White.

Tibb, does White Brite do a better job than Oxy Clean? I haven't been that impressed with OC.

Yes! Hugely better. White Brite doesn't get stains out. It whitens. So treat any stains as you normally would, then dump a cup of White Brite into the water, soak the towels/clothes/sheets for 15 - 20 minutes, then wash. You won't believe the difference.

I wil not use OxyClean. It ruined one of my good white towels! Turned it yellow.

I only use white towels. I always bleach, and I've never had them get dingy. If I'm in someone's home, I use whatever they provide me. I think you can get away with whatever color you choose, if they are strictly for a guest.

Wow, I've never heard of White Brite until now. I will have an HE frontload machine though so won't be able to pre-soak...I wonder if I start with new white towels if adding White Brite to each load will maintain their whiteness without needing to soak.

I think that you can't go wrong with white. Other colors tend to get bleached spots on them from whitening toothpaste or acne medicine etc. That way if you have a careless guest that's not thinking about what's on their face or hands, your towels won't be ruined. Probably why hotels all have white towels, you can always use bleach.

Lisa, probably, but you can always soak them in a big bucket or a laundry sink or bathtub before washing. I turned my sister on to White Brite, and she is an addict now and orders the larger size online and has a stock of it. She soaks her whites in the laundry sink then transfers them to her FL. It actually does a better job of whitening than does bleach and w/o the risk to the fabric. It smells funny when it's wet, but the smell does not stay on the towels.

I prefer gray or a muted green. White towels remind me of a locker room.

I have some Charisma towels in a mint green to match the tile in my bathroom. They have held up very well for years. I also have some white towels but they show odd stains and marks.

I prefer patterned, colorful towels(unless it's a washcloth for the face). My husband strongly prefers whites, exactly for the reason mentioned here already-they can be bleached. So we have a mix of colorful towels- and white and cream ones..

We also have linen hand towels for the guests, in our powder room. They are extremely beautiful. It's a pity I got only two of those, because I can't find them anymore. They have a relatively wide velvet band sewn into them, so it's a very nice interplay of textures, and pleasant to use. People comment on them all the time.

White and aqua in my bathroom and dark gray in DH's. I don't usually like to use dark colors because of having to wash them in hot water. They fade prematurely. My whites get dingy over time. I've never heard of Bright White. Is it something you have to order? Careful as I try to be, the aqua gets bleach spots from Clearasil (I'm 56 again...what's up with blemishes!?) I've started using cheap white washcloths in my bathroom. I use them till they're dingy. The effects of liquid soap does a number on them too. Then for about $3.50ish, I'll buy another bundle of 18. The yucky ones become utility cloths.

Monica, you can get the smaller size of white brite in grocery stores. If you want the larger size, you have to order it online. I wish they'd make it in a big tub size!

Btw, it is also called "OUT White Brite" some places, like Wal-Mart. Can get it in hardware stores, groceries, etc. Don't know why some places it's White Brite and some OUT White Brite. Google it and you'll see them.

It's just the two of us and in the master bath we use a mix of aqua, very pale taupe and a darker taupe. For guests I keep an assortment of new towels. I always have pretty (striped or the embossed color-on-color are my favorites) hand towels out. Someone mentioned light spots on towels used on their face - I keep separate washclothes and hand-towels that I use for my face - just in case of make-up spots, etc. Plus, I really prefer a thinner, nubbier type washcloth to use on my face.

We use white now, after many colours of grey, green, blue, patterned.

Will have to check out white bright. Thanks tib!

Does white bright work well for white sheets too? DH bought expensive white sheets a few years ago and you aren't supposed to use bleach on them.

White!

It looks like white towels are a clear winner!

white

Do be careful if you have allergies & or Asthma with White Brite.

There are so few opportunities in a bathroom to add fabric and color, that I use towels that coordinate with the room.

I'll be a lone voice here saying I don't care for white towels at all. I've never bought them. The first time I ever bought towels I went dark and have never done that again either as they show every speck of lint and tend to discolor.

I've somehow always had silver/gray towels and I've used green and gray monograms for accent. Gray washes well, doesn't show much and no bleaching or discoloring.

I've also had taupe and a muted light blue from RH and a lavender which was less successful. Those are also good colors for the same reason as the silver and they always go with my bath decor. Currently I have a soft green/aqua towel for the guest room. Love that color as well.

White towels, washcloths and sheets. You can bleach if you need to sanitize and they are classic and go with everything. That's all (she said with great authority ;).

Chispa, I use the White Brite on my white cotton sheets all the time, as well my pillow cases and the pillow protectors. You know I rent my house out, so it is really important that my linens are bright and clean. White Brite absolutely does the trick, and I am relieved I don't have to use bleach. But again, don't use it as a stain lifter. Treat stains with Shout or Dawn (grease stains) or straight Tide, whatever you use, first. I also never put the sheets and towels in the dryer (towels only to fluff up once they're dry on the line, and I use different towels in the winter when I can't line dry). My renters have to agree to not put linens and towels in the dryer. Stains get set once put in a dryer. It took me three days and 1/2 of that gigantic Costco bottle of Shout to get one rental party's bath towels and face cloths clean after they left. They're returning this year, and I've asked them to bring their own towels this year. (She was totally cool about it, thank goodness). I generally don't have three days between rental parties to clean towels!

The first time I used the White Brite (in a desperate attempt to bring my good but dingy white towel back to life, It is only a bit of hyperbole when I tell you I needed sunglasses when I opened the washing machine when the load was done. I had soaked them for 20 minutes. I did literally gasp and was stunned at the screamingly bright, white towels staring up at me. I was sold on the stuff in that second. Line dried those towels (as always), put them in the dryer to fluff them up, and they looked and felt like the day I bought them. Not kidding; not exaggerating.

Roco, you aren't alone. Lars said white towels remind him of a locker room! Lol.

All of our sheets and towels are white.

Tibbrix - Is the White Brite scented? I can only use unscented laundry products, but I'd love to find something that brightens up whites.

White here too -

And I'm going out today to buy White Brite! Never heard of it.

I don't think OxyClean works at all. Never really noticed a difference

All our towels are color----no white. They match the bedrooms since there is no room in the hall bath to hang towels. I have gray and yellow towels in the master as those are the colors of our bedroom/bath.

All white all the time. Same for bath rugs. Tib thanks for the White Brite tip! I have tried Bluette bluing but had mixed results.

eandhl2, about the asthma/allergy thing. What kind of allergies? I have the standard springtime sneezy, runny nose type. One of my cats has asthma and sleeps on my bed and also likes to pull towels off the racks (gee, thanks Zephyr) and curl up underneath.

jpmom, I agree about OxyClean. I always add it to loads of whites, but I honestly don't see any difference, even when I let them soak for awhile. I think OC is better at cleaning glass shower enclosures than whitening clothes.

porkandham, White Brite is unscented...as far as the laundry goes. When it mixes with the water, it does create a bad, sulfurous smell. This smell is not on the laundry at all, but you might want wear a mask when putting the laundry in.

I've also discovered FOCA laundry detergent, which in conjunction with the White Brite does amazing things. I'll never use another detergent. It's also incredibly inexpensive. $3.50/bag at Wal-Mart (ugh. I feel like I should get a shock every time I admit I guy something at Wal-Mart). That detergent is scented, though. I don't like scented detergents, but that is how good this stuff is; I'll only use it. It also does not leave remnant scent on the clothes, and definitely not a perfume-y scent like Tide, et al, which makes me sick. I love the fresh smell of my laundry after I've used the FOCA and line-dried my laundry.

White towels and sheets here.

White Brite is really excellent. I used it after Tib recommended it on my white shirt thread, and it brought my yellowing shirts totally back to life. As well as my white sheets.

Never heard of White Brite until now.

As far as towels, I have everything from black to blue, navy, aqua, pink, red, to white.

Sas, I am so glad to hear it worked on your shirt! I remember your thread. I hate giving up my older, well-made stuff because of something like graying or whatever and am always happy if I can salvage it somehow.

I have different colors in different baths. Caramel in half bath. Apple green in guest bath and also use white along with. In our master bath primarily chocolate brown. I don't use bleach (on towels anyway) or products that cause spots so the dark towels have worked well. Beige got so dingy I switched.

I use embroidered white, soft rose, and soft green ones in our master bathroom. Navy with some brown and rust ones, many with Western embroidery or stripes, in the guest bathroom, as it and the guest room have Western décor. Our powder room has stripes and embroidered ones in dark green, rust, etc. that work with my Native American art and Talavera sink and tile in there. Personally, I prefer soft, fluffy white ones best of all.

I use cobalt blue, turquoise, lavender or royal purple towels. No white towels for me!

i like a variety of colors for the different bathrooms! i have found that some colored towels will hold their color nicely even with acne medications and some are terrible! i wish that all colored towels used the same dye (or whatever!)-- it seems that many beach towels use a different dye or something because they hold their color more reliably than bath towels......!!

i don't like the dinginess that white towels get over time... tibbrix, i looked in walmart and some grocery stores after you laundry post a few months ago and nobody seems to carry white brite around here! :( would love it for hub's white tshirts which don't look particularly brighter after adding bleach to a load...

I like white sheets and white walls and white in general. But I have something against white towels, and don't have any.

I found White Brite at Lowe's.

At Lowe's, I paid $2.50 or so for the same size bottle.

I don't get the online prices. You can get the "OUT White Brite" in a 5 lb. bottle, which I would do. I go through that stuff like water. The small bottles are very small, good for maybe three washes.

Sas, the $2.50 must have been the smallest size bottle. I think I paid $3-something at Wal-Mart for the small OUT White Brite.

I think it was a 28 or 30 oz bottle. Not sure if that's the smallest or not, but I thought it was pretty cheap.

Use white towels (after many years of using colors) and love them for the fresh look they impart to the bathrooms. As far as keeping them very white, I put a measuring container full of OxyClean in the washing machine and use hot water, put the towels in, and after they have agitated for a few minutes, pause or stop the machine, and let them soak overnight or longer. This method has removed every stain I have used it on.

I bought some from Amazon last night. I was going to post a link but it's the exact one mdln posted...2 bottles for $15. My WM doesn't have it and it's 30 miles to Lowes. Can't wait to try it!

I have some white towels with a very pale aqua design printed on them. Would the White Bright be ok to use on those towels?

Drying towels and sheets outside? Not in this household ... I'll take grayed-whites instead of that extra work!

I might give the WhiteBright a try for the sheets. I also don't use white towels and like to have some color in my bathroom towels.

Switched to white about 10 yrs ago and never regretted that decision!

White for all face cloths and bath towels but I have colored hand towels that coordinate with each bathroom.

I mainly use cream towels in one and linen in the other. I also have navy and burgundy towels that I'll occasionally use in the one bathroom since they match, are nice, and were gifts. When DH and I married someone bought us a BUNCH of white towels and washcloths. I use those as the junky towels for hair color, etc. I don't bother to remove any stains on these. Also, I think white towels look too stark and out of place for in my bathrooms or I'd revisit that color choice.

I've been using white washcloths in the kitchen this past year, but I must not be doing something right with bleach because I have to do a lot of soaking to get them white. Maybe I'll try the White Bright as an experiment.

Monica, I'd be careful with the pale blue piping. The White Brite probably won't hurt if you wash right away, but if you soak the towels in it for 15 minutes or so, it may well fade the blue. I soaked my pale yellow and pale blue towels (a gift from a friend) and it faded them, so now those sets are varied in color between the fingertip towel, face cloth, and bath towel. fortunately I'm not picky about that kind of thing. The towels still get the job done.

White all around here, even sheets. In our first floor half bath I do use color and pattern.