Despite the variety of curtain models, white tulle is always a favorite. In any setting, it looks appropriate and visually makes the room brighter and more spacious. Unfortunately, over time, its whiteness fades and takes on a grayish or yellowish tint. You can avoid this trouble if you know how to properly bleach and wash the tulle in an automatic machine or by hand at home.

How to wash tulle

Before returning the whiteness of the tulle, if it turns gray or yellow, it must be washed. You decide to wash the tulle in a typewriter or by hand, based on the characteristics of the curtains and your capabilities. For example, it is better to wash old tulle curtains by hand. This will minimize the risk of damage.

The initial procedure is the same in both cases:

• First you need to remove dust from the curtains. To do this, they are removed from the window and carefully shaken out on the street or balcony.
• Very dirty tulle is soaked for 30 minutes in warm soapy water, and the most problematic areas are treated with laundry soap.

Before figuring out how to properly wash tulle in a washing machine, we will answer frequently asked questions about this:

1. Q. Can tulle be machine washed?
   A. In the past, tulle curtains were only washed by hand: activator-type machines did not differ in a variety of modes and could damage delicate material. Nowadays it is not necessary to wash the tulle by hand.
2. Q. What mode should I wash the tulle?
   A. It all depends on the composition of the material of manufacture. It is recommended to wash tulle and curtains made of delicate fabrics at home on a gentle cycle, from linen and cotton on a regular program, but without spinning and with an additional rinse.
3. Q. At what temperature can tulle be washed?
   A. Here, too, everything depends solely on the type of textiles. If the product label does not specify how many degrees the tulle should be washed, use water no higher than 35-40 degrees and a delicate mode without spinning.
4. Q. How to bleach tulle in an automatic washing machine?
   A. Bleach or an improvised remedy, for example, 100 ml of a solution of potassium permanganate or blue is poured into a container instead of a conditioner.
5. Q. How often should tulle curtains be washed?
   A. Once every 3-4 months is enough. This mode will allow you to prevent old dirt, and not to injure thin material with washing once again, unnecessarily.
6. Q. How to wash the tulle so as not to iron it?
   A. Tulle curtains will straighten under their own weight if you first allow water to drain from them over the bathtub, and then, without squeezing, hang them on the cornice.
7. Q. How to remove greasy stains from kitchen tulle?
   A. This will help as improvised antioxidants: salt, peroxide and ammonia, laundry soap, and any dishwashing liquid. Table vinegar is also worth mentioning. It will not only fix the color of the curtain and give it a shine, but will also serve as an excellent way to remove greasy spots on the tulle.
8. Q. How to remove soot and grime from tulle?
   A. Treat the stain with dishwashing gel and soak the entire curtain for 8-10 hours in warm water and baking soda (a tablespoon for 5 liters of water).
9. Q. How to remove rust from curtains?
   A. Moisten cheesecloth with lemon juice and iron the problem area through it. The stain should disappear.

Automatic wash

• Before washing the tulle in the washing machine, decide at what temperature to wash, based on the composition of the fabric. Set the desired mode, but without spinning and with an additional rinse, and add the detergent to the container.
• Load the curtains into the drum and start the process. In order not to damage the delicate curtains, they are individually placed in special bags. If not available, white cotton pillowcases can be used.
• When the wash is complete, the curtains are removed and lightly squeezed by hand. It is better to do this with a terry sheet. The curtain is carefully wrapped in a sheet and, by pressing on it, excess water is removed.

Clean semi-damp curtains are hung on the cornice. They will smooth out under their own weight.
In automatic washing, the curtains are bleached directly in the process, using a special powder or adding bleach to the conditioner container.

Handwash

• A detergent is diluted in a basin of warm water, the soaked curtains are lowered into it and washed gently and gently for 5-7 minutes.
• The curtains are rinsed by constantly changing the water until it is clear.

Then you can start bleaching. You do not need to dry the curtains before this, just squeeze it slightly. After bleaching the curtains, it is recommended to wash them again.

What detergents to choose

The choice of modern detergents for washing tulle and other curtains is quite wide:

• Laundry detergents by type of fabric. They perfectly cope with dirt and are able to not only whiten, but starch the canvases. The downside is the high cost. It makes sense to purchase them only for elite curtains in need of special care.
• Shampoos and gels for delicate wash. Designed taking into account washes at a temperature not exceeding 30-40 degrees. It effectively removes impurities even in cold water and is easily rinsed out without leaving any residue.
• Baby powders and gels. They have good whitening properties and are hypoallergenic. The curtains in the nursery must be washed unambiguously with them. In addition, it is advisable to give them preference when cleaning the room where allergy sufferers live.
• Conventional powders. They differ in an affordable price. You need to choose them in accordance with the colors of the curtains (separately for colored and separately for white), carefully follow the dosage recommended on the package and rinse thoroughly.

How to bleach tulle with folk remedies

There are many ways to whiten tulle from yellowness at home. Let's get acquainted with the most proven and accessible ones.

Salt

Our great-great-grandmothers knew how to whiten a canvas with salt.

Procedure:

1. Put warm water in a basin and dissolve 5 tablespoons of salt and 50 g of powder in it.
2. Soak the tulle with salt overnight (at least 4-5 hours).
3. Then the curtains should be washed with a little powder and rinsed thoroughly.

• Whitening will cost almost nothing, as there are usually no problems with salt and regular powder in any home.
• Curtains become stronger after washing with salt.

The downside to salt bleaching is that it takes several hours to soak.

Washing powder and baking soda

When choosing a powder, make sure that it is suitable for hand washing and not for washing the tulle in the washing machine. Otherwise, it will be difficult to rinse it out.

Procedure:

1. Pour warm water into a basin and dissolve one tablespoon of soda and powder in it.
2. Before soaking the tulle in the resulting solution for 2-3 hours, fold it carefully to avoid creases.
3. Then the canvas needs to be thoroughly rinsed.

• Affordable price.
• The method is not laborious and fast enough.

There are no significant disadvantages when bleaching curtains with soda and powder.

Blue

Blue is a tool designed to bluish textiles, especially good for curtains with a gray coating.

Procedure:

1. A teaspoon of blue is carefully diluted in 10 liters of water (no lumps should remain).
2. The curtains are dipped into the resulting solution and rinsed for 2-3 minutes.
3. The water with blue is drained, and the canvases are rinsed several times in clean running water.

• You can make the tulle boil in a matter of minutes.

• Finding blueprints on sale today is problematic.
• Before washing the tulle, the blue must be thoroughly dissolved in a small amount of water and only then added to the powder compartment or a bowl of water, otherwise its grains will leave hard-to-remove stains on the canvas.

Potassium permanganate

Potassium permanganate not only whitens, but removes greasy spots from the tulle.

Procedure:

1. 100 g of household soap 72% rub on a grater and dissolve in warm water.
2. A small amount (literally a pinch) of potassium permanganate is diluted in a mug, leaving not a single whole grain. The water should take on a thick red wine color.
3. The resulting solution is poured into a bowl with soapy water at a temperature of 30-40 degrees and stirred.
4. The cloths are soaked for 30-40 minutes and then rinsed.

• After such processing, the snow-white tulle remains for a very long time.
• Potassium permanganate and laundry soap are cheap.

• The method is quite laborious.
• If the potassium permanganate is not completely dissolved, it will be problematic to wash the tulle curtains: hard-to-remove stains will remain on them.

Zelenka

With the help of brilliant green, the yellowed fabric acquires its original whiteness in a matter of minutes.

Procedure:

1. From a bottle of brilliant green in an alcohol solution, add 10-12 drops to a glass of water, stir and leave to settle for 5 minutes.
2. The resulting liquid is poured into a bowl of warm water. If there is a precipitate, filter the solution before pouring.
3. The water in the basin is stirred so that it is uniform in color, and the curtains are lowered into it for 5 minutes. Turn them over a couple of times while soaking.
4. Then the curtains are slightly wrung out and hung out to dry on the cornice.

• Zelenka is very cheap.
• The method is simple and not laborious.
• Whitening takes just a few minutes.

The only drawback is that if, before bleaching the tulle with brilliant green, you do not dissolve it thoroughly enough, greenish stains that are difficult to remove will remain on the curtain.

Laundry soap and starch

Another oldest and most reliable way to make the fabric so white.

Procedure:

1. 100 g of household soap 72% rub on a grater, dipped in a saucepan with water and put on gas. As soon as the water boils, the soap is stirred until it is completely dissolved and the gas is turned off.
2. The soap solution is poured into a bowl of water, the curtains are soaked in it for 5 hours, and then rinsed.
3. 250 g of starch is stirred in a bowl of warm water.
4. The rinsed curtain is dipped in starch water for 10-15 minutes.
5. Starched curtains, without squeezing, are hung to dry over the bathroom.

• Starch and soap are cheap and readily available.
• Curtains made of delicate textiles not only become snow-white, but also keep their shape well.

The disadvantage of this method is that it will take several hours to soak in soapy water.

If it is enough to just slightly refresh the tulle, then all manipulations with soap can be omitted and simply starch it to shape.

Ammonia and hydrogen peroxide

In order not to damage the skin on the hands, it is advisable to carry out all work with ammonia and peroxide in medical gloves.

Procedure:

1. Add a tablespoon of ammonia, 3 tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a bowl of water heated to 60 degrees and mix.
2. In the resulting solution, the cloth is soaked for 30-40 minutes.
3. Then rinse thoroughly, squeeze lightly and hang out to dry.

• Even old tulle curtains turn white.
• All components are cheap.
• The method is not laborious and fast.

The disadvantage of this method is that it is only suitable for cotton and linen fabrics.

Boiling

This method is considered obsolete. Nevertheless, and he has a right to exist.

Many housewives doubt whether it is possible to boil tulle? In principle, you can, if it is cotton or linen. Synthetic or natural, but silk or chiffon fabric should not be boiled.

Procedure:

1. Dissolve 100 g of powder or grated laundry soap in warm water.
2. Put a bucket of soapy water on the fire, bring to a boil and reduce the gas.
3. The curtain is dipped in water and boiled for an hour, stirring constantly and turning over.
4. Then take out, rinse, squeeze lightly and hang out to dry.

• When digested, even old stains come off the canvas.
• Sometimes there is no other alternative how to bleach the old tulle.

Flaws:

• Boiling requires constant presence.
• If you act carelessly, you can burn yourself.

To bleach old tulle at home, you will have to use a combination of several methods. For example, first boil and then soak in a solution of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia.

Whiteness and chemical bleaches

For the fabric to be snow-white, it is not necessary to wash the tulle using the "old-fashioned" methods. The industry produces a huge number of effective products for whitening tulle at home. But they also have disadvantages:

• Whiteness and other chlorine-based products destroy fabric. After 3-4 applications, it becomes thinner and takes on a dull yellowish tint.
• Household chemicals return the tulle whiteness only the first time it is used. To make it white next time, you will need improvised folk remedies.
• Innovative preparations on a natural basis do not spoil the fabric, and you can use them to refresh the tulle more than once. But they are very expensive, and the result from them is exactly the same as from practically free improvised means.

An excellent solution to how to whiten gray tulle at home is to use a gel with an optical effect that refreshes the color of the curtains due to the reflective particles it contains.

The above helpful tips for bleaching and washing tulle curtains have stood the test of time. This is how our mothers and grandmothers washed the tulle at home, and you, too, can safely take them into service. Thanks to this care, delicate and thin curtains will not lose their attractiveness for a long time, and will decorate your home for more than one year.

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