Over the course of washing in the washing machine, clothes end up gradually losing their splendor, particularly in terms of their colors. White laundry eventually turns yellowish or grayish, the black is no longer as deep and the colors tend to fade. Very often, this is explained by maintenance errors that we make on a daily basis. And once you continually make these mistakes, it’s very difficult to go back. However, we can use a few grandmother’s tips to revive the colors of clothes and restore their shine. Discover all the techniques for a really black black, a dazzling white and colors that are just as vivid.
Maintenance tips to never forget
To limit tarnishing, you must always make sure to sort the laundry correctly. Sorting makes it possible to limit mixtures in the washing machine which can prove detrimental to the pigments of clothes. Paying attention to fabric types can also play a role. Heavier clothes or those that cause more intense friction which risk damaging the fibers of more fragile parts. Also, avoid washing clothes indiscriminately, even if you use a fade protection wipe. Having several baskets (for white, black and colors) can therefore be useful, for example.
You can also wash your clothes, and more particularly your jeans or delicate clothes, upside down to avoid color fading. As soon as possible, also avoid washing too hot, especially for fragile fibers which prefer washing by hand. Finally, avoid overfilling the drum of your appliance for optimized washing and rinsing.
How to revive the different colors of clothes?
Tips for reviving white
Forget the bleach which can cause laundry to yellow and damage textile fibers. This product is also not ecological. For bed linen, curtains or clothes, you can use lemon juice instead. You can add it to a basin of hot water to soak for several hours or add it directly when washing in the machine. Otherwise, you can replace the lemon with sodium percarbonate (not to be confused with bicarbonate!). This whitening and stain remover product is very effective for whitening laundry. Finally, there is also baking powder, to add to the detergent for whitening laundry and removing white stains.
Tips for reviving black
It’s very easy to revive black and prevent it from turning gray over time. Grandma’s best-known trick is to keep thespinach cooking water to soak black clothes. You can also soak your clothes in a basin of very strong coffee or add a cup in the compartment dedicated to fabric softener. Another idea: boil one or two handfuls of ivy or walnut leaves in water and let it cool before immersing the dull clothes in it. They will regain all their intensity, all without the need to dye them with clothing dye. In short, there is no shortage of solutions to revive black without chemicals.
And finally, here’s how to revive the colors
Baking soda is your best ally on the market for reviving the colors of your household linen and wardrobe. It does not whiten, but it helps preserve white. And for all other colors, it acts the same way by limiting washout that occurs over time. In addition to its cleaning and stain removing power, it is for this protective effect of all colors that it is so often recommended to use it in homemade laundry detergent recipes or as a softener. To revive the colors, do not hesitate to bathe your textiles in bicarbonate water before washing. This will leave them glowing!