Is Bleach Necessary for Laundry?
Adding a bit of bleach is a fantastic way to remove stains from heavily soiled laundry. However, bleach is extremely powerful and can cause more harm than good in large amounts, causing many Wichita residents to wonder, “Is bleach necessary for laundry?” That’s why Elite Cleaners created a brief guide to teach you when to use laundry bleaches and how much bleach you need to remove stains from your clothes.
Elite Cleaners is Wichita, Kansas’s premier professional laundry and dry cleaning service. If you want to make tough stains a thing of the past while rejuvenating your clothes’ appearance, contact Elite Cleaners.
What Is Bleach and Is It a Laundry Detergent Replacement?
Bleach is a strong chemical cleaning agent that removes stains and imperfections from clothes and surfaces. Many people use bleach to sanitize laundry and brighten up white apparel when traditional laundry detergent doesn’t provide optimal results. Household bleach comes in two primary forms:
- Chlorine bleach
- Oxygen Bleach
Chlorine Bleach
Chlorine bleach, also called sodium hypochlorite bleach, is a liquid bleach many homeowners use to eradicate stains from bleach-safe laundry while brightening their color. It’s also an effective disinfectant, allowing homeowners to clean and sanitize numerous interior surfaces. Chlorine bleach is the most powerful laundry bleach and works best for restoring white clothing.
However, chlorine bleach only works with white apparel and can destroy colored clothes and fabrics. Always use non-chlorine bleach dispensers when cleaning dark-colored clothing.
Oxygen Bleach
Also known as color-safe bleach, oxygen bleaches help clothes maintain their color while eliminating unsightly stains and blemishes. They won’t harm colored fabrics like chlorine varieties and often feature other chemical agents like hydrogen peroxide, making them more gentle on delicate dirty laundry and your washing machine.
However, powdered color-safe bleaches can tarnish clothes if you spread them over colored fabric before starting the clothes washer.
When Should You Add Bleach to Your Laundry’s Wash Cycle?
Although bleach is an effective stain-removal agent that will give new life to some clothes, you should use it sparingly. It’s easy to go overboard with and can wreak havoc on some apparel. So, when is bleach necessary for laundry?
Regular bleach (regardless of variety) can damage delicate apparel. Never add a bleach solution to your washing machine when cleaning exceedingly soft or fragile clothes or fabrics such as:
- Wool
- Silk
- Acetate
- Spandex
- Rubber
- Polypropylene foam
Although incorporating oxygen-based bleach in laundry won’t adversely affect some of these materials, it’s best to take them to a professional cleaner to ensure a safe and effective wash process.
Contact Elite Cleaners for Exceptional Dry Cleaning Services in Wichita, Kansas.
If you wonder, “Is bleach necessary for laundry?” contact Elite Cleaners. We are your wash-and-fold laundry service in Wichita, KS, and will handle your laundry load for you using a best-in-class washing machine that guarantees superior results. Whether you want to know the best regular bleach dispenser for laundry or need dry cleaning services, Elite Cleaners is here to help.
Give Elite Cleaners a call at (316) 651-5997 or (316) 683-3331 today!
