A new lease of life. Review on Ala Fabric Bleach

I have been using Ala from time to time for over a year. I had never paid much attention to see how effective it was. All I was certain of was that it was better than using those bluing agents. Bluing agents tend to have a somewhat patchy effect on clothes. Moreover I believe they compensate for gradual yellowing of clothes by giving them a bluish tint to make them appear white. On the other hand Ala gives the whites a more natural and uniform whiteness.

Then one day it happened. My daughter dumped her new pair of dark blue jeans into the washing machine and Voila! I had a bunch of clothes that had turned various shades of blue. Whites, coloureds, everything. At first I gingerly took a few pieces of what should have been whites and gave them the Ala treatment. Before my unbelieving eyes I saw the clothes turning white in a matter of seconds. Anyway I waited for the prescribed amount of time before washing them.

Now I was interested. The whites were generally undergarments, which would not have mattered too much if they had not turned completely white. I turned my attention to the coloureds, which looked beyond human redemption. I was indeed surprised by the results. The bleach took away the blue colour without perceptible change to the original colour. In fact one pair of self-coloured shorts were rather old looking even before the aforementioned accident. After the Ala treatment, they started glowing like new. Not only had the bleach taken away the blue, it had also removed all the less obvious stains which must have made the shorts look old in the first place.

Since then, I've used Ala a few times to give a new lease of life to some of my older looking but comfortable shirts. Yes even coloured ones.

Unfortunately for our politicians, Ala will not work for whitewashing corruption.

On the negative side, one has to be careful not to get it on ones hands during use as the hands turn rough.

For the tech minded, Ala contains:

Sodium hypochlorite 5% max.

Sodium hydroxide 1% max

Amine oxide 1%max

The label also boldly proclaims,

''WHITENESS ASSURED

Ala Fabric whitener lets nothing come in the way of dazzling whites, not even tough stains.''

This sounds like rather a tall claim but it isn't too far from the truth.

The recommended use instructions are quite simple even for one like me.

1. Put 2 caps of Ala in ½ bucket water

   
   




2. Soak clothes in it for 30 minutes.

   
   




3. Rinse and wash with detergent

   
   

There also is a special piece of advice for stubborn stains,

''Put 2 caps of Ala in a mug of water and soak the stained area for 20 minutes. Rinse and wash with detergent''

We are also informed that Ala is ''For white cottons and terrycots only''

Other precautions mentioned are:

 Do not use on silks, woollens, nylons, coloureds and delicate garments.

 Dilute Ala before use to avoid damage to clothes.

 Keep away from children.

 In case Ala splashes on skin or eyes, rinse with water immediately and if swallowed, drink milk or water. See a doctor at once.

 Do not mix Ala with lavatory cleaner, acid or any other cleaning product as this could give rise to dangerous fumes.

All-in-all an excellent product from the house of Hindustan Lever.