Why does wool tzitizs turn yellow

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Forum -> Household Management -> Cleaning & Laundry

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amother

OP ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 10:39 am

when washing in the machine. on cold.

Molly Weasley ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 11:41 am

My pet peeve. I learned the hard way that even cold makes it yellow. So why made sure to only do a hand wash....
and then my kid threw it in with the whites

amother

↑ OP

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 11:42 am

Molly Weasley wrote:

My pet peeve. I learned the hard way that even cold makes it yellow. So why made sure to only do a hand wash....
and then my kid threw it in with the whites

but why?

would soaking it and then just rinsing in machine also turn it yellow?

zaq ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 12:31 pm

Go to www.wisewool.com/2017 and search. Short answer: exposure to air (oxidation, like a cut apple turning brown),
age, alkalinity, and exposure to UV light. (Also sweat and body oils.)Since laundry detergent is usually alkaline, there's your answer.

↑ Molly Weasley

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 12:44 pm

zaq wrote:

Interesting

amother

Poinsettia ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 1:28 pm

I once heard because they really are yellow but the dye they use is not as strong as the dye on a typical white clothing so each time you do a wash some of the dye comes off. Maybe that isn't true but why can't they make them like any other white wool clothing that doesn't turn yellow in the wash?

↑ zaq ↓

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:35 pm

No, that "white dye comes off in the wash" is a total bubbe-meiseh. Natural wool isn't white, even from "white" sheep. It's off -white at best, if not downright beige, and is bleached. Even so, if you look at a new tallis or tzitzis, it's not really white but very pale ivory. Compare it to a sheet of new copy paper or a glass of milk.

Remember your 39 melachot, "hamelaben"? What do you think that is? Bleaching! Time, air, heat and light work to reverse that chemical reaction and return the wool to its original hue, and further oxidation makes it darker still, just as white paper or white plastic oxidizes with age and turns yellow, then beige, and then brown.

↑ zaq

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:40 pm

Umm...what kind of white WOOL clothing do you have that doesn't darken with age? Maybe it's not wool but acrylic. Maybe it's stored in a cool place away from both air and light. Maybe it's only worn now and then for a little while. Maybe it's not really white but ivory so you don't notice it getting darker. Maybe it's still relatively new and hasn't yet had a chance to darken.

amother

↑ Poinsettia

Sun, Oct 13 2024, 2:57 pm

I have a white wool sweater for about ten years already that is still white.

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