Eeeeek! As a last-ditch effort, hang them out in that scorching California sun. That's been the only thing to work for me that a 200F wash can't fix.

I find that the post-bleach yellowing is very, very difficult to ever remove :-/

Thanks Alex. Naturally we are having gray skies and rain for the next few days, and of course....it was 90F yesterday with scorching CA sun.

Why does bleach turn things yellow? Don't most people use bleach to whiten things?!

Since they are since they are yellow, would bluing work? Just a guess.

Bleach only yellows when excessive amounts of Iron or Hard Water Minerals are mixed in the rinse cycle with the remaining chlorine. They attack each other, and it yellows because Bleach sets iron stains. So... You end up with this "even" yellowing... All over the fabrics overtime if you have a lot of iron, or other minerals in your water.

With that said.... Chlorine Bleach would probably be the best idea to remove those loose dyes. If that didn't work, you could purchase some dye remover made by Rit at Safeway or Wal-Mart. Or even "White Brite". I'd skip the OxyClean... As I can practically guarantee it won't touch that dye. It'll just sit there and leave a large carbonate residue that'll leave the fabrics feeling stiff.

Edit - Didn't fully see this. I'd definitely give the White and Bright a try. It make take two cycles, but the dye remover will probably remove all of the damage.

You might try some White Brite on these towels. You can get a pour bottle of the powder at WalMart for about $3. I use it all the time on my white socks. It does a good job, better than bleach, and it does not leave any smell behind.

Sorry Larsi!!! I agree the yellowing could be hard water minerals. My white towels had a little yellowing until I soaked them for about 4 hours in a 1/4 cup of Lemi Shine. Then I ran them through a rinse cycle and then washed with Tide F&G liquid and 1/4 cup of Biz. My towels are white again.

200F wash did basically nothing (only a tiny whiter), but it was fun to try. Oddly, the 200F wash made the towels feel so soft though...strange.

I am doing one final try.... Cottons Hygiene 160F. German Ariel and a Tide boost pod (Odor Rescue). My god those boost pods are SUDSY with high temps....I had suds come into the detergent tray :-O

Ouch my chick..you've done what we've all done at least once. Oxy can cause fading expecially at high temps, but like Mich says it won't work for this as this actually needs dye stripped out. You can try the Rite dye remover. Its cheap...DONT use it in your Miele. I also wouldn't recommend White out or white brite in your machine since I've heard bad about it but can't remember what. You may have a new stock of cleaning rags...don't beat yourself up, we've all done this. XOX

Another vote to try White Brite for a soak (I buy mine from Amazon and have some handy for times like this and especially rust stain help) and then a thorough wash and rinse in another detergent once the color is out.

Another reason chlorine bleach may turn things yellow..if its not rinsed well and traces remain than its put in a dryer it will cause yellowing..don't think you did that though Larsi...

This is why laundries rinse extra well and use antichlor..otherwise a hot iron hits a white shirt and its a sick shade of yellow.

I have spent WAY tot much time, detergents, energy, electricity on hand towels today. I will post a pic at the end of this post. I will use them as hand towels, until my slight ;) OCD makes me turn them into cleaning rags and I buy new (at least I only ruined half of them...bright side). The hand towels were about $20, so hot a huge loss.

Left side are the ones I ruined, Right is the white side (they look whiter in person):

Been there, done that. And a good long soak in White Brite did the trick. That stuff is amazing.

Actually, the slightly yellowed one just looks like it is more a cream color rather than white. I think it looks fine.

Dorey, only bluing I ever see is Mrs Stewarts..I strongly discourage that bottle of ink..very high risk of dyeing your washer.

Mommy.hello dear..hope all is well with you.

Hi back mamapinky :) doing well, thank you.

Larsi, do you have any Foca detergent? In my experience, it is the best whitening detergent there is. Get yourself some and throw in the entire batch (both shades :-) into a hot wash. Good luck!

Foca. May kill the Miele LOL.

I've heard before that Foca is good for whites. Wonder what is in it that makes it special. Can't beat the price, that's for sure.

Foca used to say in huge letters ..contains brighteners....so I expect it is loaded in OB's which will make whites white. But won't strip color

So what happened Larsi? Did you get the yellow out yet?

@ Rococo....Yellow is gone. I did three washes ranging between 160-200F. Combo and variance of Tide boost, British Ariel powder tablet and Grab Green.

I think with continued hot washes and strong(ish) powder detergent with oxi bleach and a bleach activator...they might be ok! :)

Hate that feeling of having messed up something that usually gives you comfort. Glad to hear it's been remedied. I would have been to the trash bin already. So bravo.

LOL Rococo!! I might still make a visit to the trash bin ;)

I am going to give them 2-3 more wash rounds with HOT and a good, whitening detergent. If they do not whiten like the other half....they will either be cleaning rags or trash!!

Please don't trash them Larsi..donate ..and we all know how wonderful you are at helping people. XOX