To want my whites to stay white!

[KeepingItTogether23]

Somebody help me please, where am I going wrong?

I wash my whites with just whites, sometimes they may have other colours on for instance a white tshirt with a print on or a sock with different colour at the heel and toe.
I use a gel and fabric softener and after a few washes they start going grey! I wash on a 40 all the time regardless what it is I'm washing.
I live in a hard water area (my grandma swears this us the issue)

Any ideas how to stop this? Am I using the wrong products? Do I need to add other products?
Is it so hard to keep crisp white t shirts crisp white 😭

Dr Beckmann Glowhite sachets are brilliant

Whites with pure white only with vanish

Mixed whites on their own with a colour catcher

Coloureds with colours

Reds with reds

Blacks with blacks

All new clothes on their own ( hand wash if saving water and electricity)

The only white things I wash separately are sheets. Everything else goes in with the not-dark coloured items and my whites are always white, and I use almost cold water. I use powder every time and hanging them outside all year around no doubt helps. I really don't understand how people have whites which go grey.

I do a full white load dd’s school shirts, dp work shirts etc and add about a table spoon of bleach in the draw with vanish oxy action and I use daz 3 in one liquid tabs.

I use bio powder for whites. Only put whites and very light together. Bedding and towels and sports clothes I use bio powder on hot. Non-bio is fine for everything else

I live in a hard water area and always use Calgon. My washing machine is older than God.

I tend to wash all my whites together (including those with a small patter/logo). I use my usual capsules and a scoop of vanish gold whitening powder. The main thing I’ve had problems stating white has been bra straps and any bras made from nylon. They seem to go grey immediately but I read too hot can do this - I usually wash on 60 so have reduced to 40. Need to buy some new bras to see if it helps. My whites as far as the school blouses etc all seem to stay really white.

I am very fussy about whites staying white and I use Persil, Comfort Pure and wash at 60

We have hard water so I don't think that's your problem

Gel works less well than good old fashioned powder imho

Powder needs the heat to dissolve well so doesn't work on cooler washes- needs to be 40. Unfortunately imho super clean whites are not obtainable with "eco" methods.

Line dry the clothes in the sunshine.

I use Aldi Almat powder, they do one for whites and one for colours. I bung in some soda crystals as in a hard water area. 50 degree wash for bedding and towels and 40 or even 30 for white clothes. My whites stay pretty white.

Oh and always line dry if I can.

Dry in the sun or frost and be vigilant with keeping whites together. Use about half the recommended amount of detergent. I learnt this from washing nappies years ago.

We live in an area with super hard water, no issues with whites though so that's not it

How do soda crystals help with hard water? I live in one too and didn’t know this helps.

Soda crystals help soften the water. Also acts as a degreaser

Sorry - haven't RTFT but gel/liquid is rubbish (does a crap job, and wrecks the machine too). For white cottons, you need powder, preferably biological (Daz is good). I stick a big spoonful of Vanish Oxy in with the powder too. Holiday let towels etc can't have even the faintest trace of not-quite-whiteness, and that's how I do it. If you use the right stuff, you can get away with a 30 degree wash, though I do it on cottons rather than 'eco'. 'Eco' and 'properly white' aren't compatible.

I'm not sure you can keep non-cottons entirely white, whatever you do...

I chuck a Dr Beckmann’s Glowhite sachet in with white washes. Makes a huge difference.

I'm a bit obsessed about my whites and try not to put anything white with a pattern in the white wash. I use vanish white, persil non bio and a colour catcher ( just in case) and then hang on the washing line.

What I hate are red and white clothes! My sil used to buy my dc some clothes every summer and invariably they'd be something like a red rugby shirt with a white collar, or a sports zip up with matching t shirt in white with red panels. Generally worn once and then languished in the laundry basket forever.

I use Ariel platinum liquid it’s so good for whites and one tub lasts for ages

I also add a capful of vanish from home and bargain and my whites look like a daz doorstep challenge (if you are old enough to remember that)

@KeepingItTogether23

If no one else has mentioned,"Glowhite Ultra" by Dr Beckman, a powder you add to your wash, this brightens whites and has been available for years, Lidl had an offer on it last month for £2 for 2 sachets.

Sun bleached

Napisan, 40c+ washing temp, dry outside where possible. If you have hard water, I do think a Magnoball or Soda Crystals does help! I have eczema also so can’t use anything overly exciting or harsh. I use Fairy Pods for detergent.

I think powders wash clothes so much better, try a scoop of vanish or other whitener for washes, can also do spot treatment and soak method to revive old/faded whites. If the fabric allows try a quick 1hr 60° wash as well, hope you find something that works!