Fiber family
Cotton and Linen
Most laundry advice is written for these two and does not say so. That silence is why the other four pages exist.
What this fiber is
University of Georgia Extension groups cotton, linen and ramie together as natural fibers from plant sources, and describes them as strong and absorbent, with poor wrinkle resistance and elasticity, affected by mildew and sunlight, and prone to shrink unless treated. Nothing on this list is a surprise to anyone who has owned a linen shirt. What matters for this site is the first word. These are the fibers that tolerate the most, which is why the general-purpose product is designed around them, and why a general-purpose product used on anything else is a decision rather than a default.
What each product class does here
- Detergent sheets
- This is the fiber every detergent sheet listing on this site is implicitly written for. When a listing says a sheet covers a load, the load it is picturing is towels, sheets, jeans and shirts.
- Oxygen bleach powders and paks
- University of Georgia Extension calls sodium perborate bleach safe for virtually all colored washable fabrics, and still recommends a test on colored fabric before use. The recommendation to test does not go away because the fiber is cotton.
- Chlorine bleach
- The same source lists chlorine bleach as usable on washable, colorfast cotton, linen, synthetic and permanent press fabrics, except lycra, and directs you to the care label in every case. It also warns that some special finishes hold on to chlorine, which weakens and yellows the fabric.
- Enzyme boosters
- Cotton and linen are cellulose rather than protein, which is the reason the protein question on the wool and silk page is not the question here. It does not remove the need to read the product directions for which fabrics it names.
- Dye-trapping sheets
- A new cotton item is one of the classic sources of loose dye in a wash. That is the situation the Shout Color Catcher listing describes, and it is still not a reason to ignore a care label that says wash separately.
What damages it permanently
University of Georgia Extension states that the resin in some special finishes absorbs and retains chlorine, which weakens and yellows the fabric, and warns that chlorine bleach must not be used on fabrics with a fire-retardant finish. It also lists plant-source fibers as affected by mildew and sunlight, and as shrinking unless treated. Those are the endings that do not reverse: a weakened finish, a yellowed white, a garment that came out of the wash a size smaller than it went in.
This site gives no instructions for rescuing an item that has already been damaged. That is a job for the garment maker or a professional cleaner, and guessing at it here would be worse than saying nothing.
Conflicts that land here
- Color Catcher and What It Does Not DoA dye-trapping sheet is not a stain remover and is not a cleaning product. Where a garment care label says wash separately, the sheet does not overrule it.
- Chlorine Bleach and Other CleanersCDC instructs never to mix bleach with ammonia or any other cleaner. University of Georgia Extension states that mixing chlorine bleach with other cleaning products may produce noxious fumes.