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The cover of my mattress has gone grayish and yellowish, it looks bad. But on Ikea's website it says "do not bleach".

Is there still a way to make it more white? Perhaps not as white as it once was, but at least presentable?

Details:

100% polyester Polyester wadding Non-woven polypropylene Machine wash max 60°C, normal process. Do not bleach. Do not tumble dry. Do not iron. Do not dryclean

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  • Take it to a laundry professional or buy a replacement.
    – Solar Mike
    Dec 12, 2020 at 11:33
  • Put a sheet over it and ignore the colouration as long as its comfortable :)
    – Criggie
    Dec 12, 2020 at 21:15
  • 4
    This is about laundering, not home improvement
    – mmathis
    Dec 13, 2020 at 3:25

2 Answers 2

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Try Clorox2, or Hydrogen Peroxide, or Sodium Percarbonate or Oxyclean, (it's all the same stuff) instead of chlorine bleach. Chlorine bleach reacts with some brighteners to turn them yellow or purple.

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  • 1
    James and Ted have it: Oxyclean or similar non-bleach whitener is what you want!
    – mark f
    Dec 12, 2020 at 15:47
  • @markf I think "non-chlorine" is a better description than "non-bleach", since Oxyclean etc. are also bleaches.
    – AndyB
    Dec 12, 2020 at 22:08
  • Thanks Andy, I guess from my HS chemistry I always considered Chlorine to be always NaClO, but the broader definition may be "any whitening cleaner", like the hydrogen peroxide based oxyclean
    – mark f
    Dec 14, 2020 at 15:47
  • @TedMittelstaedt I can only find Oxiclean on Amazon (UK) but it's expensive. Perhaps the other ones you mention are cheaper, any idea how to find them on Amazon?
    – drake035
    Jan 7, 2021 at 17:07
  • Hydrogen Peroxide from the druggist will also act as a bleach. However it has to be fresh - when it goes stale it basically turns into water.
    – Ted Mittelstaedt
    Jan 8, 2021 at 21:53
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We used a 'white repair' type laundry product, bought from the local supermarket. It is specifically for whitening rather than colour runs. It worked very well.

It contains sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate or 'oxygen based bleaching agents', very different from chlorine bleach.

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