Most of the time, getting the laundry done is a labor of love. After all of the washing, drying, hanging, folding, and putting clothes away, the last thing you want to deal with is realizing that your garments have been stained from colors bleeding during the wash cycle. If you’ve found yourself in this unfortunate position, don’t worry! We’re here to help with these easy-to-follow instructions on what to do if color bleeds in the wash.
Understanding Laundry Color Bleed
Before we dive into treating your garments, let’s quickly understand how color bleeds happen.
A laundry color bleed typically occurs when a garment is made with poor-quality dye or ineffective dyeing techniques. If washed with lighter-colored garments, the dye can transfer, leading to unwanted color stains. Unfortunately, this can happen without warning, even though the garment may look fine when purchased.
Some colors are more susceptible to color bleeding, with orange and red colored clothes typically being the most prone to color bleeding compared to other colors. For this reason, you may want to wash new orange-red garments on their own for their first couple of washes, unless you want your white socks to come out of the wash newly pink!
What to Do When Color Bleeds in the Wash
When color bleeds in the wash, acting quickly is key. Dye transfers are best treated immediately after the garment is washed and still wet. Once dry, the stain becomes harder to remove.
- Identify the Item that caused the color bleed and remove it from the group
- Separate all of the garments affected by the color bleed
- Re-wash the affected garments with detergent and oxygen bleach on a normal cycle (or the cycle the label calls for)
- If the rewash doesn’t remove the stain, mix oxygen bleach and cool water in a washtub or sink
- Submerge items to soak in the solution for a minimum of 8 hours
- Check for stains and soak them again if stains haven’t lifted
- Wash the garments one more time using regular detergent
- Wash the item(s) that caused the color bleed separately to remove more unset dye and prevent future color bleeds
Having a hard time removing a color bleed stain? Bring your garments to our expert cleaning team at one of our 20+ convenient Colorado locations!
How to Prevent Color Bleed in Laundry
Preventing color bleed disasters is easy once you know how to avoid it. Here’s how you can prevent color bleed in laundry:
- Always read the care label before washing. If it says “wash before wearing,” consider it a warning that the fabric may bleed during the first wash.
- For new garments, it’s best to either hand wash or machine wash them separately or with similar colors in cold water during the first few washes. This is a great way to prevent color bleed early on.
- Sorting laundry by lights, whites, and darks is another simple way to reduce the risk of color bleeding. By washing light and dark garments separately, you’ll protect your clothes and keep colors intact.
Save Your Clothes From Color Bleeding
Whether you’re looking to prevent color bleed or treat color bleed, it’s important to take the right steps to protect your garments. If you’re unsure about how to handle color bleeding in the wash, consider bringing your items to our experts at Dependable Cleaners for safe washing and drying, , or consider our convenient laundry pickup and delivery service! Our quality guarantee ensures your clothing will be treated with the highest quality care, including our proprietary 7 point inspection system to best protect your garments.
