7 Laundry Helpers That Can Make Your Clothes Look Like New Again

Washing aids come in a variety of forms and serve many different purposes; from removing rust stains to making yellow fabrics look white again. If you’ve ever looked down a store’s laundry aisle, you may have seen a lot of these laundry products. You may have never thought twice about using them or weren’t sure exactly how to use them. The following laundry treatments can help restore clothes that appear dull, dirty, and old before their time.

1. Bluish. Blueds are designed to counteract the natural yellowing of fabrics. They contain a blue dye that is absorbed by fabrics in the wash or rinse.

2. Detergent boosters. Available in liquid or powder form, detergent boosters are especially effective in hard water to improve the cleaning power of the detergent. Liquid enhancers can also be used to pre-treat stains. Baking soda is actually a natural detergent booster.

3. Enzymatic stain remover prior to soaking. Enzyme pre-soaks come in powder form and are very effective at removing protein stains such as baby formula, blood, body fluids, dairy products, and eggs. This is because enzymes are proteins and the general rule of thumb for stain removal is “like dissolves like”. The enzymes break down the stains which can then be easily removed from the fabric with the help of the detergent.

4. Stain and dirt remover prior to washing. These products come in a variety of forms and are effective at removing stains and heavy soils, especially on polyester fibers. They penetrate the fabric fiber and help break down the stain, allowing it to disperse in the wash water.

5. Color removers. Color removers can help remove rust stains from clothing washed in water that contains iron and manganese. They can also help remove dye stains that have transferred from colored clothes to the white clothes they were washed with.

6. Bleach for all fabrics (oxygen). This type of bleach is an alternative to liquid chlorine bleach to maintain the whiteness and brightness of most fabrics. The oxidizing agent, hydrogen peroxide, provides a milder bleaching action than chlorine bleach. This makes it safe for most washable colored fabrics, unless the fabric care label states otherwise. This color-safe bleach is available in liquid or powder form. It is also most effective when used regularly.

7. Water softeners. Hard water has a high concentration of magnesium and calcium. These minerals tend to reduce the effectiveness of laundry detergents and can also leave a residue that makes fabrics feel stiff and scratchy. Water softeners work by deactivating these minerals. You can choose between electric or liquid water softeners.

Laundry aids can extend the life of our clothes and even make our clothes look like new again. At least we have alternatives besides the old liquid chlorine bleach.

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