Can You Bleach Spandex Fabric?

I have a white spandex camisole that’s gotten dingy over the months, how do I wash it? Should I bleach it? Every time I try washing it, it stays just as dingy as when I put it in the washer.

White items with spandex are great to wear and have only one drawback—you can’t wash them with Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach because it’s not safe for spandex. As long as you haven’t used regular bleach to wash the camisole, you should be able to improve its dingy appearance by presoaking with Clorox 2® for Colors Powder. Dissolve 1 scoop powder in 2 gallons of hot water; fully submerge the camisole in the soaking solution for 8 hours or overnight. Use a dishwasher-safe dinner plate to weigh it down if you need to so it stays completely in the solution. When the soak time is complete, machine wash it in the hottest water recommended using a good detergent and more Clorox 2® for Colors Powder.

Something else to consider is what you can do on an ongoing basis to keep those non-bleachable whites as white as they can be:

• Always wash white items that can’t be bleached with light colors, or by themselves.
• Use a good detergent—one that includes enzymes and brighteners will give you the best results.
• Add Clorox 2® for Colors Stain Remover and Laundry Additive along with the laundry detergent every time you wash white items you can’t bleach—its formula includes color-safe peroxide bleach that improves detergent performance.
• Always wash in the hottest water recommended on the care label—the hotter the water, the better the cleaning.
• Check your “warm” water temperature—depending on how far away from your water heater your clothes washer is, you may need to select a “hot” cycle just to wash with “warm” water!

Learn more about using color safe bleach in laundry here.