How to Make White Clothes Whiter in a Whirlpool Washing Machine

There’s nothing worse than pulling your favourite white clothes out of the laundry, only to find out that the once-brilliant white has faded to look dull and dingy. The good news is that there are ways to reverse the damage and get those white fabrics looking fresh and like new again.

A Whirlpool washing machine is a great place to start — with tons of unique features that save time, energy, and wear-and-tear on your clothes, you’ll get the best whitening results. If you want to restore your white clothes’ natural look without the use of harsh chemicals like bleach, try out these tips for freshening up your fabrics and making white clothes white again.

Baking Soda and Lemon

Baking soda is the jack-of-all-trades when it comes to household cleaning, and it turns out it’s also a powerful, non-toxic bleaching agent. Adding a bit of lemon can also increase your bleaching power. To concoct an effective home bleach recipe, mix about ¼ cup of baking soda with ¼ cup of lemon juice. Add the mixture to your washing machine along with your detergent, and your white clothes should come out brighter than ever.

Vinegar

White vinegar can help strip away residue left on your white clothes by soap and detergent, and naturally brighten fabrics. To make a simple vinegar soak for your laundry, fill a big stock pot full of water and mix in a cup of white vinegar. Bring the pot to a boil, then remove from heat. Add in your white clothes and let them soak overnight. The next day, run the clothes through the washer as usual and you should have a much cleaner, fresher-looking result than ever before.

Using liquid bluing to whiten your laundry

Laundry Bluing

This unusual product makes your fabrics whiter — by dying them blue! No, your whites won’t come out turquoise, but it does give them a slight undertone of blue, which looks cleaner and brighter to our eyes than dingy-looking shades of yellow.

To use bluing liquid in a top-load washer, dilute it in water according to instructions on the packaging, start your wash cycle, and once the barrel is about halfway filled with wash water, add in the solution.

For a front-load washer, dilute about ¼ teaspoon of bluing in 1 or 2 quarts (1.89 l) of water, then add it to the dispenser drawer after the machine has filled with water. If your dispenser drawer locks during the wash cycle, just dilute according to the packaging and add as much as you can fit into the drawer before you start the cycle. Don’t add any other laundry products besides detergent — they can make the blue stain!

Whirlpool’s Touch Control Functions

Your Whirlpool washer comes with a variety of options to customize each wash cycle for your laundry’s needs. Most Whirlpool machines come with a cycle especially for white fabrics, so they should come out clean and bright every time. You should always wash white clothes in hot water when possible, so select the right temperature and soil settings using your machine’s Intuitive Touch Controls. Whirlpool washers also come with Adaptive Wash technology, which helps sense the needs of each individual load and gently flush away soap residue and grime without fading whites and colours.

Dry in the Sun

It might be tempting to throw your clothes right into your Whirlpool dryer and get the load done quickly, but try drying your whites outside instead. The sun has natural bleaching qualities, which can help give your whites a little extra push if they need it. Hang them in a clean, dry place where there’s no risk of stains, and let nature do the work for you.

Amanda, Your Appliance Expert