# Lingerie laundry question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659 "2004-06-22T16:37:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/1 "2004-06-22T16:37:40Z")
Two of my favorite white bras are looking dingy. I handwash them, and they’re still structurally sound; they’re just not sparkling white anymore. They’re both lightly foam padded. Could I use a chlorine or oxygen bleach on them without damaging the elastic or padding? ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/2 "2004-06-22T18:03:18Z")
I’d try the oxygen bleach first, as I have seen elastic damaged by repeated long exposure to chlorine bleach. YMMV and all that. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/3 "2004-06-22T18:25:54Z")
You can use OxyClean and hand wash the bras. Let them soak a little and they should come bright white. It won’t damage them either. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/4 "2004-06-22T20:42:22Z")
Thanks, ladies, they’re soaking right now… ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/5 "2004-06-22T21:39:37Z")
I had the same problem. The OxiClean didn’t help me, but it didn’t damage the bras either. When they were decrepit enough that I was willing to risk it, I did try chlorine bleach. That didn’t help either. The best solution is to stop buying white bras. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/6 "2004-06-22T22:23:58Z")
I suggest you sell them on the internet as “used teen lingerie;” you can easily collect enough proceeds to buy yourself _four new_ white bras. If you set the price point right, and sell each bra after wearing it once, you can also demonstrate the [Fibonacci Sequence](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mfibonacci.html) using this method. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/7 "2004-06-22T23:07:13Z")
You can also try ‘white dye’ - I discovered this years ago, not sure if it has bleach in it, but it really works. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/8 "2004-06-23T05:46:11Z")
Well, the OxyClean helped - one’s kinda meh, but the other looks a lot better. Unexpected bonus - all, um, faint lingering odors are completely gone. They SMELL new. I wouldn’t usually try to revitalize old bras but I don’t wanna give these two up yet, I love the way they fit. This’ll buy me some time to find suitable replacements. White it is, because I have too many white shirts and nothing else suitable to wear underneath them. Except beige, which looks dingy and old right off the rack. And… > [@](#): > > I suggest you sell them on the internet as “used teen lingerie;” you can easily collect enough proceeds to buy yourself four new white bras. > > If you set the price point right, and sell each bra after wearing it once, you can also demonstrate the Fibonacci Sequence using this method. this made me laugh, though I’d probably get nailed for blatant false advertising. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/9 "2004-06-23T18:13:29Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > this made me laugh Then my work here is done. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/10 "2004-06-23T19:07:27Z")
But don’t you hate that white-shirt-white-bra “ghost breast” look? I mean, yeah, I don’t like the beige bras either, but they do cut down on the Phantom Lingerie, as it were. And while my bras themselves look pretty good, the _straps_ get all dingy and I can’t get them really clean. I’ll try the Oxy-Clean. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/11 "2004-06-24T03:33:54Z")
Honestly, even with beige bras, my bra is still visible if I wear a white shirt without a tank top under it. I’d love to find a white top that I could wear without an extra layer - anybody know how I can do this? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/12 "2004-06-24T12:06:13Z")
> [@GilaB](#): > > Honestly, even with beige bras, my bra is still visible if I wear a white shirt without a tank top under it. I’d love to find a white top that I could wear without an extra layer - anybody know how I can do this? The only way I know is to wear a camisole or underwear Tshirt, which is an extra layer. I used to work in a woman’s dress shop. If your skin tone is usually described as “white”, then wearing a beige bra is the least noticeable method, other than wearing a cami or other layer. Many white tops are made of very thin fabric, which only makes the problem worse. My advice is to wear a brightly colored bra when trying on white tops, to see how much color shows through. Then decide if you can live with it. It’s the same thing with white pants…unless the fabric is pretty thick (white denim or duck, for instance), there’s a pretty good chance that you will have ghost panties showing. In THAT case, wearing pantyhose and no panties is the way to go, if such things bother you. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/13 "2004-06-24T12:15:45Z")
Wash them and let them dry in the sun. Sunlight is a natural free bleach that doesn’t damage fabric. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2004, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lingerie-laundry-question/251659/14 "2004-06-24T14:02:53Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > White it is, because I have too many white shirts and nothing else suitable to wear underneath them. Except beige, which looks dingy and old right off the rack. I don’t know about their looking dingy and old, but beige bras make me think of grandmas. I’m not wearing an old-lady bra at 28. My day will come, and I love my grandma, but no way. They completely quit making my favorite basic white bra in my size, so I’m going to have to be real nice to the ones I have. I have a few other pretty colored ones, but I don’t want to wear those every day either – and I don’t have the nerve to wear a dark blue bra under a white shirt. Why would the manufacturers suddenly decide nobody wears a 36A? I can’t be the only one, they made 'em for years.