How to Wash White Clothes

Not all white clothing is created equally, so the process of how to keep white clothes white will vary. While all are especially vulnerable to stains, how you wash your whites will depend heavily on their fabric composition.

Before machine washing any of your clothing, you should always consult the garment’s care label. For whites like cloth diapers, undershirts, gym clothes, or underwear, you should wash in hot water that is at least 55°C or 130°F using a specially formulated detergent like Tide Brights + Whites Rescue. This will be the best method remove any heavy soil or germs in these garments. Be aware that not all white garments are created equally, and some are more rugged than others, so your white clothes wash temperature will vary. Hot water can shrink, fade, or otherwise damage some of the more delicate white fabrics, so it’s always best to separate your whites by fabric type to keep them looking fresh.

It’s happened to all of us—after repeated washes, our whites start to dull and become brown or yellowed. To restore the bright, clean look of your whites, first pre-soak in a mixture of warm water and a one-quarter cup of Tide Simply Plus Bleach Alternative Liquid Laundry Detergent for at least two hours before a normal wash. If stains persist, soak the clothes again in a mixture of warm water and one cup of baking soda for up to eight hours before washing as you normally would with your favorite Tide Detergent.

For garments like dress shirts or bright, white outerwear, it’s often acceptable to go for a month or longer without washing them if they have no noticeable dirt or stains. Frequency of washing will depend largely on how soiled the garments become and the type of fabric, but you can typically wait to wash whites until they become dull or dirty. When you’re ready to wash, you can soak the garments in a mixture of hot water and Tide+Oxi Rescue Laundry Stain Remover for an hour (this is suitable only for fabrics that don’t shrink). Then machine wash according to the garment’s care label.

White garments like undershirts, underwear and casual outerwear are more susceptible to yellowing due to the frequency with which we wear them as well as the tougher jobs they tend to handle. Clothing that sits close to our bodies tends to get dirtier and needs be washed more frequently, so it makes sense that they would yellow faster. But don’t worry! There are several tried-and-true ways to restore the brightness of these whites and eliminate yellowing.

1. Whitening solutions: Whiteners like Tide Brights Whites Rescue are used together with detergent to restore the brightness of your whites. Color-safe and useable with a range of detergents, they can restore up to three shades of white to even the dingiest clothing.

2. Oxygen-based bleach: These bleaches are popular because they’re typically gentler on clothing, reducing damage and avoiding the color fading that often happens with regular bleaches. Detergents like Tide Ultra OXI High Efficiency Liquid Laundry Detergent provide powerful whitening while being gentle enough to use with most machine-washable garments. You can also soak your whites in a solution of Tide Ultra OXI with water before the regular wash cycle for tough stains or discoloration.

3. Baking soda: This versatile product is handy to have around the home for a number of uses, but you can also add it to a load of whites in your washer to brighten them up. You can also use baking soda in a solution of water, soaking the soiled whites for about an hour before throwing them in the wash using a “white” cycle setting.

4. Vinegar: Much like baking soda, white vinegar can be used in a pretreatment solution of water to soak your yellowed whites before washing, or you can add it directly in your machine before running a load of whites. One of the benefits of using vinegar is that it not only whitens, but it can also neutralize tough odors in undershirts or underwear.