Keeping white cotton bedding white- impossible?

[pinkfrocks]

Any tips?
I have some really nice bedding- White Company and J Lewis Egyptian cotton but the pillow slips always turn off-white. I use Vanish Gold Oxy whatsit- and we change the bedding once a week. But tiny bits of make up ( despite cleansing!), night cream etc seem to get on the pillow slips and eventually they look stained- cream rather than white. I wash on 60C and sometimes 90C to get them as white as I can.
Anyone any good tips?

dye them.

I love white bedding because it just seems to stay looking cleaner and crisper for longer compared to colourful bed covers.
I always use Daz, certainly never Non Bio I'm not sure I've ever dine a wash higher than 60. In the good weather make sure they get out on the line in the sun for some bleaching.

I always wash our white bedding completely separately, kine dry when possible and the pillows we sleep on have a plain white slip on them which I buy from Dunelm, during the day time the plain slip lives underneath the pillow with the nice slip on it.

Napisan in the wash with the powder.

Daz and a 60c wash keeps ours sparkling white.

I do all of that hell except the doubling up with 2 pillow slips- which is what I think you mean?
I only put the duvet cover in on its own, then the sheet and pillow slips on as a another load. I always line dry- 90% of the year- and we have pillow protectors ( allergy ones) on the pillows under the pillow slips. They still eventually start to look grey.
I know that white cotton is dyed white- it's not naturally that white- but thought that using a product like Vanish Gold would make them white again. maybe I need another product that puts the white dye back in.

Mine stay white - for years, in fact I replaced some because they had holes in rather than because they were grey. I don't do anything special, fairy powder and softener but I always do a proper full length 60 wash. I can fit everything in in one load, it goes outside for half of the year, rest in the drier.

What about that stuff for whites that you can buy, is it Dylon? Little sachets in a cardboard box, always reminds me of twitching net curtains.

BioTex.

Life changing product. (I read about it here. And admittedly have never tried Vanish or anything else so don't know how it compares.) It does feel rather 1950s to soak things overnight - but it works. Particularly with regular use and high dosage. Soak and then machine wash. (Interesting that it seems to be White Company products that lead to the crucial moment of despair. I was on the point of throwing out otherwise lovely bed linen.)

Another thing is that ironing yellows white items. In the past I've been a little over enthusiastic with steaming at high heat. Less ironed items stay white for far longer.

Biotex, 90deg wash, drying in the sun when practicable, and (very) occasional laundry whitener. I too have bedding which has worn out before it stopped looking properly white.

Fairy non bio powder and fabric conditioner her, vanish oxy, 90 degree wash every couple of months but otherwise 2hr 60degree wash as standard. I never iron and either tumble or dry on an airer. White co linen which is still nice and white after a couple of years.

I've had my two white Ikea cotton sets for 9 years and they are still crisp and white.

Wash on 60c
Use Vanish White Oxy
Ariel for whites
Lenor

Never iron, just dry on line if weather good. If not in garage draped on airers. Finish in the tumble for half an hour and fold very sharply and precisely before storing in airing cupboard. They come out looking ironed.

I've never ironed a duvet cover. I think it yellows them.

Looks as if it's Biotex then!

I have a very good machine - Miele- and the washing action is great. No complaints there. I don't overload the machine- a king size cover alone is enough and if I pack in pillow slips and a king size sheet the clothes can't move so I split the load.

They don't look 'dirty' but compared to new covers etc they look grey and the pillow slips look a bit tired.

I will always iron them- no point spending on a high thread count then sleeping in crumpled bedding. I don't tumble dry unless absolutely forced to because it's not eco friendly and it's very £££.

I've never had this problem and don't do anything to keep them white. I wash with Ariel bio tabs and fabric softener on 40 or 60. Dry inside for much of the year but outside occasionally. No idea what the secret is!

Well perhaps iron on the wrong side. I have no idea whether it's the heat or the steam that murders white things but something about an iron renders beloved things unrecognisable.

Maybe some people's idea of what looks white if different?! Mine only look off-white next to brand spanking new bedding- you'd not really think it was grey or off-white if you saw it on the bed. Though the pillow slips are a bit discoloured with face products I use at bedtime.

Arial and a 60 degree wash with some fabric conditioner and ours are still bright white. Occasionally vanish oxyaction if they are a bit off white but it gets my husbands greasy pillow spotless again.

I use Lidl bio washing powder and Napisan on 40 and my white sheets stay lovely and white

Mine - White Company & John Lewis have stayed white using Persil bio-liquid, we usually wear holes in them before they grey. They almost always go in the drier & are almost always ironed. I sometimes throw a scoop of Vanish in if I'm feeling particularly domesticated.

What brand of washing powder do you use?
I don't wear make-up or use overnight products so that probably helps keep my pillow cases looking good.

I use Aldi or Ariel powder tablets for whites and some soda crystals on a 50 degree wash - dry outside when I can.

I've got some hotel quality white bedding from Primark of all places which I've had years and it's still great but I must admit the fitted sheets and pillowcases I got from John Lewis don't actually seem quite as bright so it must also be down to the fabric as they are much newer.

My mum used to use Biotex for everything - she was a heavy smoker and I remember her soaking our net curtains in it every fortnight to get then sparkling white again after 2 weeks of nicotine had sent them yellow. Didn't know it was still around.

How can you get hotel quality bed linen from Primark?!

I've got white bedding from John Lewis, White Company etc. A good slug of ordinary bleach in the wash along with detergent seems to do the trick. And I have cats with a tendency to mucky paws...

Also dry outside when I can

If it's make up, that suggests that you've got a buildup of something fatty (lipid rich) on the pillowcases. I would try a different brand of washing powder, maybe one of the liquids, and make sure it's biological so you get some enzymes working to lift the fat.

Also (and I really don't mean this in a horrible way, I hope it doesn't come over like that) - maybe think about solving the problem by changing your cleansing/moisturising regime! I used to have problems with makeup coming off until I switched to muslin face cloths instead of flannels (Liz Earle do some), changed my brand of cleanser, and bought some toner. I also got one of those sonic cleansing machines, which is brill!

Minimalist - well you could, believe me and it's been fab. They haven't sold it for years, unfortunately.