Does white laundry discolour when washed with colored items?
Created: 06/10/2022, 16:30
By: Franziska Kaindl
Don't wash whites with coloreds - that's a well-known rule when washing.
But how up-to-date is this household wisdom?
Almost everyone has a nice white T-shirt in their closet, after all it can be wonderfully combined with other items of clothing.
However, if you don't collect large amounts of white laundry, you'll often find yourself forced to put the items with colored clothes in the laundry - to save water and electricity.
At the same time, however, it is always said: White laundry should not be mixed with colored clothing - otherwise there will be discolouration.
However, there are exceptions to the rule under certain conditions.
The trend towards energy-saving washing is a blessing for white laundry.
© Imago
White laundry washed with colorful clothes - discoloration inevitable?
Modern laundry detergents meanwhile relieve you of a lot of work in the household, as has been shown: "Cotton detergents often contain dye
transfer inhibitors
that are intended to prevent staining," explains Dr.
Kerstin Effers, consultant for environment and health protection at the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer advice center in a service article
on
ao.de.
Therefore, nowadays you run less risk of accidentally discolouring your white laundry.
At the same time, more and more consumers want to save energy when washing and are therefore setting
lower washing temperatures
a.
This trend also protects your white clothing, as Effers says: "It's possible that the washing temperature also has an influence." That means: If a dark piece of laundry ends up in the white laundry, it doesn't necessarily mean a gray haze on the clothing .
These washing tips from grandma are a thing of the past
View photo gallery
This is how you ensure that your laundry stays white
Nevertheless: If you want to be on the safe side, you can still separate the white laundry from the colored laundry – especially if you want to wash at higher temperatures.
To ensure that light-colored clothing stays spotless, you should always use powdered washing powder, as it contains
bleaching agents and optical brighteners
.
However, should your white clothes ever start to turn grey, you can easily dry them outside in the sun.
The UV light and the oxygen in the air cause the clothes to fade.
(fk)
