42 replies to this topic

[twoheads]

I have been trying to figure out how people locally keep their whites white. I see women with young children and babies in sleepers and other little outfits that are absolutely dazzling and yet no matter what I have tried my laundry gets a little greyer every week. I have tried the oxy clean as well as a variety of detergents that solemnly swear to keep my whites white and my colors as good as new, but none ot the advertised oaths perform as promised. One more thing: does anyone know where I can buy a wooden clothes horse?

[carib]

Don't use the dryer. Use the sun.

[twoheads]

Recently I have started doing that which is why I am in the market for a wooden clothes horse/rack. Hopefully that will help but in the meantime my white clothes look like they have been borrowed from a street dog.

[ChrisB]

I wish they still made laundry bluing. I can't even find it back in the states. That worked great both on clothes and a small bit added to shampoo for a white dog!!

[CCC]

I swear by borax in the laundry. Anything that I used chlorox bleach on since moving lakeside has gone dingy gray. I use the clothesline and dry everything in the sun but the greyed fabrics never recovered. The borax seems to act like a water softener and booster to detergent. I would love to know if there is a better way as it isn't getting stuff as white as I would like. I have tried lime juice, vinegar etc and no luck.

[bigd]

Sounds pretty third world to me

[More Liana]

In many households with fewer financial resources than most foreigners have, the laundry is still done by hand in the lavadero (that cement sink that most Mexican houses have either in a laundry room or outside in the service patio), not by machine. Hand-washed clothes come cleaner than machine-washed clothes, partly due to some of the bar soaps for laundry that people use and partly because of elbow grease.

No, I'm not recommending that you give up your washing machine--I'm just saying.

You might try adding liquid Vanish to your wash in addition to your detergent. We use it for whites as well as for colors.

[gogirl]

I use hydrogen peroxide to take spots out of my rugs and some of my clothes. I googled it and found that you can use a cup in your load of laundry.

[Malaya]

Someone gave me advice on this a long time ago, buy the packages of clothing dye and dye them white. I don't know how long it will last but it's one way to fix the problem.

[hensley]

Use Foca it is in a light blue bag, red letters, it is a powder and cheap, add that to your whites and you will really see the difference.

[PV Pat]

Use Foca it is in a light blue bag, red letters, it is a powder and cheap, add that to your whites and you will really see the difference.

I had the same problem when I lived there, must be the water. I think Hensley has the answer, switch to Foca and also use Zote flakes. Zote usually comes in a bar form and I used to shred it up into my whites, but now Zote is making flakes.

[Ginger]

Is Foca a detergent or used as a supplement to laundry detergent?

[mexilady]

I use oxiclean and hot water. After the tub fills up I let them soak for 20 minutes before continuing with the wash cycle and my whites stay white. For soap I use the big tub of Kirkland brand that Costco sells.

[PV Pat]

Is Foca a detergent or used as a supplement to laundry detergent?

Foca is a detergent sold alongside all of the detergents in the grocery stores. I just add Zote to it and it seems to really brighten my whites. Sometimes I let the whites sit in the Foca and Zote mixture and soak before washing. Since I moved I have not had much of a problem with grey/brown whites but I still use Foca and Zote. I do think it is something in the water in your area that makes the whites dingy. Once I used bleach and it made brown spots all over the clothes.

[Ginger]

Thanks, PV. My sheets are really looking bad so I'll give this a try. I have the Zote bars so I'll grate it.

[doberwoman]

In many households with fewer financial resources than most foreigners have, the laundry is still done by hand in the lavadero (that cement sink that most Mexican houses have either in a laundry room or outside in the service patio), not by machine. Hand-washed clothes come cleaner than machine-washed clothes, partly due to some of the bar soaps for laundry that people use and partly because of elbow grease.

No, I'm not recommending that you give up your washing machine--I'm just saying.

You might try adding liquid Vanish to your wash in addition to your detergent. We use it for whites as well as for colors.

and also, as Carib says, we do not use dryer machine, we hang the clothes to get dry under the sun....the sun is the best cleaner and antibacterial you can get....

[storey]

2 weeks ago? I found Mrs Stewarts bluing at Superlake. I am having such a hard time trying to use this site that I don,t know if I can respond to the original question. Please pass this on

[CCC]

I had a bar of Zote on hand from the last time this topic came up (I think it was from Solajijic's thread about bleach) and so today I washed one load of whites without and one with. HUGE difference in brightness with the Zote soap so a big thanks to all who suggested it! I found the smell to resemble mosquito repellent but a double rinse took care of it.

[twoheads]

Thanks to all. I am gooing to get some Zote and Foca tomorrow and try it that is if our subdivisions pump is back up and running and we have water! And I am going to try and hang clothes in the sun but I still will need to buy a folding clothes or horse. Any suggestions as to where I might find one?

[twoheads]

That was meant to read folding clothes rack or horse!