. Knitwear is placed in it. It is not recommended to pour the dry substance directly onto the fabric.

Vanish not only returns the original color to the yarn, but also quickly removes stains of any origin. Used for soaking or added directly during washing.

Bos is available in gel or powder form. Effective only when dissolved in water. Processing time – 35-40 minutes. For 1 liter of water take 50 ml of gel or 30-40 g of powder.

Ace is considered the most effective product that is completely safe for wool. It can even be used to bleach yarn. The line includes products not only for white fabrics, but also for colored ones.

Sarma is added during washing and does not require pre-soaking the knitwear. In addition to the whitening effect, it also has disinfecting properties.

The action of Persol is based on oxygen components and optical white. This is an inexpensive product that gently cleanses wool.

Belle is an aggressive liquid. Not recommended for use at home.

Salt

To quickly whiten a white men's sweater, you can use salt. Although this is not the most effective remedy, it will help remove fresh yellow stains from the item. In addition, the wool fibers will eventually become a little softer. Housewives bleach light woolen clothes following these simple instructions:

1. Pour warm water into a 5-liter basin and pour 200 grams of table salt into a plastic container.
2. Stir the resulting translucent solution thoroughly.
3. Immerse a sweater or other item in the salty liquid several times.
4. Place the product in a basin for 5-7 minutes.
5. Pull the item out and wait until the water has completely drained from it.
6. Immerse the woolen product again in the salt solution. This step must be repeated several times.
7. Rinse, wring out and dry clothes.

However, there is another method for bleaching white woolen items using salt. To do this, you need to make a saline solution and soak your clothes in it. As a rule, 5–6 hours are enough for the products to become snow-white. Then you need to rinse woolen items in water of the same temperature. If you are not satisfied with the result of whitening, then you will have to repeat the described process.

For the lazy, busy and hasty

If you don't like methods that require soaking, combine the bleaching process with machine washing. Buy oxygen bleach and add it to the powder when washing. Proceed as written in the instructions for the purchased product.

Oxygen bleaches are quite effective, do not damage the structure of materials, and therefore are quite popular. Their only drawback is the cost; good bleach is not cheap.

Washing powders “for white” often contain optical brightener. This is a kind of “deceiver” that does not interact with the fabric in any way, but creates a visual bleaching effect. However, the presence of optical brightener in your powder will not prevent your laundry from turning gray or yellowish, so periodic soaking is still necessary.

Choose the right method to return whiteness to white clothes and use it correctly to keep your clothes looking flawless.

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Hydrogen peroxide

This medical solution is a universal remedy that has good whitening properties. Hydrogen peroxide is safe, so it can be used to clean old stains from wool items. Knowing the properties of this product, you can whiten things in this way:

1. Dilute 100 g of solution in 5 liters of water, the temperature of which should not exceed 30 °C.
2. Immerse woolen clothing in a bowl with the resulting solution.
3. Wait 5-7 hours.
4. Lightly wring out the product, removing most of the moisture, and blot it with a dry towel.
5. Dry the woolen item by placing it on a table or other flat surface. White woolen items should not be placed on magazines or newspapers, as the dye will easily be absorbed into the fibers of the material.

This is a simple and effective option for whitening white woolen items, since the items can be soaked overnight and simply rinsed and dried in the morning.

Bleaching a sweater in a machine

If you only need to slightly refresh the white color of the sweater, you can use the washing machine.

1. Load the sweater into the drum.
2. Set the program “Wool”, “Delicate wash” or wash at 30-40 degrees.
3. Place detergent for woolen items in the compartment (or regular powder if the sweater is artificial), add oxygen bleach according to the instructions.
4. Make sure spin and dry are turned off.
5. Dry the product flat.

You should resort to bleaching agents, folk or oxygen, no more than once every 3-4 washes.

Yellowing of the sweater may be due to the presence of rust in the water, contamination with skin particles, or cosmetics. Then any of the above methods will help whiten the item. But it also happens that a change in shade is caused by washing out of the dye. Natural wool is not snow-white, but rather milky, with a beige tint. In this case, only dry cleaning, where dyeing of woolen products is practiced, will help.

Lemon acid

Bleaching woolen items with this substance is a simple task. Before bleaching a white woolen hat, you need to find a basin that will hold 2 liters of water. To clean this item from yellowed stains and give it a fresh look, you need to add 2 tbsp to the container. l. dry citric acid. Then you need to mix the solution and dip a woolen hat into it. Housewives are advised to wait 5-7 hours and then rinse the headdress thoroughly.

There is one trick that will help you bleach clothes evenly and effectively with citric or boric acid: woolen items must be turned over occasionally while soaking.

How to choose bleach in a store?

In addition to traditional methods, you can bleach white fabric using special products that are sold in stores.

Bleaching agents can be:

1. Optical. When using such substances, bleach particles settle on the fabric fibers. After drying, they give things extra whiteness.
2. Chlorine-containing. Their use is not safe for delicate fabrics. These bleaches are destructive to fibers.
3. Oxygen. Oxidation of the surface of the fabric occurs, due to which things are cleaned, disinfected and become snow-white.

Bleaching agents should be selected according to the type of material that needs to be restored to whiteness.

Chalk

Using this limestone you can remove stains from a white men's sweater. However, using chalk, you can give woolen items a snow-white color at home. To whiten a sweater, you first need to buy 500 g of chalk. The following steps include the following simple steps:

1. Grind the chalk and pour it into a container with warm water (for example, a basin or bucket).
2. Stir the resulting solution.
3. Place a bulky woolen sweater in a container.
4. Stir the solution every 10 minutes. This must be done because chalk does not dissolve in water, i.e. its particles settle at the bottom of the container.
5. Drain the solution.
6. Rinse and dry the item.

To prevent a woolen sweater from stretching while drying, you need to hand-wring the product with light pressure. Then you need to lay it out on a clean and dry surface (for example, on a terry towel), while trying not to pull out the neck, sleeves and bottom. It is recommended to iron a wool sweater with an iron without steaming.

Rules for washing woolen items at home

1. Study the information on the tag inside the product, the appropriate temperature, spin, bleach, hand wash or machine wash.
2. A temperature of 30 or less than 40 degrees or cold water is suitable. A sharp temperature change is not recommended - this leads to the product rolling.
3. Long soaking at home helps the threads stretch.
4. Do not rub or twist too much.
5. Use a liquid product, soap solution, foam. Bulk materials will make the fabric stiff.
6. In an automatic machine, use the hand wash or delicate cycle without spinning.
7. Dry clothes correctly: place them on a net or table. Do not use hangers. It is prohibited to leave the product near a battery or in direct sunlight. The item will lose color and shape.

Ammonia

In everyday life, this product is sometimes used to remove stains from woolen clothes. The most effective way to lighten white things with ammonia is if you combine it with other active substances. Housewives have come up with a simple and effective way to bleach a wool sweater with ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and vinegar:

1. Pour 6 liters of water into a suitable container and add 10 ml of ammonia.
2. Stir the resulting solution for 5–10 minutes.
3. Place the sweater in a container with the prepared liquid.
4. Prepare the second composition: add 5 ml of hydrogen peroxide and 1 ml of ammonia per 1 liter of clean water. Stir the resulting mixture thoroughly.
5. Add 1 tbsp to the solution. l. vinegar.
6. Remove the wool item from the first solution and wring it out.
7. Transfer the sweater to a second container.
8. Wait half an hour.
9. Rinse and wring out the sweater.

However, there is another method for bleaching white woolen items with ammonia without using additional products. In this case, you need to mix 100 g of ammonia in 10 liters of warm water and soak the clothes in the resulting solution for half an hour. The next step is to machine wash woolen items with the addition of conditioner and an additional rinse. It is recommended to dry things in the fresh air or in a well-ventilated and warm room.

Traditional methods of whitening

Folk remedies that can be found in every home will also help to bleach white woolen items. They have a delicate effect on the knitted fabric and do not destroy the structure of the threads.

Hydrogen peroxide

For 2 liters of water you need to take 250 ml of peroxide. Mix everything and immerse a knitted hat or scarf made of white threads into the liquid. For larger items you will need more solution. Products are soaked for 5-7 hours, then washed by hand using detergent for delicate fabrics.

Sodium bicarbonate of soda

Baking soda or soda ash will help bleach yarn. If you add it to the machine when washing, it will soften the water and return yellowed clothes to their former whiteness.

Use cold water for soaking. Its temperature should not exceed +28…+30°С. For 5 liters of liquid you will need 1/2 cup of sodium bicarbonate. For more effective treatment, you can add 5 ml of ammonia. Things are placed in the prepared composition for 4-5 hours. Then wash and rinse thoroughly under running water. If the product has acquired a persistent yellow color that does not want to go away, the soaking time should be extended to 7-9 hours.

The water temperature when washing and rinsing wool products should always be the same. Otherwise, the yarn will deform, the clothing will lose its shape and decrease in size.

Lemon acid

Citric acid, which can be found in any housewife’s kitchen, will also help to bleach woolen items. If necessary, it can be replaced with boron. This will not affect the quality of processing.

For 3 liters of water, it is enough to take 45-50 g of the substance, dissolve the granules well and you can soak things that have acquired a grayish tint. 6-8 hours are enough for processing. During the procedure, the knitwear should be constantly turned over in the basin so that it is processed more evenly.

Chalk

A white sweater at home can return to its original shade by using stationery chalk. First, all large pieces must be crushed to a powder state. Then the chalk should be dissolved in cold water. For 1 kg of chalk you will need 3 liters of liquid. This composition is sufficient to bleach no more than 500 g of yarn.

Knitted items are soaked in the mixture for 5-6 hours. During the procedure, they must be constantly stirred to ensure uniform penetration of the solution into the wool fibers. To prevent clothes from being too hard after washing, it is advisable to add conditioner while rinsing them.

Ammonia

An ammonia solution will help to bleach a jacket at home and remove old stains. The product can be purchased at any pharmacy without a prescription. There are several ways to use the liquid.

To prepare a solution for soaking, take 50 ml of ammonia per 5 liters of cold water. Immerse woolen items in the liquid for 20-30 minutes. Then wash in an automatic machine, after turning on an additional rinse. If the pungent odor does not go away, you will have to repeat the entire cycle all over again. The use of conditioner will help remove the heavy spirit.

A composition based on ammonia and hydrogen peroxide is considered effective. Peroxide is freely available in pharmacies. First, yarn items are rinsed in a solution of ammonia. To prepare it, take 3 liters of water and 1 tsp. facilities. Then the clothes are placed in another composition for half an hour. It consists of 3 liters of water, 3 ml of ammonia and 15 ml of peroxide. After soaking, the items are washed in an automatic machine using a program designed for delicate washing. During the last rinse, conditioner is added to the appropriate compartment of the unit.

The effect of ammonia solution and the addition of table salt increases. For 5 liters of water take 100 ml of ammonia solution and 50-60 g of salt. The temperature of the liquid for preparing the composition should not be lower than +40°C. All components are mixed until the salt crystals are completely dissolved.

To prevent the pungent smell of ammonia from damaging the respiratory tract, it is recommended to carry out the manipulation with a mask. Yarn items are placed in the solution. The top of the container is covered with a polyethylene film. After 40-45 minutes, the cover is removed. Clothes are washed by hand. Then it is placed in an automatic rinsing machine. At the very end of the rinsing procedure, conditioner is added. It will help eliminate the unpleasant odor.

Salt

The procedure using sea or rock salt is considered the most gentle. Not only does it not deform wool fibers, but it also gives clothes made from yarn a special softness.

First, prepare brine, where 25-30 g of salt are taken per 5 liters of warm water. The liquid is stirred until the crystals are completely dissolved, then cooled. Knitwear is placed in the solution and left for 6-7 hours. Then the clothes are removed from the brine and rinsed under running water. If the product is dirty, wash it in the usual way. If the quality of bleaching is not satisfactory, then the manipulation is repeated.

Household chemicals

If you don’t want to make your own products for whitening and stain removal, then you can buy special chemical compounds. They are chlorine-, oxygen-containing and optical. Each product has distinctive features:

1. The use of chlorine-containing compounds is an effective bleaching method. However, you need to work with such solutions carefully, as they can ruin the item.
2. The use of oxygen-containing preparations is the best option if you need to return the white color to products with colored designs.
3. The use of optical substances is a way to disguise dark plaque thanks to special granules.

“Belizna”, a chlorine-containing household chemical, is considered a good bleach for wool. To prepare the solution, you need to stir 50 ml of the specified product in 7 liters of water. Then you need to immerse the woolen item in the resulting liquid for 30 minutes, while the product must be turned over periodically. To wash the fabric from “Whiteness”, the clothes need to be rinsed several times. However, you should remember: it is better to use bleaches that contain chlorine in cases where other methods have not brought the desired result.

The main thing is that there is a special mark “for wool” on the packaging of household chemicals. In addition, before bleaching a white wool scarf with a colored insert, you need to carefully study the product label. It should have a triangle-shaped sign on it. If this symbol is crossed out, it means that the wool product cannot be bleached.

Recommendations

You can keep your white wool sweater looking nice and clean by following a couple of helpful tips:

• Buy a good powder that is suitable for woolen items. It is best to purchase a liquid special agent, for example.
• The maximum and also optimal temperature for washing woolen items is 40 degrees.
• It is better not to squeeze the wool or do it at minimum speed.
• Woolen clothes should not be hung to dry as they will stretch. It is best to lay the sweater on a horizontal surface, first laying it on a material that absorbs moisture well.

If folk methods and special means are powerless, then you can go to a dry cleaner, because they employ professionals who can restore clothes to their former appearance and cleanliness.

Useful tips

When using machine washing to bleach woolen items, it is recommended to observe the following conditions:

• use chemicals suitable for these products;
• the water temperature should not exceed 30 °C;
• set the spin speed to low speed;
• It is advisable not to use machine drying.

In addition to these tips, you can soak things in a soda solution for 15 minutes before washing. Woolen items should be dried on a flat horizontal surface, placing them on a towel or any other material that absorbs moisture well.

How not to ruin a white woolen item

Wool is a beautiful but delicate material that requires careful care. If improperly cleaned, things easily lose their shape, color and softness. It is better to take such clothes to a professional dry cleaner, but if you follow simple rules, you can handle bleaching and washing at home.

1. Not all wool items are created equal. Products contain different percentages of natural fiber to synthetic fiber, so the care rules are different. Follow label instructions.
2. Woolen products do not like frequent washing. You can refresh a jacket after a long period of storage in a closet by simply airing it by hanging it on the balcony.
3. Do not use hot water for household bleaching, washing, soaking or rinsing.
4. Do not iron. The sweater will iron itself while drying.
5. Do not wring or twist the fabric.
6. Dry things horizontally.

Let your items always be in excellent condition and never need to be bleached.

The article has been verified by the editors

How to bleach stains on white fabric?

In order to remove traces of cosmetics, cream or oil from white cotton fabric, just do the following:

• Dissolve grated soap in a liter of hot water.
• Add half a liter of kerosene.
• Let cool and add a tablespoon of baking soda.
• Soak the stain and wait 24 hours.
• Wash by hand using scented products.
• Dry in a well-ventilated place.

Important! You can improve the result for removing stubborn stains by adding 2 tablespoons of turpentine to the water.

Bringing whiteness back to underwear

In order for your underwear to get a snow-white color, it is enough to use washing powder for delicate fabrics:

• Soak the laundry in soapy water.
• Wait half an hour.
• Wash items by hand.
• Rinse.

You can return the color to lace underwear using special tablets:

• Dissolve the product in water.
• Soak the clothes in the solution and wait for the time specified in the instructions.
• Rinse.

What else can you do to restore whiteness to clothes?

You can return the whiteness to your socks and T-shirt using boric alcohol. To do this, just add 2 tablespoons of the substance to a liter of water and soak the clothes in the solution, waiting a couple of hours.

You can whiten kitchen towels using dry mustard:

• Pour boiling water over mustard powder and stir.
• Let it brew.
• Immerse towels in the solution.
• Wait a couple of hours.
• Take out the towels and put them in the wash.

Important! Thanks to this method, things are not only bleached, but also disinfected.