Truly bleach-free laundry liquid

[tulips27]

I stupidly left some dark clothes soaking in some Lidl "colour" laundry liquid, and it's totally ruined them by lightening the fabric in patches.

I always new that if a laundry product isn't a "colour" version it probably has optical brighteners which bleach, but I hadn't expected them to be in a product meant for washing coloured clothing. I know that soaking caused the issue but even in the machine, that stuff must be gradually lightening dark clothes with every washing cycle. And I often think my dark jeans etc. are getting lighter, that was probably the reason.

As I have a lot of black clothes, can anyone recommend a laundry liquid that is truly bleach-free? Preferably without a very strong scent but I know that might not be an option.

Surf does a liquid for dark clothes

I don't use liquids as they don't clean the machine out the same way as powder. Might be worth periodically re-dyeing your black clothes with Dylon. You don't need to add salt anymore and the plastic pods work at 40°C.

I didn't think that any liquids could contain bleach? I use liquids for colours and a bio powder for my whites, for that reason.

Agree with PP that the Surf for darks could be s good call.

I have heard that, too, @theneverendinglaundry, but this Lidl stuff has wrecked the clothes that were in it. It has definitely bleached them in patches (not bleached to white, but lightened).

Persil used to say "bleach free" but then stopped.

I might give the Surf for dark colours a try then, perhaps I'll even soak an old black top in it to test whether it does bleach/lighten.

I would really love to know what the lightening ingredient in the Lidl stuff was so I can avoid it. I know it's not meant to be used for soaking but you could soak clothes in washing up liquid or liquid soap for days and they wouldn't end up bleached, so something damaging to dark fabrics must be in it.

You can use Stardrops cleaning liquid for laundry and general house cleaning, kitchen, bathroom and even as car screen wash! It contains no bleach and is relatively innocuous. Not s strong smell either. It's about 79p in Home Bargains.

Also - what about Ecover or similar?

No OP you're right there's something in there that's wrecked your clothes! How annoying!

@incenseandpeppermints I love Stardrops and would love to try it with laundry. It is very soapy though so please may I ask how much you use per load?

@FrogFairy just s squirt - sounds s bit vague but I suppose it's about a tablespoon? Stardrops won't make your clothes crispy like normal laundry products so no rigid towels after being line dried. Cheap too.

Thanks very much @incenseandpeppermints I will definitely give that a go.

I think Ecover Zero is bleach free.

Faith in nature does laundry liquid with a simple ingredients list

Thank you, @incenseandpeppermints, their site specifies that it is bleach-free. Since I prefer eco-friendly products I think that's perfect for me! How many ordinary "colour" liquids actually lighten clothes, I wonder?