How to Bleach Jeans and T-Shirts

Use bleach to keep your whites looking crisp and bright.

Toss your no-white-after-Labor Day rules out the window and bleach a pair of your favorite jeans to wear all year long. While you have the process set-up, grab a shirt or two that you want to lighten and bleach both at the same time. Bleach is an inexpensive household cleaner with discharging capabilities; therefore, it is the ideal choice when turning darker colors to white. The process is uncomplicated and leaves you with like-new clothing. The trick to bleaching is knowing how to control the process so the items turn out perfectly.

Things You'll Need

• Tarp or dropcloth
• 4 buckets
• Water
• Vinegar
• 5 percent chlorine bleach
• Stirring spoon

Instructions

1. Lay a large tarp or drop cloth outside on a driveway or flat grassy patch. The bleach will give off a strong odor; therefore, keep it outside. In addition, working outside allows you to spill the bleach on the ground without ruining your hardwood or carpet floors.

2. Fill two buckets with water and set aside. Fill another bucket with one part bleach to one part vinegar, and the final bucket with one part bleach to two parts water. The water will prepare and cleanse the fabric and the vinegar will stop the bleaching process. Place the buckets in order in a straight line - water, bleach, vinegar and water.

3. Saturate the jeans in the first bucket of water and agitate for two minutes. The jeans will absorb the bleach better if the fibers are wet prior to bleaching. Leave the jeans in the water for 20 minutes.

4. Remove the jeans from the water and ring out the excess water. Transfer the jeans to the bucket of bleach and agitate for the first 10 minutes. Allow the jeans to soak for 20 minutes. Place the shirt into the first bucket of water.

5. Transfer the jeans from the bleach bucket to the vinegar bucket. Stir the denim for two minutes and let soak for 15 minutes in the vinegar. Do not fret if the jeans are not as bright of white as you want; you can bleach again. The fibers will need to rest between bleaching.

6. Remove the shirt from the water and ring out. Transfer the shirt to the bleach bucket and swish around for 10 minutes. Leave the shirt alone for 20 minutes.

7. Pick the jeans up from the vinegar bucket and transfer to the final water bucket. Swirl the jeans around in the water bucket for 10 minutes and then remove. Place the jeans to the side.

8. Move the shirt from the bleach to the vinegar, swish for two minutes and let sit for 15 minutes. Transfer to the water and swish around.

9. Wash the two items together. Repeat the process if necessary to brighten the white color on the shirt and denim.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear old clothing when bleaching in case you spill or splash bleach while you work.

• Always work in a well-ventilated area.

• It is not necessary to change the water, bleach and vinegar between the jeans and shirts.

• Avoid bleaching around children and pets.

• Wash eyes immediately with cool water if bleach comes in contact.

References

• Harmony Hand Dyes: Discharging Dye From Cotton Fabric - Bleach method
• Eastern Michigan University: Discharging Dye with Bleach
• "Threads"; Dyeing with Bleach; October 2008

Resources

• New Mexico State University; Getting Clothes Clean; Susan Wright