Susan wrote in with a dye dilemma regarding her daughter’s new school outfit:
I went to wash it [her daughter’s new outfit] and discovered a problem. It’s a white with blue striped shirt with a Tinkerbell picture on it. The shirt has a black vest attached to it and the black has RUN all over the white/blue areas. It’s awful.
I’ve soaked it in Biz in a feeble attempt to get it out and sprayed it with
stain spray, but no luck. Do you have any other suggestions for dye stains?
It’s not been in the dryer yet, just in case there’s a “miracle” cure.
First of all, Susan is a smart mama for not drying the outfit in the dryer yet! As we all know by now, dryer heat almost always sets in stains. So if the outfit can be saved, she still has a chance.
The bleeding of dye is a common problem, especially when washing garments for the first time. The dye hasn’t had a chance to ‘set’ prior to washing. The most known culprits are the dark dyes: black, navy, deep red, deep purple, dark green to name a few.
And some dyed garments continue to run, regardless of how many times they are washed. Have you ever had your whole load of whites turn gray because you accidently left in a pair of black shorts? Not fun.
It is true that sometimes the excess dye cannot be removed from the affected garments. There are some stain dilemmas that just cannot be resolved. Lots of dye issues fall in this category.
There are a couple of options:
- Try Oxi Clean or other oxygen-based stain remover.
Oxi Clean removes a plethora of stains, and I’ve had it resolve mild cases where dyes have bled. Try using the soaking method for stain removal. - Try a Color Remover.
Rit makes a Color Remover that is intended to help restore the garment’s original hue. Be very cautious with all color removers. They can easily lift too much of the color causing a less-than-thrilling result. Follow the directions carefully. I would be extremely cautious when using a Color Remover on any colored garment (such as the case with Susan’s dilemma above). I would definitely spot treat with the Color Remover before I would submerge the whole item in the Color Remover solution. It is named ‘Color Remover’ for a reason, afterall.
As I said, removing unwanted dye stains are some of the toughest (if not impossible) types of stains to correct. To prevent dyes from bleeding in the first place, you can try a product like Shout’s Color Catcher.
I’ve personally used it several times with great results.
What tips to do you have regarding dyes that bleed?
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Have Your White Clothes Turned Yellow?
I’ve never heard of that Shout product (color catcher), but will have to look for it as it sounds amazing. 🙂
Color Catcher is a.ma.zing!
We wash loads that typically look like this:
Red/Pink/Orange
Blue/Green/Purple
Khaki/Brown/Yellow
Black/Navy/Grey
Sometimes the purples jump ship to the Reds load, sometimes the oranges jump the the Browns.
When the colors in a load range from a very dark to light or there’s something multicolored, in goes a Color Catcher! I can wash new items in with older items, and there are no worries! I’ve also tried an ‘off’ brand from Wal-Mart that worked just as well (it was on clearance – score!).
Susan, hope you get the dye stains cleared up!
I *love* Shout Color Catchers! I love it every time it comes out dark and color-filled. It makes me happy knowing that some clothes were probably saved. 🙂
I LOVE the Shout Color Catchers. They really work!!
I didn’t think they were that popular of an item, but they seem to be! Thankfully, they work great! 🙂
-Lauren
is there a waya to remove the yellow color that happened when bleach got on a pair of white cotton pants?
Coralie, you could try Mrs. Stewart’s bluing and then hanging to dry in the full sun. That’s probably your only option.
I have some red, cotton dish towels that will not stop “bleeding”. I have had them more than a year and cannot figure out how to fix this problem. Starting yesterday, I have soaked the towels in white vinegar, hot water and a cup of salt in my kitchen sink. Soaked for 3hrs….and…they still bled. Tried the soak, hot water and vinegar 4 more times and the red just keeps “bleeding”. Right now, as a next to last resort, I am soaking them again, this time in hot water and 1/2 pkg. of “Color Renew” by Rit.
I am on my way to WallyWorld to look for some Rit color remover, hopefully, that
will help solve my “Red” problem. If I use 1/2 pkg. at a time and keep watch, hopefully I won’t ruin the towels.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!!
Have you tried Shout Color Catchers? I have had GREAT success with these on several occasions! Might be worth a try. 🙂
Hi, no I haven’t tried them, but, I will try to get some this week so see what happens. Thanks for the suggestion.
Can you still remove the dye even if you threw it in the dryer? I threw in my multi colored coat in the dryer thinking the color was from white fleece being transparent and the lining was visible! It was on a medium low setting!
Melissa, you might can still save the coat since you dried it on a very low setting. It’s hot heat that often makes stains set.
Best wishes!
-Lauren