How to wash tulle in a washing machine | Expert material

Laundry and cleaning

Before the advent of automatic washing machines, housewives had to wash the tulle by hand – activator-type machines with centrifuges could tear delicate fabric. But even now, washing lace curtains can end in failure if you do not follow certain rules. Our experts have figured out how to wash tulle in a washing machine so as not to spoil it. We share our recommendations on the choice of temperature, washing mode, detergent and the best ways to whiten yellowed curtains from time to time.

General washing rules

General washing rules

Tulle fabric requires careful handling, but it is not difficult to wash the curtains in the car, keeping their appearance, if you follow the rules.

  1. Wash on 'delicate mode'. With this program, the drum of the washing machine rotates slowly with a large amount of water, cleaning the delicate cloth from dirt as gently as possible. The number of revolutions during spinning is 500-600.

  2. The washing temperature for tulle should be no more than 400C. Hot water can cause the fabric to turn yellow or deform.

  3. Thin lace curtains must not be wrung out in the drum – set to the 'no-spin drain' mode. After washing, the tulle should be allowed to lie in the drum for 20-30 minutes so that the remaining water is drained from it. Then carefully remove it from the machine and, without squeezing, hang it on the crossbar or rope folded. Dry upright.

  4. If the washing machine has an additional rinse function, then you must turn it on. Detergents remaining in the fibers of the fabric can cause the curtains to turn yellow when ironing.

  5. Before loading the tulle into the washing machine, it is advisable to shake it outside or on the balcony – the mesh fabric accumulates dust well. The washing result will be better, you do not have to rewash.

  6. All hooks (or rings) with which the curtains are attached to the cornice must be removed before washing. This will save the integrity of the tulle and the machine pump from damage.

  7. Don't overdo it with detergent – net tulle doesn't require a lot of detergent or gel. With excess, a lot of foam is formed, the remnants of which will linger in the fibers of the fabric. We recommend reducing the usual amount of detergent by 2 times.

  8. Tulle should be washed in a special bag. It will protect thin fabric from damage.

  9. The curtains should be carefully rolled into the drum. If they are crumpled, they can leave creases in the fabric.

  10. You should not wash curtains with other things (even if they match in color) or overload the machine with several curtains at once. The free space in the drum will improve the washing and rinsing performance.

  11. Tulle should be washed 3-4 times a year. However, if the apartment is located on the ground floor or the windows face a busy road, this should be done more often. Washing your curtains on time and regularly will help prevent over-staining.

Which detergent to choose

Special detergents are produced for washing tulle curtains. They affect the fabric in a complex way:

  1. gently bleach (because they contain oxygen bleach);

  2. starch (contain starch);

  3. prevent the formation of static electricity (contain an antistatic agent).

Some commercial products may contain optical brightener or bluing, which gives white fabric a snowy tint. They produce little foam and are ideal for washing delicately clean lace curtains.

The most popular specialized tools:

detergent for tulle

  1. Super White Tulle Plus from Frau Schmidt (Germany) – 150 rubles;

  2. 'Bingo Tulle' (Turkey) – 50 rubles;

  3. 'Cashmere Elixir for tulle and curtains' (Russia) – 65 rubles;

  4. Clever Gardinin from Clovin (Germany) – 120 rubles;

  5. Dr. Beckmann for curtains and curtains (Germany) – 320 rubles.

These products perfectly remove dust, soot, nicotine deposits that settle in the tulle and whiten it.

Liquid detergents for washing synthetics, wool and silk are also suitable:

  1. Vorsinka gel (Russia) – 70 rubles;

  2. 'Laska Shining white' (white bottle) or 'Laska Care and Freshness' (blue bottle) from Henkel (Germany) – 245 rubles;

  3. Chirton Gel concentrate (UK) – 200 rubles.

If there is no opportunity to buy special detergents for washing tulle or delicate items, you can use baby powders. They gently remove dirt and have a whitening effect. Any liquid detergent or capsule for washing whites will also work.

Tourmaline balls, which are placed in the machine drum along with tulle, can enhance the effect of washing gel or powder. They attract dirt to themselves, improving the quality of the wash.

How to treat stains before washing in the machine

If various stains (grease, blood, wine, etc.) appear on the net curtains, then they should be pre-treated before washing in the machine. You can use an industrial stain remover or apply one of the folk remedies to stained areas, leaving for half an hour:

  1. hydrogen peroxide;

  2. gruel of soda and salt;

  3. concentrated citric acid solution (1 tsp powder for 2 tbsp water);

  4. ammonia;

  5. vinegar.

You can lather the dirty area of ​​the curtain with laundry soap – it removes stains of various origins well.

How to bleach yellowed tulle in an automatic machine

How to bleach yellowed tulle in an automatic machine

White tulle curtains quickly get dirty, losing their attractiveness and fresh look – they need to be bleached periodically. Curtains lying in the closet for a long time can also acquire a yellow tint from time to time. Washing with special tulle detergents will help restore their dazzling whiteness, but they are expensive and not available in all stores.

Chlorine-containing bleaches cannot be used for tulle – they will damage the fibers of fine fabric and hopelessly ruin it.

But you can return the tulle curtains to their former whiteness in other ways.

With oxygen bleach

To make the curtains pure white again, you can use oxygenated bleaches:

  1. 'Vanish';

  2. “Sarma Active”;

  3. 'Persol Extra';

  4. ACE;

  5. 'Eared nanny';

  6. Bose.

They are effective at low temperature conditions, therefore they are suitable for tulle bleaching. The method of administration and doses are usually indicated on the box or bottle with the product. The lace curtains can be pre-soaked in a bowl of bleach or added to the washing powder (gel) in the machine compartment.

Using optical brighteners

You can get rid of the yellow tint of tulle curtains in the washing machine using optical brighteners. They have a fluorescent property, depositing on the fibers of the fabric, giving them a dazzling whiteness.

It is difficult to buy an optical brightener separately, but there are detergents with their addition on sale:

  1. Tech Super Ti;

  2. 'Rainbow Plus';

  3. 'Stork Profi';

  4. 'Pemos Crystal Purity'.

Blue (methylene blue) and brilliant green (brilliant green) have the property of an optical brightener. Add a weak solution (5 drops to dilute in a glass of water) to the compartment for the conditioner of the washing machine – the tulle will visually look whiter and cleaner after washing.

It is important to ensure that the blue and green particles completely dissolve in the water and only then pour the solution into the compartment. Otherwise, instead of snow-white curtains, you can get them with colored spots or stains.

Home Whitening Products

Home Whitening Products

To return the whiteness of tulle curtains when washing in a car, you can use folk methods. For example, table salt bleaches yellowed fabric well. The method of application is simple – you need to add 2 tablespoons to the detergent. salt and wash the tulle, following the basic rules. In particularly difficult cases, you can add a bag of baking powder or 1 tbsp. soda.

If the curtains are rinsed after machine wash in salted water (4 tablespoons per 5 liters) with three drops of greenery, they will acquire a dazzling whiteness. The salt will give the fabric a stiffness, and the brilliant green will create an optical whitening effect. Hydrogen peroxide and ammonia (ammonia) have good whitening properties. Before putting the tulle in the machine, the machine should be soaked for 1-2 hours in a basin with lukewarm water, adding 2 tablespoons to 5 liters. perhydride and ammonia. You can immediately pour 30 ml of hydrogen peroxide into the washing machine to the powder, without soaking.

If you add 2 tbsp. Of tulle to the fabric softener compartment before the last rinse of the tulle. l. vinegar, the curtains will play in the sunlight with beautiful highlights.

Benefits of using home remedies:

  1. available – available in every home or easy to buy;

  2. the price is much lower than the cost of the cheapest store bleach;

  3. whiten effectively without much effort;

  4. do not cause allergic reactions, therefore they can be used to wash curtains from a children's room.

The ability to correctly apply folk methods of bleaching for tulle fabric in a washing machine makes it possible to get a dazzling result and save on the purchase of expensive store-bought bleaches and new curtains.

Conclusion

Snow-white tulle on the windows decorates the interior of the apartment, gives freshness and comfort. But over time, it loses its elegant look, accumulating dust, fumes, soot and street pollution, acquires a grayish-yellow tint.

To achieve the pristine cleanliness of tulle curtains, while maintaining their integrity and appearance, will not be difficult – you just need to follow the basic rules of washing in an automatic machine and follow the advice of our experts.

If the lace curtains still look stale despite the ongoing bleaching efforts, it's probably time to replace them with new ones. Even dry cleaning will not help fabric yellowed with old age.


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