White WHITE Laundry!
I learned this tip from Ng Jeh (pronounced “Mmm…Jay”), our family helper when I was growing up in Hong Kong — she worked for years as a dedicated wash maid before coming to our home — no one knew laundry better than she did! This is my favorite trick of hers.
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You need to do more than just “washing whites with other whites” to keep them from graying or yellowing over time. What then?
Give your whites an “extra rinse” in the washer (you may need to do some detective work — the extra-rinse cycle is labelled “sensitive” on my washer). Whites turn gray over time because of soap residue left on the clothes. The “extra rinse” washes off the excess soap. No joke — you can keep whites white forever by just pushing one more button on your washing machine!
And…NEVER wash white clothes in HOT water — hot water sets the dirt, making stains more stubborn. The common practice of washing whites in hot water came from the old days, when people bleached whites and needed hot water to dissolve the bleach. Hardly anyone dissolves bleach anymore, but the hot water habit remained. Stop that! Instead…use COLD water to wash whites. I wash ALL my laundry in cold water, whites or colors.
