Mrs. Stewart's Bluing

For over 120 years, Mrs. Stewart's Bluing has been the most effective, safe, versatile, economical laundry whitener available!

White Fabric Isn’t “White”! In their original state, white fabrics are far from white. Unbleached cotton fabrics, known to the trade as “gray goods”, are yellowish. Raw wool is, too, even from the whitest fleece. Most of all the synthetic fibers are not white but tend to be a grayish off-white. These all have to be bleached, usually by some chemical which removes most of the yellow color. Even this bleaching is not enough. To make white goods acceptable to their customers, manufacturers of sheets, towels, linens, etc., blue them, too. So do the makers of shirts and other white clothes. The Blue Hue Must be Renewed. After the fabric goes into use, the effects of the bleaches wear off, soil and stain mar the color, and the material goes to the wash to be cleaned. Detergent and water lift out the dirt and stains, and successive rinses remove the soapy mixture. Sometimes a mild bleach is used to help remove the stains. If all this is thoroughly done, the fabric is clean, but it is not “snow-white”. To counteract the rest of the yellow, blue must be added. A little bluing in the washing process or in the last rinse water adds the necessary tint that makes it really snowwhite. In the early and middle 1900s, bluing was used by everyone who wanted to have a white wash, and could be found in virtually all laundries.When washing was done by hand or in wringer washers, the second rinse tub was always the bluing rinse, and blue became the accepted color for laundry products. In the ensuing years most new products, detergents and other additives were colored blue. Many of the manufacturers even claimed their products contained bluing.

How to use bluing, how much bluing should be used? It depends on the washload size and whether it is being used in the wash water or the rinse water. Generally, from a few drops to no more than one-quarter teaspoon is used in a washload.