Almost all colored clothes will indicate that you should use non-chlorine bleach. Some clothes will not be safe to bleach with any type of bleach. Avoid using bleach on acetates, silk, spandex, and wool.
Avoid using chlorine bleach for colored clothing, since it lifts color from fabric and causes fading and white stains on your clothes. There are different types of bleach. [3] X Research source You can use an all-color bleach. You can also use bleaches to remove a transfer dye. For example, if you wash a white shirt with a maroon shirt, and the maroon happens to bleed onto the white shirt. You can use bleach to remove it. [4] X Research source
If your clothes don’t have tags that tell you if they are bleach-safe, test the bleach first.
To get rid of stiffness from bleaching, scrub your clothes with a laundry brush periodically while they soak.
If your clothes can be washed in hot water, use the hottest possible setting. Bleach is most effective when the water’s temperature is around 130 °F (54 °C).
For a heavily soiled load of laundry, you may need to use more bleach.
If there isn’t a bleach dispenser in your washing machine, add the bleach 5 minutes into the wash cycle.
If your machine doesn’t have a laundry detergent dispenser, add the detergent directly to the washing machine drum.
