I really like Zout...almost always takes out my stains.

I'm a Shout devotee.

I do want to mention Color Catchers, though, as an aside. Those work amazingly well. They even work after something has gone through the dryer.

My DH had some white golf shirts that had somehow turned a little blue. They had been in the dryer and put away by the cleaning person. I washed them twice with color catchers and go them white again, to my amazement.

For the plain whites like socks, try adding bluing like my grandmothers and mother (or probably great-grandmothers for most of you-ha) did. That should take away the gray. For stains on both whites and colors, I also like Shout.

For whites that I don't bleach, I put Oxyclean and detergent in the washer (front load), set it on hot wash, cold rinse, start and let it swish around for 1 or 2 min, then hit the pause button. I leave it for a long time...a few hours. Then restart the machine and when it finishes, the whites will be like new. I also do this with colored clothes and stains, but wash on warm instead of hot. It really brightens the colors and removes set in stains.

I use Biz along with regular detergent for whites, brights and jeans. I have a 9 year old who gets some kind of stain on everything he wears, and it works like a champ.

I use Zout & for really tough stains I make a paste of Biz & water and leave it on for a day or two. For whites, I also use a spray bottle of Clorox Clean-up Cleaner +Bleach (kitchen, bathroom cleaner). It's perfect for treating spot stains when I don't want to soak the entire item in a bleach solution.

Graying can be caused by using too much detergent. Also you might look into adding borax which can soften the water if yours it too hard.

Yes, bluing on the white socks. Let them soak in a bluing/water mix for a while, then wash. Be careful with the bluing, though. Don't spill it!

ACE finally got that stuff in their warehousing system! So...~~ a month ago, I've got Mrs. Stewart on my Housewares shelves! People had been asking about it for some time...

Faron

I like Oxy Magic spray & Dritz Magic Wand for most stains.

Something I've noticed is how so many fabrics nowadays have polyester in them - which is a stain magnet....

Watch out for that Oxy stuff. When it first came out in powder form, I used it a lot and it was great. Last summer, though, I used the liquid spray "oxyclean" on a white hand towel and it caused a huge yellow stain. Towel has been relegated to the cleaning rag bin. There is some warning on the bottle, though, which of course I read after the fact. I'd stay away from that stuff altogether.

Amazing thank for all the replies. I so agree about that oxy stuff. I know when I used it in the past, I thought it was wonderful. ( I actually have a sample size of it from a while ago- it's probably the good stuff lol). I went and splurged on one of the oxy sprays a month or two ago, and it was so ineffective what a disappointment. I went today looking for Biz and Shout and Zout- and I only could find Shout. (so I bought it-). I also some of the bluing/whiteners but thought I would start with Shout. I am in NJ, and I seem to recall that there might be some items that are banned here.

I do have a High Efficiency Top loader, and really don't use much detergent at all. I only recently started using bleach on the whites because it needed something. I think I used to use spray n wash- that was either discontinued or at least not for sale in my supermarket which has tons of products.

Very interesting all- I will let you know what works if anything.......

I thought my husband ruined yet another pair of nice shorts
from working on his car. I had no stain remover in the house so sprayed on some
Simple Green, let it sit a few minutes, rubbed vigorously and threw in the wash
with some towels. The oil stains came out and didn’t hurt any of the other
laundry so I think this will be my go to product especially since its multi-purpose.

My nursing friends use Zout, and it's sold in the uniforms store, so I tried it and it's good! I also soak in or add Oxyclean for really dirty loads.

I used Mrs. Stewart's with whites--great for karate gis--when I had a top load, but I haven't tried it in the front loader; how do you dilute it before adding it?

For environmental reasons the government began restricting the use of phosphates in laundry detergent in the early 90's and more recently in dish washing detergent. That's what's missing and why you're noticing a difference. I read that in an article over a year ago about people complaining that their dishes weren't get as clean as they used to. I googled a bit and found people are getting around that by adding TSP ( not a substitute ) to their detergents.
The recommended amount seems to be 1/4 cup for laundry and 1/2 tsp. for dishes. I haven't tried it, but there are articles about the ban on the internet and reviews for TSP on Amazon.
http://www.ehow.com/how_12131849_add-trisodium-phosphate-laundry-detergent.html

But why would you add something- TSP - that was taken out because it harms the environment. White socks aren't worth that, IMO.

BP, when I was trying to get the yellow stain from the Oxyclean out of my white towel, I was at a house that had a front loader, so I soaked the towel in Mrs. Stewarts Bluing in their kitchen sink, then put it in a bucket and took it upstairs to the washing machine.

Good tip about presoaking, Tibbrix. (Btw, that's why I like a sink in the laundry room)

Is it possible the hardness of your water has changed? Often a sign would be that whites don't come out as white etc. as you need more detergent with harder water. I can tell when I forget to put new salt into the water softner from the laundry looking dingy.

I like 7th generation for laundry - mine comes out nice and bright and I just use cold water. Seems to work better than Tide and other brands I've tried.

Soil Love. Comes in a green squirt bottle for a little more than a dollar and it actually works. Very well, actually. Takes out blood, ink, and just about everything else.

bp, if you presoak whites in bluing before washing, you need to wear sunglasses when you take the items out of the dryer! That stuff really works! But it didn't get the yellow stain out of my towel, boo hoo. But then again, it's a whitener, not a stain remover.