Can anyone(s) help me with a question that I have about bluing. A friend of mine's mother used to use powdered bluing in her wash in the 50's and 60's. My mother always used Little Boy Blue in our laundry. What was the name of the powdered bluing? Speed Queen minds like mine would like to know. Thanks in advance. Gary
I have a bluing question
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selectomatic
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LaFrance?
-kevin
-kevin
LaFrance
LaFrance was a great powdered bluing. Sadly, it recently went out of production. Now the only bluing I know of is Mrs. Stewarts. I hate the liquid bluing, I want powder!
Sniff,
Dave
LaFrance was a great powdered bluing. Sadly, it recently went out of production. Now the only bluing I know of is Mrs. Stewarts. I hate the liquid bluing, I want powder!
Sniff,
Dave
westyslantfront
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Out west, in California and Arizona, I have used
Mrs. Stewart's liquid. When I lived in New York, they sold
Bluette liquid.
If I remember correctly, La France was a powdered bleach which contained bluing.
Ross
Mrs. Stewart's liquid. When I lived in New York, they sold
Bluette liquid.
If I remember correctly, La France was a powdered bleach which contained bluing.
Ross
LaFrance was not totally a bluing per se, but a combination of blue colorants and the first optical brightners, which then as now are advertised to give a whiter than white wash. LaFrance also contained surfactants as well.
Bleachette, Reckit's Bag Blue amoung others were variations on powdered bluing, though normally such blue was made into solid balls or cubes for ease of use. Such balls/cubes would be wrapped in flannel or cheesecloth then dipped into the rinse water until the poper shade of blue was obtained. Most liquid blues including Bluette are merely powdered bluing in a water suspension,with perhaps some other ingredients including fragrance.
Powdered bluing is usually ultramarie blue, which at one time was made from the naturally occuring mineral, but switched to man made for some time now. Personally prefer solid/powdered bluing to liquids as the former is easily removed in case of streaking. Liquid bluings such as Mrs. Stewart's can leave nasty blue marks, spots or streaks that can be difficult to remove.
L.
Bleachette, Reckit's Bag Blue amoung others were variations on powdered bluing, though normally such blue was made into solid balls or cubes for ease of use. Such balls/cubes would be wrapped in flannel or cheesecloth then dipped into the rinse water until the poper shade of blue was obtained. Most liquid blues including Bluette are merely powdered bluing in a water suspension,with perhaps some other ingredients including fragrance.
Powdered bluing is usually ultramarie blue, which at one time was made from the naturally occuring mineral, but switched to man made for some time now. Personally prefer solid/powdered bluing to liquids as the former is easily removed in case of streaking. Liquid bluings such as Mrs. Stewart's can leave nasty blue marks, spots or streaks that can be difficult to remove.
L.
veg-o-matic
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Blu-White was a powder too, I think.
veg
veg
mickeyd
Well-known member
So then, there are no powders available anywhere?
Yet another project for the soon-to-be-established AWOGR Washing Company.
Veg--Hope you're working on my giant valentine ;D
Yet another project for the soon-to-be-established AWOGR Washing Company.
Veg--Hope you're working on my giant valentine ;D
polkanut
Well-known member
Here in Central WI we had Blu-White and LaFrance available to us. I sure miss them! Sure wish I could find some NOS available somewhere.
IMHO adding bluing to the wash water defeats the cardinal rule of bluing use; not to blue too long.
Laundry blued too long/left too long in a bluing bath can turn grey, which is just as bad as the yellow one sought to remove. Worst such practices can lead to the laundry taking on a pronounced blue tint, as if one dyed the item.
Remember once when packing for a trip to Europe, took along a series of white blouses that had been blued in the rinse water. Upon reaching Paris and unpacking was shocked to see that the bluing had somehow "sweated" out of the laundry resulting in ghashtly and huge blue splotches. Thankfully rewashing all and sundry took care of the matter. Can only guess that the changes in air temp/pressure while in the luggage hold some how forced the blue colourant out.
L.
Laundry blued too long/left too long in a bluing bath can turn grey, which is just as bad as the yellow one sought to remove. Worst such practices can lead to the laundry taking on a pronounced blue tint, as if one dyed the item.
Remember once when packing for a trip to Europe, took along a series of white blouses that had been blued in the rinse water. Upon reaching Paris and unpacking was shocked to see that the bluing had somehow "sweated" out of the laundry resulting in ghashtly and huge blue splotches. Thankfully rewashing all and sundry took care of the matter. Can only guess that the changes in air temp/pressure while in the luggage hold some how forced the blue colourant out.
L.
I tried bluing the other day and...
I tried bluing the other day for the first time... and my towels came out blue.
No comments necessary. I'll continue reading and heeding the experts' advice here and someday I'll get the hang of it.
Now I know what they mean by "Washday blues"...
I tried bluing the other day for the first time... and my towels came out blue.
No comments necessary. I'll continue reading and heeding the experts' advice here and someday I'll get the hang of it.
Now I know what they mean by "Washday blues"...
Washday Blues
Referred to the hard work women had to do with laundry back in the day.
If your laundry is coming out blue, you have used to much bluing and or left things in the bluing bath too long.
Referred to the hard work women had to do with laundry back in the day.
If your laundry is coming out blue, you have used to much bluing and or left things in the bluing bath too long.
Dolly Blue
Hi Gary
We had a number of "Blueing" products over here, but the most popular was the "Dolly Blue", there was a factory producing it near my grans house in the 50`s and when we where kids and the factory well gone , my gran would take us for walks with our spades down the country lane and we would dig in the soil and find large lumps of "Blue Cake" which would then be taken home and cut chunks off and wrapped in muslin for use....it was years later I found out this stuff was made in factories and not "grown" in the soil!!!......LOl
Reckitts Bag Blue was the commoner every day use, whilst the "Paris Blue" was available with individual luxuary wrapping for the "Discerning Housewife"..the De-Luxe blueing accessory....which usually meant tha the discerning housewifes "Servants" only ever used....
Hi Gary
We had a number of "Blueing" products over here, but the most popular was the "Dolly Blue", there was a factory producing it near my grans house in the 50`s and when we where kids and the factory well gone , my gran would take us for walks with our spades down the country lane and we would dig in the soil and find large lumps of "Blue Cake" which would then be taken home and cut chunks off and wrapped in muslin for use....it was years later I found out this stuff was made in factories and not "grown" in the soil!!!......LOl
Reckitts Bag Blue was the commoner every day use, whilst the "Paris Blue" was available with individual luxuary wrapping for the "Discerning Housewife"..the De-Luxe blueing accessory....which usually meant tha the discerning housewifes "Servants" only ever used....
lederstiefel1
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Blueing in Germany
Blueing is commonly unknown today here - only grannies can tell you about that stuff... but....there's a catalogue (quite expensive one though) that sells all good ol' things from all over the world: MANUFACTUM, which is also to be found in the internet: www.manufactum.de. They sell or sold powdered blueing again. But I prefer the liquid one which I use to buy from time to time when we are on holidays in SPAIN where it is usually available in every good supermarket or hypermarket for very reasonable price under several brands.
Ralf
Blueing is commonly unknown today here - only grannies can tell you about that stuff... but....there's a catalogue (quite expensive one though) that sells all good ol' things from all over the world: MANUFACTUM, which is also to be found in the internet: www.manufactum.de. They sell or sold powdered blueing again. But I prefer the liquid one which I use to buy from time to time when we are on holidays in SPAIN where it is usually available in every good supermarket or hypermarket for very reasonable price under several brands.
Ralf
I hardly use blueing. You don't need it if your whites are already white. It's just for those older whites that start yellowing. I think it has a somewhat greying effect on whites that don't need it.
maggie~hamilton
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Blueing does not look blue
if you use it properly -- e.g., a TINY DRIBBLE in the rinse wash. Also it works best with clothes dried outside on the clothesline. The blue coloring acts as a "reflector" of the blue color in the color spectrum, which somehow makes the object appear "whiter." Incidentally, there is a line of G.E. light bulbs called "Reveal" which works on the same principle as bluing, making objects appear white by filtering out yellows and adding a very subtle blue hue. I love those light bulbs and use them exclusively at home.
www.gelighting.com
if you use it properly -- e.g., a TINY DRIBBLE in the rinse wash. Also it works best with clothes dried outside on the clothesline. The blue coloring acts as a "reflector" of the blue color in the color spectrum, which somehow makes the object appear "whiter." Incidentally, there is a line of G.E. light bulbs called "Reveal" which works on the same principle as bluing, making objects appear white by filtering out yellows and adding a very subtle blue hue. I love those light bulbs and use them exclusively at home.
Bright White Light Bulbs
Reveal HD is a bulb which offers the best quality of light, filtering out dull yellow tones to provide clear, bright, white light.
selectomatic
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Sadly, Maggie, you don't get something for nothing.
GE's Reveal lamps work by filtering out the reds and yellows that are produced by the filament. That means that they only put out 70% as much light as the normal (horribly inefficient) incandescant lightbulb that uses the same amount of power.
I agree that the light put out by incandescant lamps is much preferable to the higher-efficiency CFLs, etc, but they should be used sparingly.
Kind of like bluing, from what I hear.
-kevin
GE's Reveal lamps work by filtering out the reds and yellows that are produced by the filament. That means that they only put out 70% as much light as the normal (horribly inefficient) incandescant lightbulb that uses the same amount of power.
I agree that the light put out by incandescant lamps is much preferable to the higher-efficiency CFLs, etc, but they should be used sparingly.
Kind of like bluing, from what I hear.
-kevin
Laundry that looks grey after using bluing means one used too much blue and or left tiems too long in the bluing bath.
When properly used, bluing is a tint, not a dye, though improper use will lead to more of the later than former. Bluing acts by canceling out yellow, much the same way as chemcial fabric "whiteners" or OBAs, except that bluing works best on cotton and linen fibers, while OBAs work in theory on all fibers, natural and man made. This principle is based upon the colour wheel and has been in use for ages to counter yellow hair on animals and humans, to paper, to fabrics. One of the main reasons bluing fell out of favour is the fact it only works so well on man-made textiles, and must be dosed/used correctly (see below), to achieve good results. Whereas OBAs simply are added to detergents, bleaches and what not without much problems.
As with many other laundry procedures using bluing takes skill and practice, but is does work when used properly. If it did not, Mrs. Stewart's, Reckitt's Paris Blue, and various others would long have gone the way of the Dodo.
Proper way to use bluing is to add the product (in correct amounts) to the rinse bath, mix well, then rinse items quickly in said bath. While it is possible to use bluing in automatic washing machines, both front and top loading, it takes skill and knowledge to get proper results.
One thing to remember about OBAs is that most if not all are made from floursent chemicals that bind with human skin permanently. Which means after bathing then drying oneself with a towel washed in say Tide, you are covering yourself with flouresent chemicals. Same if you sleep in linens laundered with detergents that contain OBAs. These same chemicals are also made from some very toxic substances such as coumarin, which is also used as a rodent poison.
When properly used, bluing is a tint, not a dye, though improper use will lead to more of the later than former. Bluing acts by canceling out yellow, much the same way as chemcial fabric "whiteners" or OBAs, except that bluing works best on cotton and linen fibers, while OBAs work in theory on all fibers, natural and man made. This principle is based upon the colour wheel and has been in use for ages to counter yellow hair on animals and humans, to paper, to fabrics. One of the main reasons bluing fell out of favour is the fact it only works so well on man-made textiles, and must be dosed/used correctly (see below), to achieve good results. Whereas OBAs simply are added to detergents, bleaches and what not without much problems.
As with many other laundry procedures using bluing takes skill and practice, but is does work when used properly. If it did not, Mrs. Stewart's, Reckitt's Paris Blue, and various others would long have gone the way of the Dodo.
Proper way to use bluing is to add the product (in correct amounts) to the rinse bath, mix well, then rinse items quickly in said bath. While it is possible to use bluing in automatic washing machines, both front and top loading, it takes skill and knowledge to get proper results.
One thing to remember about OBAs is that most if not all are made from floursent chemicals that bind with human skin permanently. Which means after bathing then drying oneself with a towel washed in say Tide, you are covering yourself with flouresent chemicals. Same if you sleep in linens laundered with detergents that contain OBAs. These same chemicals are also made from some very toxic substances such as coumarin, which is also used as a rodent poison.
blue, blue, the wash is blue...blue is the towel, and so-o a
Wasn't there also a liquid bluing called Easy Monday?
I think that's why there are no longer any blue-tinted powder detergents on the market. Before Cheer changed back to a white powder, there were instructions on what to do if you had stains on your wash from its "Blue Magic Whitener."
Ironic because the original Cheer formula was white, but a marketing man figured blue powder would make Cheer different from Tide...
And the original Ajax Laundry Detergent was blue as blue could get...even the wash water was deep blue from its "Ultramarine-Plus" formula...
Wasn't there also a liquid bluing called Easy Monday?
I think that's why there are no longer any blue-tinted powder detergents on the market. Before Cheer changed back to a white powder, there were instructions on what to do if you had stains on your wash from its "Blue Magic Whitener."
Ironic because the original Cheer formula was white, but a marketing man figured blue powder would make Cheer different from Tide...
And the original Ajax Laundry Detergent was blue as blue could get...even the wash water was deep blue from its "Ultramarine-Plus" formula...
One must remember early detergents were in competition against various "old ways" housewives did laundry. Things such as soaps, bluing, and other odd compounds filled volumes of books and back fence advice on how laundry should be done.
Blue detergents and laundry additives such as La France capitalised on the fact many women associated the use of bluing with white laundry. Even fabric softener was not immune from this craze; remember "Final Touch ...with bluing for extra whiteness"?
As formulas for optical brightening agents improved detergents, especially such TOL brands like Tide incorporated these chemicals and touted that unlike bluing, they would not stain or streak one's laundry.
L.
Blue detergents and laundry additives such as La France capitalised on the fact many women associated the use of bluing with white laundry. Even fabric softener was not immune from this craze; remember "Final Touch ...with bluing for extra whiteness"?
As formulas for optical brightening agents improved detergents, especially such TOL brands like Tide incorporated these chemicals and touted that unlike bluing, they would not stain or streak one's laundry.
L.
