How do I get white school polo shirts to stay white?!

[Southmouth]

DS wears white polo shirts to school and OH white shirts to work.

I wash whites separately and on a high temp with washing powder and a scoop of white vanish powder but they just aren’t the bright white they used to be! What am I doing wrong?!

Also the polo shirts don't feel very soft anymore, I use fabric softener but they don’t feel any different to if I wasn’t to use any

Agree with PPs, sunlight is your friend. I live on the west coast of Scotland, wash whites only at 30, using Aldi non-bio and nothing else. Pen marked shirts just get put under jumpers.

@totallyradllama yes I live in a hard water area

Am I able to get them back whiter and softer now or has the damage been done?

Why can’t your husband be responsible for the whiteness of his shirts?

Sometimes that can be too loaded with fabric softener and makes them feel funny.

I do mine on 40 deg, 800 rpm spin. I add in 2 small scoops of bio powder and 1 of Vanish Crystal White. I hang them up as soon as they have finished washing on a hanger, quick iron and done.

@user1480880826 this wasn’t a debate on who does the washing in my household

Thanks for all your suggestions around the pen ink, haven’t tried hand gel so will give that a go. I have tried bleach on it but no luck. It’s not the end of the world no one expects a year one to look perfect

Why do so many white clorhes have black manufacturer's label on them - nuts!!

Maybe the temperature is too hot and making them go grey. X

You can get things like colour catcher sheets that are designed to make clothes whiter again

Ace liquid for whites?

I used to wash ds primary white logo polo shirts on a boil wash with powder, a splash of bleach & varnish gold for whites, never damaged coloured logo but removed whiteboard marker, tomato sauce, paint & even blood after a bad nosebleed even though everyone says that cold wash is only way for blood. I was able to donate all his polo shirts to second hand uniform sale even though some were nearly 5 years old & had been boiled to death.

I cannot understand why so many school have white shirts as the uniform. It’s the last practical option! In primary they get wrecked through pen, food and mud stains. In the summer, sun cream turns the edges a dirty yellow. In high school, they often make girls self conscious as bra outlines can be visible so loads of girls sit there sweating in blazers in hot weather. There is no eco friendly solution to keeping them white long term.

Any other colour would solve the problems and still look smart! It drives me crazy. We need a national campaign or something!

We have really hard water. I had a similar problem with my towels losing softness. I thought they were just old. But when I washed them on holiday in lovely soft water they went back to normal. I realised it was detergent residue.

I use a bit of Calgon with the non bio now and they're now absorbent and fluffier.

Doesn't help the whiteness question though

Yes would be much easier if we could have a more practical colour!

I never thought about summer and suncream also staining them!

Soda crystals in with the washing powder. A bar of soap for stains and not too hot a wash. Cold water removes stains, not hot.

I use Aldi washing powder at 40° on an all whites wash. Dry out on the line, when possible. Never use fabric conditioner.

I use the Ecover nontoxic, green bleach free powder.

Use the spray sun cream that you don’t have to rub in. Doesn’t stain.

I only buy new in spring when jumpers and jackets come off. Makes more sense.

My main tip is never to wash whites with any colours. Sounds obvious but it works.

What do you do if you’ve got a item that’s both colour and white, I’ve always just thrown it in and hoped for the best.. DS has quite a few tops where the sleeves are a colour and the body is white.

In that instance I'd put it in with other light colours rather than whites

Son wore some white shirts two years in a row and they were just as white as the new ones when I switched them over. For once, I'm actually winning at housework (normally I fail). My suggestions

1. Wash 30 degrees
2. Use a really good brand of biological powder (not liquid) I use Ariel.
3. Use white vinegar instead of fabric softener. You should do this on towels anyway as fabric softener can affect absorbency.
4. Dry in sunlight (got tomato soup stains out of whites before now)
5. Never let them wear a shirt more than once between washes.
6. Wash whites separately, no matter how fast you think the other item is.

Other tricks - use biotex to soak out bad stains, or use ACE. I've used Vanish and it seems useful, but never needed it on whites, only stains.

Hope that is useful.