Can I use bleach on wool?

Penny, did you scrible in bright red lipstick?

Penny, chlorine can actually disolve wool. I would try Biz. Read directions first, naturally. Karen Maslowski in Cincinnati

Have you tried Clorox 2 liquid? It is for all fabrics and I have found it works pretty well. I read the instructions and it does not say that you cannot use it on wool. It does not have chlorine in it. Also, I have Zout (similar to Shout) and the instructions on the bottle say you can use it on wool. It may take a few tries before you can get the optimal results, either way. Good luck!!

Wool disintegrates with chlorine bleach and many of the non-chlorine powder bleaches. Also, nylon is a notorious dye scavenger, so you may have a new color of socks. ;-) Try washing several times in something like shampoo, then perhaps a quick soak in a little 3% hydrogen peroxide. Might or might not help, depending on the stain (won't do much for iron from red soils, for instance).

Kay, who also enjoys Smartwool, but generally goes for black, navy, etc.

No - bleach is a terrible thing to use on wool, particularly a chlorine bleach, which will damage the wool and turn it yellow. Try a proprietary clothes whitener that says it is for use on wool. Here in the UK I can get something for brightening up the lad's school shirts (white poly cotton piquet knit polo shirt things) made by Glo-White, the folk who make the net curtain whitener. The box says it is 'recommended for all washable fabrics and colourfast items' so I would presume it is safe for wool mix machine washable items.

This reminds me of a fabric-identification tip: If you suspect a woolen fabric of being adulterated with other fibers, drop a sample into a shot glass or other small, chemically-inert container. Cover with undiluted bleach.

Anything still in the glass the next morning isn't wool, or any other animal fiber.

(Wool usually disappears in less than two hours, but I wait until morning to jump to conclusions.)

Since winter is coming on, I'm dealing with dingy cycling socks by the simple expedient of switching to black socks to match my black tights.

Joy Beeson

My white cycling socks got so dirty that I decided it was worth risking the protien-dissolving enzymes in modern detergents, dipped the cuffs in Tide, dropped them into a bucket of water, and left them overnight. They washed quite clean in the morning, and I imagine that they will wear out from other causes before the un-needed ingredients have time to eat them.

This was *not* Tide With Bleach Alternative. I suspect the "alternative" is bluing, in which case I wouldn't be afraid to use it, but Proctor and Gamble is ashamed of their ingredients, so there is no way to know what fabrics their detergents are safe on.

P&G do label Orvus: water, sodium lauryl sulfate, lauryl alcohol, sodium sulfate.

Joy Beeson

That's very naughty of them.

Personally I find that nearly every stain comes out with an overnight soak in a strong detergent such as floor cleaner or washing-up liquid (in cold water, so's not to set the stain) and then washing as normal, with whatever washpowder you prefer (I use all liquids nowadays, after too many incidents with bleach marks from undissolved powder).

:) Trish