How to Wash your Whites and keep them super bright with Rajiv Surendra
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- Опубликовано: 27 май 2024
- Rajiv is regularly asked how he keeps his tshirts so white. Today he shares his methods for making sure whites stay super-white, which includes a centuries-old process called 'bluing'.
You can find Mrs Stewart's Liquid Bluing here:
mrsstewart.com/ 
Хобби
Whoever raised this man did a phenomenal job on home training!
I believe he took it upon himself to learn and treat all aspects of his life with care.
Yes, he is a very curious soul, isn't it refreshing! More over, he is proactive to get the info, so he can get these answers he needs- and its for himself! Lucky for us, he shares! Lovely, young chap!
I think he is a self-guided, careful, artistic, curious individual - but at the very least I am sure the mindset he was exposed to growing up helped!
I was wondering why my t-shirts were going dull and I was about to throw them and buy new ones. Then I remembered my mother in the 1950's using blue cubes in the rinse, so she knew how to do it even then. Thanks for reminding me.
Agree
I like the way you present high-level domestic expertise without sounding “uppity”. Your friendly, humble personality makes domestic excellence relatable. Thank you for teaching this.
"domestic excellence" -- love that turn of phrase!
!
I am an old retired Home Economics teacher. You are much more entertaining than I ever was! You do a great job. I hope a lot of people watch your informative programs.
You might consider showing how to shop. Choosing produce for instance
I second this! Don’t even know how to pick well 😢
Do they even teach home economics in school anymore. I loved that class,
We learned a lot in Home Economics when I was young.
Our kids need people like you
i see, you have a lot of time and willing to spent them on massive trash talks, lol
You are Mr. Roger's for adults. Your vibe, voice pitch, level, and tone are very similar to him. The background music and your ability to teach in a calm, disarming way is a gift which what made Mr. Rogers a light in this dark world. Thank you for your content.
I totally agree! 😀
His name is Rajiv
You missed the comparison...
Too many light and dark puns in the comments....no need to compare Rajiv to Mr. Rogers...though he was unique and calming...Rajiv is unique and has his own talents that is unique to him as a person.
@MMat-bs1qs duh, that's what I was saying. It's a compliment to Rajiv. That's weird you took it negatively. Of course, he's his own person, but he reminds me of Mr. Roger's in the way he speaks and seems to be caring. I love that for him. Why does that bother you?
This young man is a work of art. He is doing laundry and evokes the same feelings I get when watching a good ballet… or admiring a painting…
Lovely way you described what you feel, when watching Rajiv. I feel the same :)
So true! The culture, the class!
Wow your description is spot on 👍
He’s easy on the eye and the ear
I’m so glad you have your own channel, Rajiv!
Yes 👍 me to ☺️
Yes! I was hoping he would start his own channel !
When I was a younger nurse, the traditional uniform was sanitary white. Living with grandma at the time, she insisted on washing my clothes. She used a detergent called Oxydol, and a blue rinse for all whites. I can't tell you how many compliments I got on how fresh and white my uniform was.
I remember Oxydol. My mother never used blueing though. I don't think there was a problem with yellowing back in my old days. We had well water coming off a mountain, probably didn't have any nasty rust in it (or additives) and we had the sun to dry clothes, Our clothes were always bright and fresh looking. This yellowing is something we get with the modern ways of life.
My mom used it for our school uniforms..but never heard of a blue rinse. I’ve always wondered what Mother Theresa and her sisters used for their saris.. they were spotless in the dirtiest of places
@@mother8696theywere made of pure cotton non synthetic.if you think of how many white plastic items yellow over time it's the same thing .
The sun is a good natural bleach also. My mom hung out clothes even in the winter.
My mum was a nurse and did the blue rinse too😊
As a 38 year old homemaker and SAHM, you've just explained laundry to me better than anyone else has!
My parents did this growing up but I didn't realize why exactly and him explaining the yellow/blue change in the glothing and the lint really makes sense
I love that you can teach super basic things, but you are never condescending. This provides such a safe space to learn
“Safe space to learn”? What would make a laundry lesson unsafe?
@@biddydibdab9180 😂😂😂 I’m done!!!😂😂😂
@@biddydibdab9180 ,
You have never seen any of these condescending youtubers? I'm opinionated, but some of them are like the mean girls I went to school with.
@@Ashbash90 Hopefully you felt safe through the lesson.😏
@@bigred9428 Who cares if someone’s condescending? The viewer is free to not view. Problem solved.
My grandma was an artist when it came to keeping whites white. There was always a bottle or 2 of blueing in the laundry room. She would sometimes use it to “take the yellow out” of her gray hair. I haven’t been able to find blueing in many years and when I do ask, most people don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. You also mentioned the water being dangerously hot…I swear my grandma had asbestos hands and could work without gloves in water that was just too hot for me to handle.
I think people today use bleach to try to make clothes white and it can actually discolour some fabrics. If she had a stubborn stain on whites, she would put lemon juice and salt on the stain and put it in the sun. Worked every time.
Thanks, good to know I can get the blueing online. Also, you get an A+ in penmanship, it’s beautiful.
Great comment ! Have you tried it yourself ?
great addition!
You will get it in Indian stores
I’m from Indonesia I’m not sure the blue thing you talking about same with mine , just goole Blau untuk baju , you’ll find the product
Yes! Exactly! I use blue shampoo to brighten my grey hair👍🏼
I want Rajiv books, masterclasses, shows on Netflix, and anything else he creates! I’ve learned doing things with patience and love. Really taking the time to do things well and right in my life. I have adhd so staying calm and doing things deliberately and skillfully do not come easy for me but these videos are so perfect for slowing down and elevating an otherwise mundane task to something that is fulfilling.
I worked in adolescent treatment homes where many children never had a parent that taught them home skills, maybe they never had them taught to them. We did many areas of educating them on how to live independently from taking care of yourself to how to manage money and making meals from scratch, not packaged foods. It was a blast. Made me feel great to pass on that knowledge, just like Rajiv is so awesome. I love watching you. Thank you.
You did important work. Thank you!🎉
In the UK older ladies used to finish off their hair-do with a blue rinse. They were affectionally called ‘The blue-rinse brigade’.
I am a 62 year old ex lawyer who is moving in to household management. I agree with everything you have said. It’s invaluable and kids in school should get a lesson in this along with how to clean their room/house and money management.
But now all the young girls are doing their hair with blue/purple shampoo to remove the yellow from bleached out blonde hair. It’s so fashionable that even brunettes are using it too!
Facts home eco plus. I’m born 1987 from Jamaica and school is so diluted glad the nuns taught me how to sew
I consider it my job to train my children in such things. Why is down to teachers to impart life skills?
My 32 yr old daughter, 27 yr old son and 21 yr old son have all been taught how to look after themselves, basic cooking, laundry, ironing, budgeting etc. This was alongside my full time job as a nurse, midwife. We treated it like a game when they were little so that they never viewed it as a ‘chore’.
In Sweden it is part of the curriculum from 7th grade. Every week for 2 years - including cooking, baking, cleaning, washing clothes/dishes and simple household book keeping. It's called "hemkunskap" which translates to "home knowledge".
In India we always used “neel”( which means blue) or Robin Blue as a last rinse to our white school shirts
So therapeutic! The frame and set up is everything… the breeze through the curtains, the sound quality… amazing! Well done on launching 👏🏼
Just needs a better camera
I can smell the honest-to-goodness fresh laundry smell (not the horrible fake scent) wafting through the screen.
I love this guy! The washing machine isn’t as pretty as this sink…he’s so adorable. He turns washing whites into something sacred.
Never can I imagine that a laundry video can be very informative, yet therapeutic and aesthetic at the same time. Thank you!
My great grandmother who started out as a scullery maid in a big English manor and worked her way up to housekeeper taught her daughters about bluing who taught their daughters. I am one of those proud daughters and I use bluing.
This is the start of something very special ♥️🎉 so happy you have your own channel now.
Video ideas :
• your cleaning schedule and habits
• how you choose your art / hanging system
• table manners
• apartment tour (i know you have done one on another channel but an updated one would be nice!)
• cooking videos
• more etiquette videos
Can’t wait to see more videos from you !
I second this!
Hosting fun nights in, dinner parties or cocktails....like what to serve, music to play....we just wanna see what you would do ❤️❤️
what would Rajiv do?
Congratulations for creating your own channel. I am so looking forward to watching you. You remind me to slow down and be intentional. Thank you
🙏🏻 Happy New Year!
First time viewer, wow what an amazing tip for sorting/washing whites! Wishing you all the best on your channel! I am subscribed and will be watching!
When I heard "szorować" I screamed! I'm from Poland and it made me really happy
If you had told me that I’d sit here and watch someone clean their whites by hand I would’ve laughed. Now I’m here and you may laugh at me. I’m 50 and I keep learning so much from this man.
I could watch Rajiv all day long. His videos are so soothing, informative, and interesting 😊
Exactly!
Boo. Keeping whites white boo
I like his voice, info and nice background jazz.
This is the first I’ve seen and I am here for it!!! I can’t wait to watch more!
My first time here... My grandmother (Caribbean) used the little blue "pods" that kept our clothes always pristine white! Thank you for that memory. And what a delight, to see someone who can write in cursive so perfectly! It's a shame they don't teach penmanship in school anymore... it does take time and would slow children down to be more in the present moment... almost an art and very beautiful... Walk in Beauty, Rajiv, and stay well. Thank you...
It would be amazing if you could do a whole video on proper washing and laundry techniques. Laundry is the only house chore that gets me frustrated because I never get the end results I'm looking for. You've helped me a lot already with your videos I'm actually sorry to be asking for more, but that's just how much I value your teachings and tricks !!!! Thank you so much in advance
Baking soda, vinegar, detergent get the desired results, as well. Esply with hot water wash. From India where our white school uniforms are still ‘blued’.
My American mom went to Pakistan and my Dadi's kamvari taught her temperature and amounts which are so important also. Without knowing the proper amount you'll have a pike of blue clothes. 😅
also cleaning kitchen utensils, cutleries & countertops! then dusting, cleaning/mopping the floor, walls from dust/spider webs, bathrooms & toilets,
Housekeeping takes an insane amount of Time!
I still don't understand why Globally several materials of various colors are industrially produced, while Life could be much more enriching, luxurious & simpler with natural whites, natural fabrics and their colors, while maintenance also is comparatively humongous-ly easiest. All these colorful material possesion not merely clutters space & overloads the senses but also disrupts ecology and the ecosystem.
I wish we went back to the basics immediately.
@AadhiraiSathyavathi If that's what you want to do, go for it. Each to their own...
@@sandrabenner5698 yes☃️
It's not only what he does because you can make teach how to do it in a short video on RUclips, but is the way he CARRIES himself.
Just amazing. ❤
Rajiv, I am the one on Instagram who suggested the washing the white idea! This is so incredibly cool! I am so glad that you are starting your own youtube channel and my best wishes for you in year 2023. Love, Meng
Thanks for explaining HOW and WHY this works. My mom always used bluing and hung her laundry in the sun, and her laundry was whiter than you can imagine. When dad passed away, she donated ALL his clothes to the church, and the minister was so grateful to have such new looking undies to share with the less fortunate because NOBODY has clean enough undies to donate - a testament to stain removal and bluing. Ace hardware ordered a bottle for me - arrived the next day. I noticed they carry bluing when I looked on line, but they do not stock it in the store. When I picked up my order, the gentleman who helped me exclaimed "no calls for this product for years, and 2 hours after you came in another lady came in and ordered a bottle." Rajiv, you are "making your mark" on the world. As Eleanor Roosevelt said ": “Some people are going to leave a mark on this world, while others will leave a stain.” Thank you for explaining the things I was never wise enough to learn from my mom.
My mom had a glass jar of this bluing under the kitchen sink for whites. If we got a mosquito or ant bite she would also bring out this jar and use the cork-attached-to-bakelite top in it to put a round circle of bluing on the bite to take away the itching! Edit: As far as I know, we only ever had that one bottle - it lasted forever.
you’re adorable, says this soon to be great-grandmother... I was born to older parents and remember when my mother washed all of our clothes in a wash pot over an open fire she had built (another story) .. she always hung out her wash and the smell of fresh dried clothes from the clothesline always takes me back to her.. and one of my favorite memories is hanging out clothes with her when my oldest child was very young and I would visit with her and we would do the laundry together. The Sun and fresh air (when no pollen) is still my favorite drying source. Your video warmed my heart. I have given each of my sons and grands packs of clothespins.. made a small clothesline on my deck to show my youngest grand how to ‘hang out’ clothes, using her favorite napkins.. thank you for sharing a ‘neglected art form’ Clean Clothes 101. sweet memories!
Wow, does this take me way back! I grew up in rural Africa, long before automatic washing machines. Everything was washed by hands those days in big zinc tubs. I remember my mom had these little blue cubes she'd put into the rinse water for the whites and she'd let it soak for a while. And the final magic for the whites, not only to bleach but to properly sanitize, was letting them dry in the sun (I think it also compensated for the absence of hot water.) Worked wonders with my young twin brothers' nappies, which were all of cloth those days!
“Rual Africa”? No wonder we think Africa is one country.
@Subi Africans of the captivity 1500-1900.
same in the Caribbean.
We do the same all across southern Europe.
& in South Asia.
You always inspire me to live a little better, Rajiv. And by better I mean taking the time and care in being mindful of the things I do. Love that you’ve started your own channel.
I have four almost adult kids and have run a household since forever and i'm sitting here taking notes like a new bride...lol...I love it ! Also, yes, my grandparents used blue on their white clothes too...the clotheslines were blinding to look at on wash day
I'm so glad you shared that your bottle was over 20 years old. I just did a load of whites with a bottle of the bluing that I didn't remember I had. It could easily be as old as yours. My whites turned out so bright! Thank you.
I know for a fact this channel will soon be one of my favourites here on RUclips. Can we please get a video on ironing and floral arrangements too? 😊
I always learn something new with you Rajiv 🤗.
There is one video somewhere about floral arrangements, but I would definitely watch anything Rajiv would do 😂. Love from Spain 💕🌷
I seem to recall a prior video on ironing that Rajiv did. The care he takes in even the simplest task is beautiful to behold.
Yes. If this is a hint of anything to come, I can tell this will be one of my FAV channels and will look forward to every video he posts every time i open youtube.
These is not just any back to basic but a way of slow, conscious & preserved way of life bring taught by Rajiv. Love this series, highly recommended. I could see this old - style aesthetic way of life become a trend!
I'm loving the subtle music in the background and the wind gently blowing the white curtains, along with his calm voice. It all makes a cool video.
My mom used blueing when i was growing up. But I know that if you live in an area where you can hang your clothes outside, that does a lot for keeping things white, and here is something that I discovered when I had my first child,
when I washed her bib after eating pasta with tomato sauce, the red didn't come out in the wash but it did come out after it hung outside in the SUN. Works everytime.
Wow! Good tip! I always hang my clothes. Smells fresh.
Yes, discovered the tomato stain magic when I had my first baby 40 years ago. I always hang my clothes outside. No need for a tumble dryer, there’s always a way to dry them. I live in the UK too!!
Why does a bib need to be stain free? It’s a BIB, it’s job is to keep clothes from staining!
@@YeshuaKingMessiah
Your reply indicates that you do not have pride in your laundry:if something is dirty and has to be washed, then it has to be CLEAN!! I would never have put a stained bib on my babies. Disgusting!!!
Can’t beat hanging washing outside - it just smells better.
I don’t even own a dryer - lucky to have plenty of sunny days where I live.
You do everything exactly as I do, as my Mom taught me 50 years ago! I have all-white bedding and towels (cotton and linen), partly to simplify things (all towels can go in every bathroom, for example), but mostly so that I can wash them in the hottest water every time. It’s disgusting when I go to someone’s house and they have those bacteria-laden stinky towels. I also tend to separate my medium-color loads into color families, usually a blues/greens/grays load, a browns/taupes load and a pinks/reds load. Browns can dull other colors, as can washing complementary colors together, like red and green (which makes brown). The better the sorting, the better the results. I just let things accumulate until I have full loads, I have a little laundry area for that, and I have plenty of other things to wear or use meanwhile. Every time I do laundry, I miss my Mom, who died last June. She taught me everything I know about keeping a beautiful home.
This is why I always buy a top-loader machine, I like to add things, stop cycles to soak and other things like that. A top-loader gives so much more flexibility.
I am so sorry for the loss of your mama❤
So sorry for your loss-thank you for sharing this precious memory of your wonderful mother.
I just redid my bedroom and chose white sheets but am afraid to use hot water incase they shrink?
Your mom sounds lovely!
this is the most aesthetically pleasing video about laundry i've ever seen
This man is a treasure.
My Mom used to use bluing. She even bought a ringer washer because she felt the new machines didn’t do a good job! And sometimes hang the bedding outside to dry. Bringing back memories from my childhood 🥰👋🏿 from Canada 🇨🇦
Same from my early childhood in Queens, NY!
Nothing better than line dried sheets
OMG I just posted something like that but I didn't mention that my mother too had a ringer washing machine and used it until it died.....and hung the wash outside....which I still do whenever I can....You are the only one who I have ever found who grew up with the same kind of mom.
@@sharonperry8978 You can’t beat it, nothing better than having beautiful clean fresh sheets.
@@sandybeach4343My Mum too, she also taught me how to seperate clothes for washing. I follow this method to this day. Whites together, dark together, sheets alone and towels only washed together. You get the best results doing it that way. And hang your clothes out neatly, fold straight away which saves ironing. 😉
I was taught to sort clothes in 4 piles and I was taught about bluing. So glad to see someone else doing the same
My grandmother was born in 1901 and always used blueing to her whites - so my mother did as well. I have memories of my mother adding it to the cloth diapers my baby brother wore…so glad you shared this old but very essential laundry tip to a new generation!
your videos bring me peace. i live in self hatred and fear, so i strive and search for wonderful people like you to convince me of something good out there. thank you
Rajiv is truly a comfort person. I love learning the domestic and artistic tips and skills he has to offer and he just has such a calming space and presence that melts away my stress. Can't wait to see more!
Yes, he's a Renaissance Man; and natural teacher, with quite a good eye for design.
I want to adopt this jewel of a guy!!❤
Hopefully, one day he will do a demo on opening and carving out a Jackfruit!!!
How cool that would be!!!pretty sure he hasn’t ever done that
Home Ed classes will all be putting these videos on from now on, I guarantee it. Everyone will pay attention!
So true. I’ll use it with my hospitality class as we learn about housekeeping.
I don't think those school classes are offered any longer.
They still have Home Ec classes??? 🤣 Where?
I'm 50 years old and this is the first I am hearing about this. I have tossed so many clothes over the years because they got yellowed and dingy. Thank You. It makes total sense. I've tried to bleach things back to white only to have them seem even worse. I'm going to buy some bluing today!
A year later, now with white curtains that have yellowed, I'm back with Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing in hand to get the details on the method. Thank you, Rajiv! So grateful for having stumbled upon this video and all your videos that came after!
This brought back a wonderful memory of my darling Bichon.
Years ago I was giving her a bath in my laundry tub and accidentally knocked the bottle of blueing into her bath and there was enough product on the outside of the bottle to tint the water and her white hair light blue! Of course it was summertime and we had a lot of laughs with our little blue baby. Miss you Pumpkin❤️
Learned something new! In addition to sorting clothing by color, since I do a ton of laundry for a family of 4, I also sort by fabric. In general, I wash all jeans or rougher fabrics together. It makes clothing last longer. I've noticed my shirts don't look as old fast.
Agreed, this is how my mom taught me to do laundry. In addition, we dried most of our clothes on a line/drying rack, it makes everything last longer (especially stuff with elastic like stretch jeans), the clothes come out less wrinkly too. Not always feasible if you’re doing multiple loads in a day, but nice even if only for my jeans and underthings.
Yes! Washing different types of fabric together can cause that pilling effect. I bought some of those foldable bigger rod clotheslines to hang out my sheets, but very rarely can I use it.
Yep! Colour, fabric and towels/bedlinen never go in with clothes
Yes, but that cost much more money with a family of 2. Or I had to wait several weeks to do the loads separately.
It also reduces static cling. Washing natural fibers with synthetic fibers increases static cling
What an interesting video. It brought back memories of my childhood in the 1950s when Mum used something called "Dolly Blue" in the wash - little blue sachets. So nice to see a young man taking an interest in such things, and taking such a pride in his work, and presenting it so charmingly! You have obviously been beautifully brought up. This was a pleasure to watch. Your handwriting is also quite stunning! Thank you for sharing.
I love to see washing on the line - such a shame that nowadays many areas won't allow it because they think it is unsightly, forcing people to use electricity to dry their clothes. In the winter I use an overhead airer with a dehumidifier which I find works much better than the tumble drier which always makes the clothes more creased. Outdoor drying is the best method - you are right about the properties of sunshine, and also, when you bring the laundry back in, it has the most heavenly smell that no chemical additives can match. When our cats come in from the garden, they have that same wonderful fresh fragrance in their fur!
sup
I love Sunshine and Sunlight 🧖🏻☃️always works like Magic 🫠
Growing in a house with three women (my mom, my sister, and myself), my dad always separated out laundry into three piles: whites, darks/blues, and reds/pinks. But he never taught me the blueing trick, so thank you!!
Great first video !
More laundry questions:
• how often do you wash all your laundry in a regular week ?
• do you do different piles on different days ? Or do you have 1 day when you do all your laundry ?
• do u use drier ? Or do u hang clothes ?
• what are your folding techniques ?
• what do you do while waiting for laundry ?
• what about sheets, pillow cases ? Kitchen hand towels ? Bath mat ? How often do you wash them ?
• what is your laundry schefule like ?
As you can see, we want more laundry videos !
❤
YEEESSSS
I anticipate a whole laundry series
Regarding folding techniques, I have found the Konmari method to be very functional. Perhaps Rajiv has his own methods to share!
Yes, please.
1. Laundry is once a week.
2. Sometimes I do different piles in different days. Like sheets, towels, blankets on one day and clothes on another day.
3. I typically hang dry sweaters, clothes made of modal, and quick drying clothes like athletic gear. I also don’t dry most of my clothes all the way and hang dry them to get fully dry.
4. I like Marie Kondo’s folding techniques as well.
5. I typically am doing other cleaning while laundry is going or folding the dry clothes. Sometimes I will run an errand or two as long as something is in both the washer and dryer.
6. Home linens get washed once a week, but things like hand towels, wash cloths, and dish cloths get switched out several times in the week.
7. Typically like to wash Thursday and Friday evenings. Sometimes Friday evening and Saturday morning as I am doing other cleaning. I would like to wash more during the week to free up Friday evenings and Saturday morning 😊
I have been using that same bluing for over 40 years. In my front load machine I add water to the fabric softener dispenser and some bluing. Works well!
I was searching for a comment that suggested if this works! Thank you!
I was wondering about this! I tried mine in the bleach spot and accidentally dyed a towel.
Colour run removal
@G. Borgia I'll check it out, thanks!
@@carawestgate colour run remover
I tried his method, and my whites no longer have a yellowish white shade, as before. They look "blue" white. Love it. Thank you.
I still use blueing made from a Justicia tinctoria plant (it's like making tea) to brighten white napkins and tablecloths. And yes, to keep my naturally platinum gray hair bright since I often swim in chlorine treated pools which cause it to yellow :) Great video and instructions!
! Fabulous .how do you do that !?
Love this! We still use Blue (in the form of soap bars, liquid, powder) in the Caribbean to whiten our clothes and cleanse our spirits
I used to love using blueing liquid in my whites. Also half a cup of lemon juice in the water will keep towels and sheets white. White vinegar in the rinse water makes towels nice and soft.
I learnt my lesson years ago with reds, they always get washed separately to everything else.
I love that you explained how to use the blue rinse. I always new how great it was on whites, but I never learnt about it and was too scared to use it. Then you come along. Thankyou
Takes me back to!!! Grammie used bluing on Auntie’s handkerchiefs and pillow cases. Hadn’t thought about it in years !!
This is the second video I’m watching and I am an awe of the class this gentleman exudes! So we’ll spoken, intelligent, classy, responsible with his things!!!!
Rough has overtaken classy after I landed on thos darned weird planet. I love that in India ans the ME one hardly came across rough but here they are like wood worms, crawling all over the place
Hello from a hot summer day in Australia. I’m drinking a glass of rosé and eating cheese in a tent in the shade and watching new Rajiv videos! What a great start to the year. Love this! Thanks!!
A bottle of Mrs Stewart’s Blueing liquid is ordered and on it’s way to me… I don’t think the rosé had a hand in that, though… surely not…
@@bellabellabelladonna I believe Bluo Liquid Blue Laundry Soaker from Coles has the same effect.
That sounds heavenly....I'm in the Northland of Canada, beautiful as it is I wouldn't mind changing places with you at this moment...🙂
@@mariongould4173 don’t worry, it’s back to being “winter” again, ha. It was 37C one day and max of 17 the literal next day 🙃
He is spitting facts about the neck rub line. It's why collars and cuffs used to be detachable or made of paper
I have actually started steering away from buying white clothes because of the dingy yellow look they can get. I also heard that HE washers can cause your whites to turn to yellow.
When I heard that you were getting your own channel, I was so excited! It was like a wonderful Christmas present!❤
This video takes me to my childhood. I have watched my dad use Robin blue powder (நீலம் in Tamil) to wash his white shirts he wore to his work. Yes, and the collars- he used a brush and sunlight soap to clean them after soaking them a little before washing. I’m am in absolute awe to hear about this from a young person in detail. I just realized how disconnected I am with my childhood memories. I’m going to start using blue again after viewing your video. Thanks 🙏🏾
Yes, I remember the same but using ujala
Rajiv Surendra is doing the Sri Lankan Tamil community proud
Rajiv is so plain and simple to share his big little tricks for householding. Thumbs up for him! I belong to the collar club. Something I always do to my shirts is dump the collars and add some dish soap, let it sit for five minutes and light scrub so the machine does the rest. Not only does this prevent collars from wearing out but also use less detergent in the total load. When you have a bike you know how difficult it is to remove that hard grease from your nails, do the dishes afterwards and you'll see how efficient dish soap for all grease jobs is.
Traditionally washing blue that was a small block (about 1 inch x 1 inch x .5 inch) and the block of blue would be placed in an old sock. The sock with the blue would be put in the rinse water and removed after the water turned blue and used again.
I grew up without a mum and just kind of got by. Now, I'm finally able to be present and start to enjoy looking after myself and my things. I'm truly grateful for your videos... Who would have thought that a guy doing washing would be so fascinating to watch. There's something so soothing and comforting about your voice and the way you teach. Awesome vid, I'll give the bluing a try. Thanks for the explanation and tips 👍
Hey, good job on getting this far! Best of luck to you!
I have tried all of the tricks Pinterest suggests, but nothing works! I just knew I was missing something! Now Rajiv is making me a white clothes snob! 🥰😛
My grandmother was the laundry queen!! She could get any stain out!! If she couldn’t get it out, it was a forever stain! But that was a rarity!! She hated new washing machines. She would wash certain things in the sink with a washboard. But she also hated the dryer. She liked to line dry things. I have no clue how she was able to keep things soft, but she worked her magic! To get blood out she always used hydrogen peroxide. Out it came!! ❤️
Watching my Mum boiling up the "copper" (no washing machine) and adding the Rickets blue bag to the rinse water every Monday morning to do the week's washing are things I remember from my childhood. My Mum took pride in being the first woman in the street to have her washing out, and it being the whitest. Wash days had a special smell as the copper was in the kitchen. Mum also used to put the blue bag on my brother's bee stings. Another nostalgic video Rajiv, cheers, Muffy from Oz (Australia
Love this. I’m always learning from you.
I’ve been using the Australian version called Bluo all wrong now that I’ve seen this video. Thank you for showing the way.
My Mum always boiled our tea towels separate from other items because our kitchen was a sanctuary of sterilisation & cleanliness. I still make ‘tea towel soup’ to this day.
We call those ladies the ‘blue rinse brigade’ in Australia.
How do you make that soup? (from another Aussie)
@@z3lda808 in a big stock pot, put tea towels and a capful or two of White King and bring to the boil. Let it simmer for a bit. I never time it exactly. I agitate it with a big wooden spoon here & there. Drain, rinse & wring it out (I do all this in my kitchen sink) and hang to dry in the sun. Tea towels are so clean and crisp. I don’t know if there is any scientific validity of sterilisation that way, but it’s what my mother did. It’s what her mother did back in some village in Lebanon… I just do what I’m told 😂 I also don’t like cross-contamination. My kitchen things live in the kitchen only. I’m a bit weird like that.
Another Aussie here, thanks that brought back many memories. Have you noticed the blue, now pink hair rinse is back 😩 Our mothers worked so hard in the wash house back then, with the copper boiling in the out door wash house. Kids today say, wash house, what’s a wash house ? Out door laundry 🧺 near the Hills round rotary clothes line,which us kids brought down every now and then, as we used it as a swing to hang and swing from. My Dad would just fixed it, he never complained. 😊
@@wendyhannan2454 I miss my Hills hoist. Had to tear it down 3 years ago to make room for a driveway when I subdivided my land. Putting your bed sheets out to dry and then bringing them in. They smelled like sunshine.
I asked my mother about this and my French Grandmother used liquid bluing too. I've been fixated on this and I worried about it maybe not being good for the waterways and I want to do this in the garden in a big trough for white sheets! So I found a little company here in the UK that makes this naturally and you can buy it in block or powered form. Its just arrived and I can't wait to use it on my whites!
These videos are like Sesame Street for adults into home care; inclusive, kind and educational with a lovely soundtrack to make me almost want to sing along. 🥰
Best new year’s day gift ever!! So glad you’ve started your own channel, Rajiv ❤
I remember my Grandmother doing laundry in the early 1960s. She used a cake of bluing, soaking each load of whites after washing, then putting it all through the ringer before hanging it up outside.
Your teachings brings me so much joy!
The fast-paced-life has diminished the light of simple tasks and, most importantly, how to enjoy doing them
Thank you!
You're such an inspiration Rajiv! Thank you for your incredibly informative and beautiful videos. You treat everything like it is sacred...It's like you took the Marie Kondo approach and took it a step further by infusing the things you already have with even MORE joy! Thank you for the effort you put into your content.
Rajiv, your attentive, detailed, approach to the nuanced, basics of life, will inspire and empower many.
- thank you kindly
Growing up in Colombia, my grandmother and her housekeepers used to wash all the clothes by hand. Always one of my favourite memories. I loved helping out with the the water and bubbles and scrubbing over the washing stone. The first step with whites was scrubbing them with a block of bright blue soap called “El Rey,” and then leaving them wet in buckets in the sun, until it was time to wash them by hand. I still do this with with my whites, and then throw them in the washing machine. I’ve always had bright whites. ❤️
That's a good idea, I think I'll try it!
Yo siempre compro las tres barras de jabón El Rey cada vez que viajo a Colombia 👍🏼
The housekeepers the indigenous people?
Ohmygoodness! I never realized where the old blue-haired ladies got their hair - haha! mystery solved.
Rajiv is the best, he is my guru, listening and learning or not learning, his ways and his voice are my meditation.
on your Hgtv linen bedsheets video:
You and my mother should meet. You would get along perfectly. She has a full closet with sheets, handmade as you show in this video, it was her job and pride for 35 + years. She still gifts me handmade tableclothes with a month+ work's worth. I live in Manhattan and do not like to put tableclothes on our kitchen table, only when the kids were younger and my mom made us gingham ones that camouflage the stains and we would wash them weekly. I strongly remember growing up as a kid sleeping in freshly ironed bedsheets like the ones you describe, enjoying celebratory dinners on tableclothes of incredible craftmanship and now I lead a very different life :)
My Mum used to use Dolly Blues on all the white wash. These were like single serve items, wrapped in cloth, and were dropped into the wash. There was also a dye works in Ancoats, called the Maddocks, which made the blueing dye. Sadly, the local canal/river was often that shade of blue.
Lovely way to start 2023, cheers Rajiv x
I can't tell you how much this delighted me! Not because you are a man doing your own laundry, but because you are so thoughtful about the process and are are careful to explain the proper techniques to actually care for the clothes. Thank you!
Growing up in England my mother used a blue cube in her wash. She had a big dolly tub which she filled with hot water and by hand she had a Posher which was a long stick with a brass round bottom. And she would wash her clothes like that. With nappies she boiled them on the stove in a metal bucket. Thank you for this great video.
FOLEX (purchased at Lowe’s / Home Depot carpet cleaning section) will remove ring around the collar, ink, lipstick, grease, tomatoes sauce, red wine, grass stains, etc and will not damaged materials or carpet....I even used it on white WOOD to get red wine stain off! LOVE this stuff and NEVER without it!
So excited for every video. I am a senior citizen you explain things so well I have tried to watch everything I saw you on and I am so happy that you have your own Channel now. You are so informative. Thank you and so looking forward to each video.
Thank you, Sandra. There's another comment on here about how this video could have been 5 minutes long instead of 20. I choose to take time to explain this clearly and slowly, so it's nice to know that it makes a difference to someone like you!
I love you! You said "warshing." Sooo old school just like your approach to everything. This is a wonderful reminder and I've never heard of bluing liquid. My mother dropped the ball on educating me on that one!! And, I had no grandma to teach me either.
I remember my Mom and Grandma (here in Boston, Massachusetts, and Digby Nova Scotia), using 'Stewart's Blueing' in the last cleanest rinse of a whites load of laundry. Had forgotten all about it. I used to think (as a know-it-all teenager) that it was only an optical illusion and 'cheating' to use it, (like 'Kitchen Bouquet' or 'Gravy Master' in your gravy!), and that proper sorting and bleach would take take care of it all. It used to come in a flat, glass bottle with an aluminum cap that had a little hole in it, through which you shook out the drops you needed into the filled up rinse water part of the wash cycle. I almost kept the last bottle she had, wish I had, they went to plastic bottles after that (late 1960s-early 1970s?). nowhere near as beautiful.
Underarms become stained yellow from the sweat there, (sodium chloride in sweat?)when bleached repeatedly and the inside edge of neckbands ALWAYS need scrubbing with Fels Naphtha soap, or your own simple homemade soap.
We also used to use it on a chunk of asphalt to grow neat 'crystals' too. (I think the instructions for that are still on the bottles) fun projects for kids from everyday stuff at hand at home.
Thanks for the updated old-fashioned lessons on proper washing techniques. My grandma would have loved you, she was an amazing laundress.!
I liked and subscribed immediately- great video and well done teaching, speaking and simple quiet music, (not to mention excellent knowledge of older effective ways to get things done beautifully)
Szorować!! Wow I did not expect to hear my native language in this video! Rajiv I love you more and more with everything I watch. I also read your book and it was an incredible account of your experiences. You are so inspiring I love your outlook on life. All the best!
Many washing machines in Europe have a boil or sanitize setting. I absolutely love that it's a standard setting. Perfect for towels and bedding!
I first discovered bluing when I lived in the Caribbean. It came in little cubes and I just chucked a cube in... I ended up with blue patches on all of my clothes. 😆 It was a learning experience but it works fantastic when you do it right!
My machine in the US has sanitize, but My sheets would shrink too much if I used it on them.
Thank you, Rajiv. I had forgotten about ‘bluing’ in the rinse cycle. Just ordered a bottle of Mrs. Stewart’s and will steadfastly try to bring all my whites back to bright. In Florida, that is a majority of my clothing. 😂. Love your presentations of the simple and important things in life.
What a spectacular handwriting this young man has!
Wow a man who understands laundry! Thank you for the bluing tips. I'm crazy about white bright clothes and clean everything else, not dingy.
My husband shaves his head and using all sorts of lotions on it, plus beard conditioners and I too condition my hair so our white pillowcases get dingy fast. I boil them on the stove with 20 mule team borax...that plus hanging on the clothesline in the sun brings them back. I have never tried bluing, but you can bet I will now thanks to your great directions!
Hi Rajiv, thanks for the veteran moves, senior Caribbean women have also used this method for years. Thanks for bringing it into the 21st century.
How did the algorithm know I needed this? Ive been thinking my white socks are greyish for weeks.
I would love to see Rajiv show us how to care for those silver pieces of cutlery and serving pieces. Even silver plated items must have “best practices” for caring for them. I have found a few pieces that have been very tarnished and it’s difficult to bring them back to their original beauty, but there must be a way!
There's a video he did on polishing silver!
Way to go, Rajiv! Only you could make laundry interesting!
Thank you, Anne!
Hey Rajiv! Thank you for the video! In my household laundry gets sorted in five categories: whites, darks, light colours, bright colours and colours based on white. It's colours based on white category where striped shirts end up!
Keep up your amazing work!