If you’ve ever accidentally mixed your vibrant-colored clothes with light ones while doing laundry, then you’ve probably had to deal with streaks of color bleeding all over your clothes. It is common for bright clothes to bleed, but there are things you can do to prevent that from happening.
How to Stop Dye from Bleeding in Clothes?
Mordant is a substance used in setting dye in fabric in order to prevent bleeding and color fading. Did you know that some people use salt as mordant? If you are wondering how to use salt to set dye in fabric, don’t worry. All you have to do is add salt to your wash load to set the color of your clothes.
Other people opt to add distilled vinegar to the rinse because they believe that it can help to stop the dye from bleeding. However, there is no solid proof of the effectiveness of either method in commercially dyed clothing.
Now, how to set dye in fabric? There are dye fixatives available in the market which are commonly used by small companies and artists who dye fabrics. If you want to give this a go, ask a professional for tips and recommendations. You can also ask what product is best for home use.
What Precautions Can You Take to Avoid Dye Bleeding in Clothes?
Here are laundry tips you can try if setting dye in fabric proves to be a tedious task and if you don’t have the time to learn how to stop dye from bleeding in clothes:
- Sort your laundry by color.
- Hand wash your clothes that have already bled.
- You can also opt to wash your blue jeans with clothes of the same color to avoid damaging your other clothes.
- If you suspect that a garment bleeds, you can test it to know if it is colorfast before mixing it with your other clothing pieces.
- If you want your colored clothes to last, use cold water to wash and rinse them.
Why Does Dye Bleeding Happen?
Some fabrics are not properly dyed and they can lose their vibrant colors in different ways:
- Color bleeding: This is what happens when your clothes get wet and the dye is released and it mixes with the water.
- Crocking: When the fabric rubs against other surfaces, the color gets transferred. This is called crocking.
- Color fading: This is when the fabric loses its color due to crocking, bleeding, sun exposure, and harsh chemicals.
Why Do Dyes Bleed, Crock, and Fade?
Setting dye in fabric might be impossible due to the following conditions:
- A poor-quality dye is used.
- When the dyeing techniques are ineffective.
- When the dye is not appropriate to the type of fabric.
- If no mordant was used to bind the dye on the fabric properly.
- If there is unattached dye that has not set on the fabric.
- When the garment has loose threads or micro breakages, the dye gets released.
- Using harsh detergent and chemicals.
How to Control Dye Bleeding in Clothes?
If you don’t want your clothes to lose any more color than they already have, there are things that you can do to control dye bleeding in clothes, including the following:
- Do not overcrowd your washing machine. Avoid using harsh laundry detergents and chemicals.
- Do not use hot water when washing. Your clothes will lose the mordant that sets the dye. It is highly recommended to use low or room-temperature water to wash your clothes.
- Avoid direct sun exposure because extreme heat can cause fabrics to fade
- Do not overwash your clothes. Some people tend to repeat washing because they fear that it is still dirty or still has a slight smell.
- Wash jeans separately so if there is any loose dye, it will not mix with your other garments.
It can be disheartening when your favorite clothes get discolored or when their colors fade. Setting dye in fabric can be difficult, but you don’t have to do it on your own!
If you are wondering where you can get the best Durango laundry services, you should check out Kelly’s Dry Cleaners. We provide green-earth cleaning and pride ourselves on taking excellent care of our customers’ clothes. We will do our best to ensure that your garments will maintain their bright colors. What are you waiting for? Drop off your dirty clothes today, and we’ll take care of them for you!
