To create this article, 23 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. The wikiHow Video Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed , times. Is your white shirt looking a little more "tan" or "grey" nowadays? Do you wish you could get that brilliant, bright "new shirt" white back?
With a little bleach, you can! For many types of fabric, bleach offers a quick, easy, affordable way to achieve brilliant, sparkling whites. However, if your shirt's fabric can't handle the strong cleaning power of bleach, don't worry — you can also get your whites looking great with the bleaching power of the sun! To bleach a white shirt, start by pretreating any tough stains with a dab of detergent and scrubbing the spots gently with an old toothbrush.
Next, put the shirt in the washing machine and pour the bleach into your machine's bleach dispenser up to the fill line. Use the highest heat setting your machine allows, then run the cycle as you normally would. You can repeat this process if the stains don't fully lift the first time!
For more tips, including when you'd soak a shirt before bleaching, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Random Article. Home Random Terms of Use. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy.
Cookie Settings. Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Add your shirt to a bucket of cold water.
Use laundry bleach. To begin, toss your shirt in a bucket, bowl, or other suitably sturdy container. Cover it with at least a few inches of cold water. Feel free to soak other whites with your shirt.
It is more efficient to bleach a number of items than just one. White underwear, socks, pillowcases, and towels often are good candidates. If you do, add extra water so that the clothes have at least an inch or so of water over them when pushed down. You want a container big enough to give you room to stir and agitate your clothing while it soaks.
Clean construction-grade buckets are great for this. If you can obtain one with a lid, it will help prevent accidents as well as cut down on any fumes if used inside. Other typical possibilities include a large cooking pot, a bathtub, or your washing machine.
Add bleach. Your bottle of bleach very likely has directions on how much is recommended for use. Different bleaches have different concentrations. If you are only soaking your shirt, you may only need a few tablespoons or so. However, if you soak a large load of whites, you may need to add up to 1 cup.
Just a few other materials you may want to add are: [3] X Research source Laundry detergent Dish detergent Borax Washing soda Note: Never mix bleach and ammonia — this can release toxic chloramine gas.
Let the shirt soak for minutes. Then, set a timer for five to ten minutes and simply wait for the bleach to do its work! You may want to stir every few minutes to ensure the shirt soaks completely. Do not let your whites to soak for too long. Even fabrics that can safely be bleached, like cotton and linen, will eventually be weakened and damaged if exposed to bleach for long periods of time. Rinse the shirt in cold water. Once your shirt has soaked, remove it from the bleach mixture and wash it under cold, clear running water.
You want to do this to remove the bleach and other chemicals from the fabric. If allowed to dry, these materials can leave unpleasant residues in the fabric which can smell strongly of chlorine, irritate the skin, and possibly cause yellow stains.. Wring the shirt out and dry. Once your shirt has been rinsed and any bleach or detergent that was used to clean it has been removed, squeeze or wring any excess water out of it. Then, simply dry it however you normally would. For most, the simplest option will be to simply use a drying machine or put out on the line to dry as usual.
However, you can also let the shirt air-dry out doors. Drying white clothes in the sun is actually known to have a slight "bleaching" effect, leading to whiter whites see section below for more information. It is not as dramatic as using bleach, but sunlight does cause bleaching. Method 2. Remove any staining substances immediately. The method above isn't the only way to bleach a white shirt — you can also use bleach during a normal cycle of your washing machine to whiten your clothing with minimal extra effort.
To begin, if your shirt has any stains on it, use a paper towel, a spoon, or any other tool you have handy to remove any excess spilled material from the shirt. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. Ashley Tasoulas. You'd get a lighter shade of purple to white, depending on how much bleach you used.
Not Helpful 1 Helpful 7. Should I rinse out the shirt in warm or cold water and do I need to rinse out the bleach before putting it in the washer? Alaunah Simpson. Rinse out the shirt in cold water, then leave your shirt out to dry for about hours before moving it into the wash. Also, when washing, put your cycle on gentle cold-wash if you have it and repeatedly check! Not Helpful 1 Helpful 3. Just be sure to wash your scarf after tie dyeing it with bleach. If your scarf is black, beware, as when bleaching black items for tie dye, the tie dye color comes out orange.
So, add dye if you would like a different color. This will stop the odour and irritation on skin. Not Helpful 3 Helpful 3. You can use any bleach.
It is strong enough to bring out some colour in your desired material but doesn't fully get rid of every colour.
Not Helpful 0 Helpful 3. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Related wikiHows How to. How to. More References 4. About This Article. Co-authored by:. Co-authors: 9. Updated: May 10, Article Summary X To tie dye your clothing with bleach, twist your garment into a tight spiral or several small knots, then secure the twists with rubber bands.
Deutsch: Mit Bleichmittel batiken. Nederlands: Bleekmiddel gebruiken voor tie dye. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read , times. I definitely recommend using this tutorial. More reader stories Hide reader stories. Did this article help you? Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy.
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Watch Articles How to. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Follow Us. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Author Info Last Updated: May 10, Method 1. Gather the laundry that needs to be washed and bleached, including your shirt.
In this case, you should choose a different shirt that can be bleached. Set your washer to the correct wash cycle and temperature and turn it on. Depending on the clothing you are washing, you want to be sure to choose the correct settings so as not to shrink or otherwise ruin the clothing. Add laundry detergent to the water.
As your washer fills with water, add the appropriate amount of detergent for the size of the load. The water will begin to bubble when the detergent is added. It is recommended that the wash cycle run for five minutes before adding bleach for best results.
Do not use this measuring cup for any other purpose. Put your shirt and other laundry in the wash and close the washer lid. It is now time to let the washer run its cycle with the clothing in it, including your shirt.
Pull your shirt from the washer at the end of the cycle and examine it. If the shirt is whitened or brightened to your satisfaction, dry it according to the label i. If the shirt is not yet as white or bright as you would like it to be, then it is recommended that you put it through another cycle with bleach.
Method 2. Collect the materials you need for this process. Aside from the appropriate clothing, there are only a few other materials that you need. The shirt you want to bleach Two buckets Bleach Hydrogen peroxide or bleach-neutralizing solution A long wooden spoon Rubber gloves. Dress in old clothes and put on the rubber gloves. As you are working with bleach, it will ruin the clothing you are wearing if an accident happens.
Rubber gloves are also necessary to protect the bleach from directly touching your skin. Wear a long-sleeved shirt and long pants, if possible, to take extra steps to prevent the bleach from touching your skin. Fill two buckets with solutions.
Set them to the side when you are done, and be sure to leave your sink clear for rinsing the shirt later. Make enough of each solution so that the shirt can be submerged in them.
One bucket needs to be filled with one part bleach to five parts cold water. The other bucket needs to be filled with one part hydrogen peroxide to one part water. You can also mix a bleach-neutralizing solution according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Put the shirt into the bucket containing the bleach solution. Fully submerge the shirt in the solution, and stir it around using a long wooden spoon that is no longer used for cooking. Gently swirl the shirt around in the solution to assist it in becoming fully saturated. Allow the shirt to soak for anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour.
The soak time will vary depending on how much color you want to bleach out of the shirt and how strong the solution is. Bleaching the shirt all the way to white will take close to an hour or longer, especially if the shirt is originally a dark color. You can pull the shirt from the bleach solution before it reaches white if you find that you like a lighter shade that it has become in the bleaching process.
Remove the shirt from the bleach solution and squeeze excess solution out of it over the bucket. Save this step until you are pleased with the color of the shirt. If it is not yet completely white or not to a color that you like, then keep it in the bleach solution until it is satisfactory. Rinse the shirt under cold water in the sink. Thoroughly rinse all areas of the shirt, being sure to lift any folds or creases and running cold water over those areas. Submerge the shirt in the bucket of hydrogen peroxide or bleach-neutralizing solution.
Ensure that the entire shirt has been submerged into the solution so that it is saturated. Leave the shirt to soak for 15 minutes. This is an important step because this neutralizes the bleach, meaning that it makes it so that the bleach can no longer damage the fibers of the fabric. Rinse the shirt again under cold water in the sink. Lift all folds and creases again to make sure you rinse out all of the bleach-neutralizing solution.
Launder the shirt as usual, either by hand or in the washing machine. After laundering the shirt, dry it according to the instructions on the label. It should be ready to wear after this last step. Method 3. Gather the materials you need for the project. Lay your shirt flat on a table or the floor.
Make sure that it is clean and without wrinkles so that the bleach spraying comes out correctly. Slide a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to protect the back from being bleached.
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