The white T-shirt is an eternal classic, but there’s one problem: it can yellow very easily. But a few things can help prevent this annoying phenomenon.
White garments can lose their brilliant whiteness over time if you don’t look after them properly, and sweat can also leave their mark. Here are some tips to keep your favorite T-shirts looking spotless for longer.
Tips to prevent yellowing of clothes
White clothes are most often discarded due to yellowing and staining. To keep your T-shirts looking their whitest, you should pay attention to how they are stored, washed and dried. Of course, you can’t expect an older garment to be as dazzlingly snow-white as the one you bought a few days ago, but a little care can go a long way to extending its life.
Proper storage
Although storage usually receives less attention, it is a key factor for keeping white garments fresh-looking. It’s best if clothes are stored in a dry, cool place, free from any sources of moisture, such as hidden mold. If someone wants to keep their pets in a box, a plastic box may be a better choice than cardboard. When hanging them up, care should be taken to avoid placing them next to, for example, dark colored jeans that might catch them, and to ensure that they are close enough together to allow the material to breathe freely.
Correct washing
The basic rule of washing is to separate clothes according to color, and this is particularly important for whites. For best results, a pre-wash soak with a fabric bleach can be useful.
Pre-soaking will help loosen stains so that the washing machine can deal with them more easily. However, it should be remembered that not all clothes are suitable for bleaching and not all products are suitable for all fabrics.
For white clothes, frequent washing is recommended, after one or two wears, even if they do not appear to be stained or smell unpleasant, as sweat can easily get stuck in the fabric and discolor it over time.
Sun drying
If possible, dry white clothes outdoors to take advantage of the bleaching effect of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Plus, clothes that have dried in the sun will smell nice and fresh. However, the choice of drying location is not always the same – for example, fruit falling from trees can lead to stains that are difficult to remove.