How to wash white socks

White socks look great paired with sportswear or casual wear. Their disadvantage is rapid contamination, due to which they have to be washed daily. And if the stains are already old and stubborn, you will have to use additional methods to clean the products.

We have prepared a number of recommendations for the daily care of socks, as well as for washing them if they are heavily soiled — including using folk methods.

General recommendations

1. Wash your socks as often as possible — preferably every day, right after you take them off. Thus, pollution will be easily eliminated;
2. Place socks in special laundry bags that protect products from friction in the drum without affecting the quality of the wash;
3. For heavy soiling, a stain remover can be used. The main thing is to wear gloves so as not to harm the skin of the hands when hand washing;
4. White cotton socks should be washed up to 60°C, woolen up to 35°C.

If the socks have glitter or a colored print, then hard bleaches are not suitable. Their use risks leading to ugly stains that are caused by a chemical reaction.

Read the manufacturer’s label before washing. It tells you how to wash cotton, synthetic, viscose or linen items. If any method is suitable for cotton products, then for synthetic products it will be useless, if not harmful.

Hand wash white socks

Procedure:

1. Wet your socks;
2. Rub them with soap;
3. Leave products up to 30 minutes;
4. Wipe your socks with your hands;
5. Rinse the linen under running warm water.

If there are stains or other dirt on the socks, wash them again in the same way.

It is not necessary to rub your socks too stylishly when washing, otherwise the fabric may stretch and tear.

Washing white socks in the washing machine

Procedure:

1. Soak your socks;
2. Turn the laundry inside out and place it in the drum;
3. Add powder, and if necessary, stain remover;
4. Select the «Delicate wash» mode, set the water temperature to 40 ° C.

Additionally, it is worth placing tennis balls in the drum of the machine. Increased friction will provide better washing of soiled laundry.

Attention! In order not to look for socks among a pile of other washed laundry in the future, place them in the drum in a special cover.

Wash white socks only with light-colored linen. If you do not sort clothes by color, then the socks may be washed off, but they will no longer be white. It is also advisable to place white socks in the drum along with dense fabrics — like bed linen, towels. Socks should not be washed with silk or chiffon products.

Folk methods for washing socks

If the daily quick wash does not completely clean the socks, folk methods will come to the rescue:

1. Lemon juice/acid. The tool will not only clean the socks from dirt, but also whiten them. Add to a bowl of warm water 2-3 tbsp. l. juice or citric acid, leave the laundry to soak for 1-2 hours and rinse it well;
2. table vinegar effective for heavy soiling. Add 1 tsp to a bowl with 1 liter of warm water. vinegar and let the socks soak for 60 minutes. After that, rinse the linen and wash it by hand or in a typewriter;
3. Dissolve 1 s. l. crushed aspirin tablets in 1 liter of water and leave the socks to soak for 2-4 hours. Rinse the linen and wash it by hand or in a typewriter;
4. Dilute 1 tbsp. l. pharmacy boric acid in 1 liter of water. Soak the socks in the solution for 2-3 hours if they are lightly soiled. If the laundry is completely soiled, the soak time is increased to 6 hours. When washing, be sure to wear rubber gloves so as not to harm the skin of your hands;
5. Useful for old stains mustard powder. Wash socks with soap, leave for 40 minutes in soapy water, put them in the washing machine and add 2-3 tbsp. l. mustard powder. After that, wash the laundry in the «Quick» or «Delicate wash» mode with a maximum water temperature of up to 40 ° C;
6. Suitable for heavily soiled evaporation. The method is used for cotton and other natural materials. Half fill a container with heated water, add some powder and lemon juice/acid. Place the socks in the pot and boil them for 5-15 minutes, depending on the degree of soiling. After that, wash the socks by hand and rinse them well;
7. If the once white socks have lost their whiteness, add 2 tbsp to a container with 5 liters of water. l. washing powder and 1 tbsp. l. turpentine. Mix the solution, soak the socks for 3-4 hours and wash them — by hand or in a typewriter;
8. If a dark sole has formed on white socks, use Domestos chlorine. Dilute it in water in a ratio of 1: 1, apply the product on the contaminated sole and wash the linen in any way. Chlorine-containing products can only be used for cotton products;
9. Heat water in a container to 90 ° C, add 50 ml of bleach, washing powder, soda (1 tablespoon) and vegetable oil (2 tablespoons). Place the socks in the mixture for 30 minutes, while the fire remains on. Next, rinse your socks in cool water.

How to care for your socks

Follow these 2 tips to keep your socks looking their best for a long time:

1. Dry your socks away from heaters and direct sunlight. Otherwise, yellow stains may appear on them;
2. Don’t wear socks with black shoes as it stains them. Also, do not wear white socks with dark insoles, otherwise they will have a hard-to-wash dark sole;
3. Rinse thoroughly each time. If even a little detergent remains on the fabric, this risks leading to allergic reactions. When washing children’s socks in the machine, rinse 2 times.

If none of the proposed methods helped you return your socks to their whiteness and cleanliness, they may have already served their purpose and now need to be replaced.