What is the term for a substance that is used to remove color from fabric?

The term for a substance used to remove color from fabric is bleach. Bleach is a powerful chemical that can effectively lighten or remove color from textiles, making it a common choice for household cleaning and laundry purposes. It works by breaking down the chemical bonds in dye molecules, rendering them colorless.

In the context of the other options, detergents are cleaning agents designed to remove dirt and stains but do not specialize in color removal. Stain removers focus on targeting specific stains rather than universally removing color from fabric. Whitening agents can enhance brightness but typically do not function in the same way as bleach in terms of removing color entirely. Therefore, bleach is the most precise term for the substance that specifically removes color from fabric.