I do a long presoak in oxi then wash in hot water with a good whites detergent.

Long pre-soak in Biz, then wash in hot water with my normal detergent. I recently tried adding a little sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) to my wash. I do think it helps since my water is not soft. (Many thanks to mamapinky, larsi, et al.!)

Eld, if you used chlorine bleach that's not a good idea for soaking. All the benefits of chlorine happen within 6 minutes any longer contact is damaging the fibers. Jtc and Moxie just gave good advice.

Moxie, your welcome.

I sometimes start with a warm soak/prewash on *really* grungy whites with a good dose of Biz powder and a couple/few tablespoons (depending on size of the load) of STPP.

Wash is HOT, with a proper dose of good detergent such as Tide or Persil that has multiple enzymes (none of that lower-tier stuff like Arm & Hammer or Sun) and STPP. Maybe spike it with some oxygen bleach (although Biz also has it).

Sometimes I use chlorine bleach for an extra sanitizing zap ... but chlorine is incompatible with enzymes and oxygen bleach (deactivates them) so add chlorine bleach toward the END of the wash period, NOT at the start, so the other products have time to do their job first. Frontloaders with a bleach dispenser cup *automatically* dispense it at the correct time. Bleach dispensers on many toploaders are *not* timed, they simply funnel the bleach immediately into the outer tub where it mixes with the water.

Heed Mamapinky's advice regards to long chlorine bleach exposure being damaging to fabric. Automatic *timed* dispensers release it during the last 3 to 5 mins of the wash period.

All socks have some sweat and body oil, but the lotion may be complicating things. I'd still start with Biz, but if that doesn't work, a pre-soak in hot, hot water with liquid dish detergent (I use Dawn, but other kinds work.) may help with the oil component, too. I do my pre-soak/pre-wash in a bucket. That way I don't choke my front-loader with suds and I can use plenty of water for the items. Obviously, I rinse like mad before putting the items in the washer.

I use OUT. It is a powder that you put in before your detergent, etc. You run it alone for a few minutes, then add in your regular things and wash away. It works better than bleach for me and gets things nice and white. I have terribly dry heels, so I sleep in short white crew socks after putting really heavy cream on my feet. Everything washes out beautifully.

Hisown.... can you tell us what the ingredients are in The OUT that you use? I’ve never heard of it before but see there’s one for odor and one for whitening on Amazon. I could not find the list of ingredients.

Dirt = hot water! Pure sodium percarbonate will be helpful to prevent some dinginess. If you can still smell the lotion on the socks, they aren’t clean!

MiMi, the product is called Out White Brite. The bottle says it contains Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Hydrosulfite, and Sodium Carbonate. I buy it at Walmart. I always wash my white socks in hot water.

Thank you.

I’ve got the same issue with socks. After reading threads here about STPP, I ordered some and have been using it with Tide liquid. I’m really quite surprised at how clean those dirty socks are getting now. Even dish towels with coffee stains look better.

Before washing and/or in the wash I've liked borax. and booster/water softener called White King.

I usually wash them with my white clothes in a long hot wash using a detergent with oxygen bleach. If your detergent doesn't have oxygen bleach, you can buy oxygen bleach on it's own or mixed with other surfactants. I would not purchase anything that says it has oxi power or a liquid that has oxi in its name because it might not contain any real oxygen bleach.

I don't think dirty men should wear crew socks