bluing

American  

[bloo-ing] / ˈblu ɪŋ /

Or blueing

noun

Chemistry.

1. a substance, as indigo, used to whiten clothes or give them a bluish tinge.

---

Etymology

Origin of bluing

First recorded in 1660–70; blue + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

“But what a lot of work to boil the clothes in the large pots with the bluing powder.”

From Literature

The colour actually comes from a process that starts with boiling water and grinding laundry bluing cubes, which are usually used to wash white clothes.

From BBC

Although Castle made works with color, utilizing a variety of materials that include laundry bluing, watercolor, crayon and even colored ink leached from magazine pages, these are black soot-and-spit.

From Los Angeles Times

Some on Reddit fixed this by sanding theirs down to take the shine off of the finish, and another recommended using an acrylic topcoat and another chemical bluing.

From The Verge

When a congressional seat opened up in a bluing stretch of Phoenix’s eastern suburbs, Sinema ran and won.

From Seattle Times