Mumsnet Talk

Hello, dd has white polo shirts for school with embroidered dark purple logo - they are starting to look a little bit dull - how hot can I wash them without turning them purple / is there a wonder product I can wash them in to make them nice and bright (and still purple in the right place)? Thank you!!!

I wouldn't go hotter than a 40 degree wash but I would try something like a scoop of Vanish or Sainsbury's own brand stain remover powder for colours in the washing powder drawer and also put a Dylon colour catcher sheet in the washing machine.

Vanish and Ariel to a oxi powder for whites.

Dylon do a laundry whitener in satchets that you put in the drum, but I can't remember what it is called!

I agree with mumdebump's advice. Also you could hang them on the washing line for a couple of days - there doesn't need to be any sunshine, frost and rain are fine, it's the UV light that brightens whites. I used to bleach unpleasantly stained nappies that way and it is extremely effective.

I would be wary of using a product for whites in case they fade the coloured bits of the polo shirt.

Don't use a laundry whitener that contains 'optical brighteners' - all it means is blue dye, and your whites will look worse than ever soon after.

The colour catcher sheets are pretty useful in 'pure' white loads too if any items are really dirty (e.g. muddy sports kit) as they attract the dirt/mud/etc which would otherwise be sloshing around the rest of the load turning it an unpleasant shade of grey.

thank you, everyone!

1) Use colour run remover on them. Homebargains do a dylon one for about a £1.

2) Always use a colour catcher in future to stop it happening again, again homebargains do a cheap version for about a £1.

3) Always wash them on a longer intensive wash with an extra rinse, if it isnt rinsed well the dirt doesnt get washed away but settles back into the fabric making them look dull.