White Denim is dingy after washing!

[Felicias Cottage]

Hi,
Can someone help?
I purchased white denim to make slipcovers, I washed it, to shrink it, in the washing machine, decided to dry it outside thinking the sunlight would brighten it even more, wrong! The fabric now looks off white.
Does anyone have any tips as to how I can whiten this fabric?
Thanks!

[Memmey]

I'm checking in everyone!!!Hello:D.

Felicia sometimes if you wash something really white in the washing machine and it turns yellow it may be your hot water heater that does it to the fabric. If your water heater is older it may have sediment in the bottom. Most do. If you use your water heater till the hot water runs out and you hear a rumbling noise that is the sediment bubbling. That darn sediment will yellow your whites. Everytime that they cut our water off in our town to work on the lines they run magnesium through them and it leaves a horrible sediment that you have clean out of your washer hoses etc. I hear my water heatrer rumble now and my whites are not white as they were.
You can drain your hot water heater and clean it out. That may not be the reason for the yellowing but it might be.

[CohenCottage]

I've had really good success with Shaklee's 'Laundry Bright'. You take a few scoops (I usually double what the directions say to do for big jobs) and dissolve them in hot water in a bucket or bathtub (depending on how big your load is). Then add your fabric and soak for 24 hours. I would wash with detergent and more laundry bright after soaking. We had white slipcovers and this got them clean even after muddy dogs wallowed on the couch, and I've had it work on dingy bras, towels, and sheets that had ground-in, in long term dirt. Good luck!

[Evelyn]

CohenCottage, I have a well and in my area the iron in the water is very high. It dulls all my white clothes, stains the sinks, toilets etc. I wonder if the Laundry Bright would be good for me to use once in a while? Is it bleach based?

Evelyn

[gigiG]

Simple baking soda may work. Soak the cover in a cold tub with a good amount of baking soda, then wash. I have found that even melted crayons on clothing has worked for this. Like I mentioned..."It may work".:)

[CohenCottage]

No, it's one of those "oxygen bleach" type products so it doesn't deteriorate your fabrics or lighten dark colors...I'd give it a try in hard water!

[Chyna]

I think Borox whitens too or you could give a blueing agent a try. **;