How To Get Clothing White Again

There's nothing chicer or more satisfying than a crisp white shirt, and don't get us started on the feel good-factor of crawling into fresh white bedsheets - particularly in high-summer.

But whether it's your white underwear or white t-shirts, some things just don't stay pristine for long and soon enough, your discoloured whites are relegated to the back of the wardrobe.

From old wives' tales to popular supermarket products, there are plenty of remedies to get your whites, white again. The GHI have put some to the test to find out which work best.

What solutions we tried

Adding half a cup of distilled white vinegar into the washing machine drum with a white load. We washed as normal using detergent and following the care label instructions. Not only simple, but it also won't bleach anything with colour in it. Don't worry, your clothes will smell as fresh as a normal wash – no sweaty, vinegar smell!
We soaked some greyed whites in a solution of Vanish Oxi Action Powder and then machine washed them with a further scoop of Vanish, following pack instructions.
We added a sachet of Dr Beckmann Glowhite Ultra to a wash load, following pack instructions.
We soaked garments in a solution of OxiClean White Revive and then added a further dose into the washing machine, following pack instructions.
Lastly, we added a capful of Ace Gentle Stain Remover into the drum of a washing machine with a load and washed as normal.

Our verdict? Unfortunately, none of them were miracle workers when used on already greyed whites, but we did find that Vanish was the most effective out of the group.

Our advice

If you really want white whites, it's best to take measures to prevent your whites greying in the first place.

the clever trick to get your whites back to white

Somyot Techapuwapat / EyeEm Getty Images

How to prevent discoloured whites

Not separating your white/coloured wash loads. Always wash whites separately to prevent coloured dyes running into white items and greying them. If unsure, or if there are small areas of colour on some of your whites, pop a colour run prevention sheet in to the wash. If you'd rather avoid the single use sheets, Dr. Beckmann's Re-usable Colour & Dirt Collector, can be used for 30 washes and, afterwards, you can use it as a general cloth to clean up spills.
When very soiled clothing is washed with less soiled clothing, the dirt can transfer from one to the other in the wash. Next time, split the loads to prevent this or pre-soak heavily soiled whites in a stain remover before washing.
Overloading your washing machine. This prevents clothes moving freely in the machine and dirt not being removed effectively. We'd recommend not filling the drum more than three quarters full.
Not following the dosage instructions on your detergent and using too much/too little.

GHI TIP: Hang items outside on a washing line to let UV rays work their natural magic and bleach white items.

Laundry products our experts love!

Dr Beckmann Service-It Deep Clean

Dr Beckmann tesco.com

£2.50

Persil Colour Protect Washing Liquid

Dettol Antibacterial Laundry Cleanser

Dr.Beckmann Colour Run Remover

Dr Beckmann amazon.co.uk

£5.39

Vanish Gold Oxi Action

Vanish waitrose.com

£5.75

Halo Proactive Sports Wash

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