Older readers may still remember the Gilb from earlier TV commercials, when cartoon characters attacked fine curtains and pointed out the dirt. Every child has long known that cigarette smoke is the main reason why walls, door and window frames, and especially curtains, turn yellow and absorb the smell of cold smoke. What has become of the Gilb in times when even in your own home you only smoke on the balcony?
In some countries, the Gilb still has a niche existence, wherever there is no general smoking ban in public spaces. In this country, yellowed edges can only be found on shirt collars and as sweat stains in the armpits. And yes, the Grauschleier is practically the new Gilb. Who does not know that? You buy pristine white lingerie, shirts and T-shirts and then you can watch the new items lose their luminosity from wash to wash. This also happens when you meticulously separate the colors from one another, which is important and right.
The sun is the best and cheapest bleach
In order to avoid a gray haze, washing machines should be descaled and cleaned regularly to remove deposits such as detergent residues. In addition, the detergent should not be overdosed. A lot doesn’t automatically help a lot, on the contrary, the machine needs more water to dissolve the agent, and it is also deposited in hoses and in the drum. But even textiles that have been stored in the closet for a long time turn gray over time.
The warm season should therefore be used to dry laundry in the sun. The sun is the best and cheapest bleach. Other cheap brighteners are the home remedies that grandma had in the cleaning room. The magazine Eco test For example, when washing at 60 degrees, we recommend adding 50 grams of salt or a sachet of baking powder or two tablespoons of baking soda to the detergent in the dishwashing chamber. Discourages from using bleach wipes or bleach Eco test on the other hand: Some of them are harmful to the environment and simply superfluous.
Of course, even after the disappearance of the Gilbeumel, washing curtains is still a day’s work. Even if there is no more nicotine pollution, after a long winter, curtains are full of heating dust and sometimes home to small spider webs. In the kitchen, fat fumes and food odors also settle in the fabric. If possible, curtains should be washed on the curtain wash cycle and, depending on the fibre, at a low temperature. If a spin cycle is necessary, then with as few revolutions as possible. It is best to hang up fine, non-iron fabrics while they are still wet.
Even if the colors fade a little over time, the curtains are always fresh and fragrant.
The author sleeps best in clothes that have air dried. The colors are secondary at night.
(Photo: Bernd Schifferdecker (Illustration))