How to Whiten White Clothes and Linens That Have Yellowed

Even if you take great care when washing white clothes and linens, it's not unusual for them to yellow over time. However, you can remove yellowing from white clothes using the right methods.

Most white fabrics can be whitened using laundry products like oxygen-based bleach, bluing, chlorine bleach, or natural methods like the sun's ultraviolet rays to remove the yellow or dingy gray residue. Here are several methods for whitening yellowed clothes.

What Causes Yellowing of White Clothes?

Environmental factors like the nicotine from cigarette smoke or greasy cooking residue can cause fabrics to yellow. Underarm yellowing on shirts happens due to a reaction between your antiperspirant and body salts. Clothes stored improperly can react with the acids in cardboard boxes or wooden shelves and turn yellow.

Method #1: Oxygen Bleach

The most gentle method to whiten whites that have turned yellow is to use warm water and oxygen-based bleach powder. Follow the package recommendations for how much powder to use with a gallon of water.

1. Mix enough of the oxygen bleach and water solution to cover the garments.
2. Submerge the white garments and allow them to soak for at least eight hours or overnight.
3. Wash the garments using a good detergent and the hottest water recommended for the fabric.
4. Add 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar to the rinse water to help remove any detergent residue.
5. If you see improvement but the fabrics are still not as white as you'd like, repeat the process with a freshly mixed batch of oxygen bleach.
   

This process is safe for polyester clothes, synthetic fabrics, natural fibers like cotton and linen, and printed fabrics. Do not use oxygen bleach on silk, wool, or leather including any trim or embellishments made from those materials.

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Method #2: Laundry Bluing

An old-fashioned laundry product, laundry bluing improves the brightness of white fabrics by adding a blue pigment that counteracts the natural yellowing occurring during regular laundering. The eye perceives the nearly undetectable amount of blue and sees the fabric as whiter. Bluing is added to the wash or rinse cycle. Here's how to use bluing:

1. Always dilute highly concentrated bluing in cold water before adding it to any type of washer.
2. For use in the wash cycle of a standard or top-load HE washer, stir 1/4 teaspoon liquid bluing into one quart of water and add the solution to the wash water.
3. For use in the rinse cycle of a top-load washer, use 1/8 teaspoon dissolved in a quart of water. Never use an automatic dispenser for bluing in a top-load washer for the wash or rinse cycle addition because it will stain the dispenser.
4. For use in the wash or rinse cycle of a front-load washer, use the same amounts of bluing but dilute it in 1 to 2 quarts of water and add through the dispenser directly into the wash or rinse cycle after it has already filled with water.
   

Method #3: Commercial Color Remover

If neither oxygen-based bleach nor bluing gets your clothing white enough, use a commercial color remover such as Rit Color Remover to strip away the yellow. It should not be used if there is colored trim or decorations on the clothing.

1. The garment should be freshly washed.
2. Fill a large stainless steel pot with enough water for the fabric to move freely. Cover the pot and heat the water on the stovetop to just below boiling (or around 200°F).
3. When water begins to simmer, add the packet of color remover and mix well with a stainless steel spoon.
4. Keep the water temperature at a low simmer.
5. Wet the white garment and add it to the bath.
6. Allow the garment to soak, stirring occasionally for 10 to 20 minutes. 
7. Remove the garment from the pot and rinse in cool water.
8. Wash the garment as you usually would.

Method #4: Chlorine Bleach

Chlorine bleach is great for cleaning and disinfecting but can cause yellowing if overused or used on white synthetic fibers like nylon, microfibers, or polyester. The bleach weakens the fibers and returns the synthetic polymers to their original color, yellow. Too much chlorine bleach can also cause white natural fibers like cotton and linen to turn yellow. If you can detect a chlorine odor when removing wet laundry from the washer, you may have used too much bleach.

To whiten cotton clothes:

• Soak clothes in 1/4 cup of chlorine bleach per gallon of water for five minutes.
• Wash the clothes in the hottest water recommended with regular detergent and 1/3 cup of chlorine bleach. Use the bleach dispenser or add the bleach five minutes after the wash cycle has started.

Method #5: Use the Sun to Whiten Clothes

If possible, line-dry white laundry outside in the sun. The ultraviolet rays of sunlight help whiten the clothes.

Method #6: Baking Soda

Baking soda, sodium bicarbonate, helps boost the performance of your laundry detergent to remove the soil that leaves clothes yellow. 

• Heat enough water to submerge the clothes to boiling and then remove the pot from the cooktop.
• Stir in 1 cup of baking soda per gallon of water.
• Add the white clothes (especially effective for white cotton socks).
• Soak for at least one hour or overnight.
• Wash as usual.
  

Method #7: Distilled White Vinegar

Distilled white vinegar contains acetic acid that helps remove detergent residue that yellows fabric.

• Fill a sink or plastic basin with enough hot water to submerge the clothes.
• Add 1 cup of distilled white vinegar per gallon of water.
• Add the white clothing and soak overnight.
• Wash as usual.

How to Prevent White Clothes from Turning Yellow

• Sort clothes and wash only whites together.
• Use a high-quality detergent containing enough enzymes to remove all of the soil during the wash cycle.
• Do not use too much detergent or fabric softener. The high heat of a clothes dryer can "bake" the residue into the fibers and leave them gray or yellow.
• Use deodorants without aluminum and allow the deodorant to dry completely before wearing a white shirt.
  

How to Store White Clothes to Prevent Yellowing

Ensure the garments or linens are completely stain-free, clean, and dry before storing. Wash and dry your hands before handling the item because lotion or creams can discolor white items. Choose a cool, dry space for storage to avoid extreme temperature changes. Use the right type of storage container to prevent yellowing. One choice is to use storage boxes sold for archival storage that are acid- and lignin-free. Or, use a container made of cast polypropylene with #5 or the letters 'PP' in the recycling triangle symbol that does not emit damaging fumes.