How Do You Get The "Whitest" Whites?

[launderess]

Thing to remember is the Internet is really a mature medium, well at least to those below a certian age. However unlike other mediums, once something is put out into the Internet ether, there is no way to easily retract. Messages posted to this group are frequently picked up and archived by search engines like Google, and by God only knows who else. People who rushed to put their photographs and other information on "MySpace.com" type websites are only to shocked to find a potential employer or some such as dug up that information.

Sadly the world seems to be full of allot more funny people since the Internet took hold. Again, witness the sad series of events regarding the aformentioned member and the lunatic offering him a highly collectable vintage appliance.

 

[brettsomers]

Image of Laundress...

THIS is what i imagine... am i close?

 

[sudsmaster]

Image of Laundress...

LOL!

Is that Olympia Dukakis?

 

[brettsomers]

suds

NO! but not too far-off, looks-wise. im betting maytagbear and laundress know who it is...

 

[sudsmaster]

Is this closer?

 

[foraloysius]

Or perhaps this?

 

[brettsomers]

Louis

ya know, that SAME thing had occured to me... nice pic, she looks soo nice and wholesome...

 

[westyslantfront]

As I do church laundry which are all whites, I have always used HOT water, bleach, and Mrs. Stewart's bluing. When I lived in New York City, I bought "Bluette" liquid.
First I start HOT water into wash tub, squeeze in some bluing, add bleach, and detergent. After tub is full, I add clothes and with old, yellowed vestments and communion linens, they come out glistening white. I never use cold water as one of my friends here does and he has a scum ring around his tub and agitator.
One whites that are very old, I may not be able to get them looking like new but with my treatment, they look better than before.

Ross aka "Our Lady of the Laundry Room"

 

[maytagbear]

The first picture....

the woman in dark red...is Judith Martin, who writes as "Miss Manners."

I happen to adore her public persona.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[mickeyd]

"Though adore some here more than my luggage"

Cimberlee, you kill me.

Laughing so hard.

 

[brettsomers]

Maytagbear

isnt she wonderful? i love her too, have several of her books. its hard to make me laugh. she does. and you DID know her face!

 

[peterh770]

I'm thinking more like the character Cher did on the old Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour -- Laverne the laundromat lady!

 

[exploder3211]

The second one reminds me alot of my great grandmother

 

[sudsmaster]

Here's one that couldn't be Launderess

Because she left us November 3...

 

[sudsman]

This is more what I picture Launderess

LOL

 

[angus]

Actually, I have to ask where you found that vintage stash of Bleachette bluing. I haven't seen that since the early 1970's. And of course I have been dying to find some. It also confirms what I always knew - that Bleachette bluing really did exist. Whenever that particular topic comes up (and it usually does), people behave as if I hallucinated my way through the 50's and 60's and that I must have imagined it's existence. I recall that the packaging on the later versions was shiny blue and red foil. I guess that it began to disappear around the late 60's' when the enzyme detergents were introduced.

Peter, over the years I have tried Mrs. Stewart's bluing and it didn't do anything for me either. However, I have continued to blue my whites with Bluette liquid and it does make a difference. Certainly not a substitute for proper laundering, but when used correctly, enhances the look of your whites. It is tricky -too much streaks and grays the whites, too little does nothing.

 

[lederstiefel1]

whitest whites and blueing

Hi Guys - hope all of you had a really fabulous X-mas?
We had!
Going back to some remarks made by severals of you:
I usually have switched to all-cold washing I/we use ARIEL cold wash active, sometimes when washing stained items together with OXYBleach powder or seldom chlorine bleach like Dan Clorix or Eau de Javelle.
From time to time I add a bit of liquid blueing to the wash water as I found out that this dilutes and distributes the blue colour much better than in the final rinse!
OBA can be poisonous, that's true, but they tell us here in Germany that one group, namely the so called Stilbene, are ok to use, and it's said that the washing powders only contain these! To much of OBA can probably cause skin cancer, I have heard, by making the skin more penetrable for ultra-violett light. I have tried the trick with the fluoresence light but my skin didn't shine or reflect the light - so maybe it depends really on the agent that is used in washing-powders...?
But blueing is a fine and invironmental friendly substitute for OBAs which was used even by our ancestors!
BTW the most effective and also most environmental friendly bleach is: lawn bleaching! This, together with a real boil wash and a final blueing, is unbeatable for the whitest whites of the world! Try it!

Ralf

 

[mixfinder]

Whitest Whites

I fill the washer with cool water and add the white laundry along with bleach. I let it soak for 30 minutes. I spin out the bleach water and fill the washer with the hottest water possible and the longest wash time. I add only detergent. I use fabric softener in the rinse because it helps to prevent set in stains.
Kelly

 

[launderess]

Angus

All one can say about nabbing the case of "Bleachette" is , "I got skills"! *LOL*

Actually ahve been stocking up on ultramarine blue/dolly blue/bluing bags as do not really fancy the liquid types for us in front loaders. Have both a bottle of vintage Mrs. Stewart's and a "new" (from the 1990's) large bottle of Bluette, both will either spot or leave marks if one is not careful. Though these can be removed if caught before the laundry has dried/been ironed, powdered/cube ultramarine blue is easily removed by simply relaundring. In fact have simply used a few squirts from a spray bottle to dilute and remove any bluing spots that may pop up from using ultramarine blue.

Like to mix bluing with water before adding starch when making up a starching solution for white shirts and linens. Gives them a nice snowy white appearance in addition to the gloss from the starch.

Cannot say how old this case of "Bleachette" is, but seems older than the 1970's. For one thing the company's address listed on the box does not give a zip code.

Read your posts in the archives regarding Bleachette, seems to hold a special place for ya.

L.

 

[cehalstead]

lack of zip code

If it doesn't have a ZIP code, it's probably pre-1964.