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Thread Number: 75272
/ Tag: Other Home Products or Autos
How to remove severe yellow stains from white pillowcases? |
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Post# 991042 , Reply# 1 4/17/2018 at 01:11 (2,194 days old) by Launderess  (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Sad but normal occurance for pillow slips
Yellowing is also seen on center of bed sheets and shirt collars.
This is caused by a reaction (oxidation) of skin oils/sweat which were not promptly and totally removed during laundering. Main culprit is cholesterol which is secreted by the sebaceous glands to keep the skin soft. If perspiration is not totally removed from textiles, eventually it will go rancid and leave yellow marks. Hence the old advice about changing *and* laundering bed linen often. Depending upon level of soiling it may be necessary to either launder pillow slips separately using a stronger detergent and adding an emulsifier, or just do the whole linen wash with same formula. As to reversing the yellowing; it may not be totally possible. Since what has occurred is more of a chemical reaction (skin oils going rancid), rather than a "stain", you may not be able to restore things to perfect whiteness. | ||
| Post# 991044 , Reply# 2 4/17/2018 at 01:30 (2,194 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
Agree with Laundress | ||
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Post# 991048 , Reply# 3 4/17/2018 at 04:46 (2,194 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN) |
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| Post# 991061 , Reply# 4 4/17/2018 at 07:10 (2,194 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis) | ||
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Ammonia Use very hot water, clear ammonia and Persil or Tide. Soak. Completely saturate the body oil stain with detergent and set it aside for half an hour before putting in the soaking bucket. Wash before the water gets cold. | ||
| Post# 991064 , Reply# 7 4/17/2018 at 07:34 (2,194 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis) | ||
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Interesting Didn’t know TWB has lipase. Very hard to find in detergents. Persil power pearls has it., but only the power pearls. | ||
| Post# 991065 , Reply# 8 4/17/2018 at 07:39 (2,194 days old) by Helicaldrive (St. Louis) | ||
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Powder detergents Numerous people on this site have said powder detergent works better esp with whites. And they are so right. I have always wondered, why is that so? | ||
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Post# 991077 , Reply# 11 4/17/2018 at 08:47 (2,194 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
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Some good advice here! One way to avoid buildup of oil/fat based compounds, especially from humans, is to use 1/2 cup of TSP with a load of bedding, together with a good enzyme based detergent. One needn't worry about the water being too warm in most American washers, the stupid dumbing down of machines here guarantees that 'hot' is nothing more than luke-warm for the normal rest of the world.
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Post# 991084 , Reply# 14 4/17/2018 at 10:27 (2,194 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
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When dealing with lots oil/fat | ||
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Post# 991124 , Reply# 15 4/17/2018 at 13:56 (2,194 days old) by RP2813 (Sannazay) |
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| Post# 991143 , Reply# 16 4/17/2018 at 16:43 (2,194 days old) by rickr (.) | ||
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Post# 991147 , Reply# 17 4/17/2018 at 17:00 (2,194 days old) by Gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA) |
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OMG Throw the f@&king things out and buy some new ones,already. How much could it cost? Wash in hot water with a good detergent. No sense in trying to re-invent the wheel. Just 'sayin. | ||
| Post# 991151 , Reply# 18 4/17/2018 at 17:22 (2,194 days old) by Dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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I guess some people just throw things out when they get dirty rather than clean them, and give the money tree a shake for new ones. I think I'm going to try an overnight soak in Powdered Tide, Oxi Clean, and some Dawn. Will see what results we get. | ||
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Post# 991154 , Reply# 19 4/17/2018 at 17:39 (2,194 days old) by brisnat81 (Brisbane Australia) |
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I second the Ammonia suggestion. Every other month I soak all my Synthetic gym wear in Ammonia, Omo and Hotwater overnight. The water usually comes out brown. I then just wash as usual with detergent. | ||
| Post# 991158 , Reply# 20 4/17/2018 at 18:12 (2,194 days old) by Michaelman2 (Lauderdale by the Sea, FL) | ||
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Fabric all cotton? Are these sheets 100% cotton? | ||
| Post# 991163 , Reply# 22 4/17/2018 at 19:01 (2,194 days old) by Michaelman2 (Lauderdale by the Sea, FL) | ||
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May be the problem: Dustin92. I believe therin lies the problem. If there is any polyester fiber in those sheets it will yellow bleaching can make things worse. If you decide to replace the sheets... make sure they are all natural fibers. | ||
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Post# 991168 , Reply# 23 4/17/2018 at 20:16 (2,194 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
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Cripes! | ||
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Post# 991175 , Reply# 24 4/17/2018 at 21:27 (2,194 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
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You know Dustin, hydorgen peroxide is very inexpensive, why not buy a couple of quarts of medicinal (3%) peroxide and put the sheets in a sink or dishpan and thoroughly saturate the sheets with the peroxide and let them sit for 20 to 30 mins and see if that doesn’t take out the yellow. Then wash them in the hottest water possible with Tide powder with Bleach. This may do the trick. Even if you bought 3 quarts of peroxide I don’t believe it would cost more than $6.00 or so. And you can always use the Tide with Bleach. That’s what I would try. Sweat, or persperation stains are not unlike urine stains and I think peroxide works on urine stains.
And for what it’s worth, Keven I agree with your statement above, well said! HTH Eddie | ||
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Post# 991178 , Reply# 26 4/17/2018 at 21:55 (2,193 days old) by askolover (South of Nash Vegas, TN) |
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| Post# 991184 , Reply# 27 4/17/2018 at 22:12 (2,193 days old) by Dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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I picked up a tub of Oxi Clean and some Borax, will soak them in that and Tide, possibly throw some Dawn in there for good measure. They don't have to be 100% perfect, but at least useable. The pillowcases are literally lemon yellow right now. Will see what happens :) | ||
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Post# 991188 , Reply# 28 4/17/2018 at 22:40 (2,193 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Before starting sort out the fabric content first.
Polyester has different properties from say cotton. For one the thing is famously hydrophilic (resists water) and loves oil. If you've ever gotten salad oil on say a polyester tablecloth you know how bad things can get.
If pillow slips are already clean I'd start by first giving them a quick pre-wash with perhaps some STPP if you can find it. Purpose here is to strip out detergent residue that can also make things seem dingy looking. Since or once the pillow slips are (already) clean, what you want is to reverse/bleach out the yellowing. For this there are a few methods. One calls for dissolving Oxiclean, sodium percarbonate, sodium perborate into a tub (not metal) of water, then adding more warm to hot water to fill. Then immersing the item or items and allow them to soak for several hours/overnight. Every now and then agitate/push down the items. After about 12 hours or more (oxygen bleach will remain active for some time in solution), lift items or items out and examine. If no change put back into soaking tub and continue. After about 24 hours if there isn't a change, you'll need to make up another batch of soaking solution as all the oxygen bleach power has been spent. The other method calls for dissolving oxygen bleach in a non metal pot (stainless steel will work, but not aluminum) filled with some water, then add enough water that will cover items/item. Put pot over burner and allow to slowly reach temp of about 180F. Do not fill pot more than 3/4's full and keep an eye on things. As the water reaching hot to boiling items will float up and the oxygen bleach will froth, both can cause a "boil over" mess if not careful. Boil for one half hour, then turn off and cover. Heat accelerates the bleaching power of all hydrogen peroxide bleaches. So instead of soaking for 12, 24 or whatever long hours, you can cut that time down to a few. OTOH boiling is harsh on textiles especially in an alkaline environment. Either way when satisfied with results, and or feel things are about as good as they are going to get, remove things from boiling/soaking pot and rinse thoroughly. You can do this in washing machine or by hand, but all the chemicals used in soaking must be washed out. Or: www.wikihow.com/Remove-Sw... | ||
| Post# 991202 , Reply# 29 4/18/2018 at 05:05 (2,193 days old) by Rolls_rapide (.) | ||
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And, after all of this sage advice... ... hopefully your whites will be white... right through! | ||
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Post# 991208 , Reply# 30 4/18/2018 at 06:31 (2,193 days old) by Gyrafoam (Wytheville, VA) |
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"could we just try being a bit nicer" LMAO, the "house hypocrite" has spoken. Hahahahahaha. Sometimes it just isn't worth the time to try and re-invent the wheel. New pillow slips are cheap. | ||
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Post# 991218 , Reply# 31 4/18/2018 at 08:16 (2,193 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
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Here's a question - I don't know the answer and am c Can some oil/fat based stains in laundry be removed using another oil, one which is easier to remove? I'm thinking of how we often use warm olive oil to remove greasy/oily stains from our hands. No idea, but I am curious. (I'm not going down the lighter hydrocarbon road here. No benzene, kerosene, etc. Sure do miss Carbon Tetrachloride, though. That stuff would have removed this problem, 100% sure.) | ||
| Post# 991219 , Reply# 32 4/18/2018 at 08:27 (2,193 days old) by rickr (.) | ||
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Post# 991221 , Reply# 33 4/18/2018 at 08:38 (2,193 days old) by foraloysius (Leeuwarden, Friesland, the Netherlands) |
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Post# 991244 , Reply# 35 4/18/2018 at 12:26 (2,193 days old) by mrboilwash (Munich,Germany) |
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Yellowing can also occur if there is too much iron, copper or manganic content in the water. The metals bond to residual sebum that has not been removed sufficiently in previous washes.
If that is the case a lime and rust remover (bathroom spray) might help. The next step would be to remove the remaining grease stain completely. If you prefer boil washing with Persil, ammonia, soaking, TSP, STPP, dry cleaning or all together is up to you. | ||
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Post# 991251 , Reply# 36 4/18/2018 at 14:12 (2,193 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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There are basically few ways of getting oil out of fabrics
Using moderate to high pH (think sodium hydroxide (lye), sodium metasilicate, washing soda, phosphates, etc...
That and or using emulsifiers such as soaps along with solvents such as types of alcohols. www.cleantool.org/teilereinigung/... In the old says commercial laundries and others could purchase soaps built with benzene. That or people simply bought the stuff straight to use with laundry as a spot treatment and or in the wash. Other extreme was to add gasoline or kerosene to the wash tub. Mr. Fels solved this issue by finding a way to build naptha (Stoddard solvent) into a soap in such a way it wouldn't evaporate and thus remain shelf stable. This spawned a host of copycat "naptha" soaps. Am here to tell you Fels naptha soap of old (the one with naptha/Stoddard solvent) will remove all sorts of oil/fat stains from fabrics. This along with lipstick, makeup, etc.... If you examine the ingredient list of modern emulsifiers for commercial laundries most contain soaps, and some sort of alcohol (butyl being common) or alcohols. Commercial laundries faced with items badly soiled by oils/fats (such as candle wax) will first launder in water (dry cleaning can set certain stains due to the heat), dry, then dry clean the article. Solvents used in the latter process are normally more than enough to remove whatever fats/oils remaining in fabrics. | ||
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Post# 991304 , Reply# 38 4/18/2018 at 19:12 (2,193 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
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When I had my first washer in 1972, a used Maytag wringer, I always used Fels Naptha Powder. That stuff was the bomb! With the combination of the vigorous Maytag agitation, hot water and Fels Powder I never have before or since see such perfectly immaculate laundry. And the clothes were soft, even though I used to hang them outside to dry most of the time.
I sure wish they still sold this product. Thanks for the memory Launderess🙂 Eddie | ||
| Post# 991355 , Reply# 39 4/19/2018 at 02:07 (2,192 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c ) | ||
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If they are cotton Boil them like our grandparents did. | ||
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Post# 991363 , Reply# 40 4/19/2018 at 05:57 (2,192 days old) by warmsecondrinse (Fort Lee, NJ) |
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If all else fails, I'd try Didi Seven. I know people tend to roll their eyes.... HOWEVER, the fact remain that since I was given a tube back in the 80's it's removed stains nothing else touched. Jim | ||
| Post# 991372 , Reply# 41 4/19/2018 at 07:01 (2,192 days old) by Rolls_rapide (.) | ||
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"Didi Seven..." Ah - I vaguely remember the adverts on British telly! The wonder stain remover! However, according to Wikipaedia... "In 2011, Interwood Marketing was acquired by Northern Response. As of August 2017, the product is no longer available." | ||
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Post# 991438 , Reply# 42 4/19/2018 at 17:23 (2,192 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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There are two ways to bleach fabrics; one can either add oxygen (oxidizing bleaches such as chlorine or oxygen/hydrogen based), or remove oxygen by use of a reducing bleach (sodium bisulfite, etc....)
Commercial and or professional laundries, dry cleaners, etc.. have long known about both types of bleaches and use accordingly. While DiDi7 formula was a closely guarded secret, going by the adverts and description of what product did/worked, am going to guess it was some sort of reducing bleach. Reducing bleaches are also sold as color removers, and they do so *VERY well. RIT and other dye makers sell such bleaches to remove all color from fabrics before they are to be dyed (just as in the professional side of things). Oxygen bleaches in most cases and especially if used properly will not remove colorfast dyes. OTOH reducing bleaches again can and will. One suspects reason why Didi7 was removed likely involved same fate as similar products from Europe and elsewhere; the ingredients gave regulators fits about safety, and then there were consumer complaints. Things like someone trying to remove a red wine stain from a blue shirt and got a nice white spot. | ||
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Post# 991439 , Reply# 43 4/19/2018 at 17:30 (2,192 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City) |
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Uhm...not to be a smartass... | ||
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Post# 991464 , Reply# 45 4/19/2018 at 21:30 (2,192 days old) by Ultramatic (New York City) |
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Post# 991465 , Reply# 46 4/19/2018 at 21:30 (2,192 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
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Post# 991466 , Reply# 47 4/19/2018 at 21:40 (2,191 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
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Good for you, Dustin! | ||
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Post# 991477 , Reply# 49 4/19/2018 at 22:46 (2,191 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Ecloab frowns upon domestic consumers
Or anyone else not "professional" or industry related getting mitts upon their products. Ecolab will provide *NO* customer support to domestic consumers. Industrial/commercial customers go through their local sales people IIRC.
That being said Ecolab's like many other commercial laundry *reclaim* products are highly dangerous things to mess about with if one does not know what one is doing. webcache.googleusercontent.com/se... At dilution the stuff has a pH of 10.5 - 11.5, which makes it a hair less powerful than ammonia. As noted reclaim washes are normally done before the main cycles. For one thing it will take several water changes and the actions of other chemicals to bring down the pH of fabrics and neutralize the strong base substances used in reclaim formula. For the small amounts needed in a domestic washing machine (again you'd have to work out the dilution ratios on one's own as Ecolab won't divulge), even one packet would last a very long time. Given the high amount of chlorine bleach and strong base pH level Ecolab rightly states this reclaim product is not safe for colors. IIRC the pillow slips in question have a print pattern. | ||
| Post# 991481 , Reply# 51 4/20/2018 at 00:28 (2,191 days old) by StrongEnough78 (California) | ||
Good job Dustin! And you didn't have to throw them out! I use White King with my whites to soften the hard water here. Does wonders for dingy whites. If Wisk was still in production I would suggest using that but, unfortunately, Wisk is no longer. But it managed to get old yellow arm pit and collar stains out that had been in my white t shirts for years. I would still consider getting some White King if you have hard water in your area. You will start to notice how much brighter your whites and bright colors will get.
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Post# 991488 , Reply# 52 4/20/2018 at 03:03 (2,191 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Very well then, one likes a man with make do and mend | ||
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Post# 991489 , Reply# 53 4/20/2018 at 03:10 (2,191 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Believe one has stated before
In commercial laundries "reclaim" is for linens that otherwise were destined for rag bin. If the stains come out and things can be restored to service, so much the better. Should in the end you have items that didn't come out as planned, well there is always that rag bin.
Yes, all reclaim formulas (rust, yellowing, dingy, etc...) are extremely hard not only on the textiles in question but the washing machine as well. The process is all but certain to shorten the lifespan of both if repeated frequently. | ||
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Post# 991506 , Reply# 54 4/20/2018 at 08:25 (2,191 days old) by panthera (Rocky Mountains) |
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There's nothing more interesting Than to see how differently we all approach 'consumables'. Once upon a time, this was The American Way:
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| Post# 991546 , Reply# 55 4/20/2018 at 13:43 (2,191 days old) by LordKenmore (The Laundry Room) | ||
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| Post# 991605 , Reply# 56 4/21/2018 at 02:34 (2,190 days old) by Stan (Napa CA) | ||
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Glad it worked!
Sounds as if the bucket did the trick! Using the bucket made the Borax, OxiClean, Tide, ect into what you might call "concentrated" emulsifiers and water softeners. More of these in the hot water than if they had been in normal amount water in the washer. Then rinsing all that out, and away...and starting over..
Good trick to know. I may have some dingy white sheets packed away in the attic.. If I can find them, I'm going copy technique to test (I might change the concoction though) | ||
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Post# 991607 , Reply# 57 4/21/2018 at 02:56 (2,190 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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Isn't there an old time solution for yellowed linens? | ||
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Post# 991611 , Reply# 58 4/21/2018 at 04:13 (2,190 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Bluing can only counteract the slight yellow tinge
That comes from age and or poor laundering; it cannot nor will not totally reverse really bad "lemon yellow" stains.
Home economists, professional laundries (good ones) of old had a saying; properly laundered linens and clothing does not need bluing. Suppose one could make up a bluing bath that would be dark enough to "hide" bad yellowing; but then you'd also likely have an article tinted dark blue as well. | ||
| Post# 991615 , Reply# 59 4/21/2018 at 06:18 (2,190 days old) by Rolls_rapide (.) | ||
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Bluing of yellow stains... Is there a chance the bluing will turn the yellow stain green instead? | ||
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Post# 991675 , Reply# 60 4/21/2018 at 16:29 (2,190 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Does she or doesn't she? Only her hairdresser knows for
While anything is possible don't think using bluing on yellow stained or even dyed textiles will produce same result as applying a blue based hair dye over yellow/golden hair.
Picked up a set of Frette sheets a thrift store years ago. They were going cheap likely because of some nasty yellow stains. Washed, boiled, bleached, soaked and otherwise gave the things full treatment. This included a final bluing rinse using a very large dose. In the end only got the yellowing slightly better but the bluing tinted things a dull definite shade of blue. And yes, the yellow marks were still visible but now had a blue overcast. | ||
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Post# 991733 , Reply# 61 4/22/2018 at 02:46 (2,189 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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| Post# 991739 , Reply# 62 4/22/2018 at 07:06 (2,189 days old) by Rolls_rapide (.) | ||
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"... but now had a blue overcast." Thanks | ||
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Post# 991935 , Reply# 63 4/24/2018 at 02:05 (2,187 days old) by SudsMaster (SF Bay Area, California) |
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| Post# 1118492 , Reply# 64 5/27/2021 at 15:12 (1,058 days old) by 2011hoovermatic (owosso michigan) | ||
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Hi I saw where bluing helps too, does bluing actually do anything to remove any soils? Thanks for your input. | ||
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Post# 1118501 , Reply# 65 5/27/2021 at 16:43 (1,058 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.) |
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| Post# 1118508 , Reply# 66 5/27/2021 at 18:51 (1,058 days old) by firedome (Binghamton NY & Lake Champlain VT) | ||
at the risk of being the contrarian...
and w/ background in biochemistry...
Lanudress: hydrophilic means having a chemical affinity for water, ie: wanting to chemically combine with it, while the opposite would be "hydrophobic" in the common vernacular. pantera, as a thrifty New Englander, I long recall how the rest of your aphorism goes: Use it up, wear it out, make it do... or do without! | ||
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Post# 1118510 , Reply# 67 5/27/2021 at 19:02 (1,058 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Bluing was meant to counter slight yellow tinge bleached cotton fabrics and paper have as a natural occurrence. In northern hemisphere blue-white is perceived as "whiter", while in southern it is red-white.
That being said have housekeeping and laundering books in my library and have read online going back to late 1800's through 1950's and all say pretty much same thing... Laundry that is properly washed does not require frequent or routine use of bluing. If you had to use bluing after ever wash then something was very, very wrong with how your laundering skills. Bluing can counter a slight yellow tinge, but if we're talking about seriously yellowed areas it won't make a difference. People nearly dyed white things blue using vast amounts of bluing in aid of countering or hiding yellow areas. You could still see the yellow area only it was slightly coated blue, but more to point now white areas were dyed a dark blue as well. When done properly you shouldn't notice bluing was used at all, and on no account were things supposed to have more than a slight bluish tinge that was hardly noticeable. Housewives, laundresses, commercial laundries, etc... all had to deal with yellow marking caused by oxidation of body soils. This has been happening ever since humans began wearing textiles made from cotton, linen, silk, etc.... As have stated, way in past to get laundry clean and white was plenty of hot (or boiling water), some sort of alkali (soda ash, sodium metasilicate, borax, lye, etc....), and plenty of mechanical action. Bleaching as in oxygen, chlorine or ultraviolet (sunlight) helped as well. Tattle-tale grey (dingy laundry) is something else entirely different from yellow staining. Oh and other problem with bluing is while it does make white things seem "whiter", it also can make them appear dull. This is why OBAs (florescent optical brightening agents), largely replaced bluing and or sometimes both used together. Famous "La France" bluing powder had both type of bluing (hence the color of product) and OBAs. Indeed many laundry powders of old were blue for that reason as well. The bit of bluing helped counter yellow tinge, but the OBAs made whites and colors pop by reflecting certain spectrum of ultraviolet light. Anyone who believes am just rabbiting on again, go out and get some bluing, then take badly or even just moderately yellowed item and give it a bluing rinse. When things dry you'll notice the yellow areas are still there underneath the blue. | ||
| Post# 1118713 , Reply# 68 5/29/2021 at 16:44 (1,056 days old) by iej (.... ) | ||
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I’ve always found a long, long wash with a very good enzyme detergent should remove those kinds of stains. They’re mostly a mixture of oils and proteins. | ||
| Post# 1118715 , Reply# 69 5/29/2021 at 17:15 (1,056 days old) by Dustin92 (Jackson, MI) | ||
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And... At 3 years old this post has lasted longer than the relationship so we have that 😂😂😂 | ||
| Post# 1118736 , Reply# 70 5/29/2021 at 21:00 (1,056 days old) by Washingpowder (NYC) | ||
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White sheets are forever They are all I need to please me. | ||
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