Advice for Problems Washing Dark Fabric

I, like many others I'm sure, have had problems regarding successfully washing my dark laundry loads. They fade or bleed onto other clothes and all I want is for my clothes to stay the same except clean—that's the point of laundry right? So why then do we have to deal with faded blacks and whites that are supposed to be white but end up pink or gray? Good grief. Here are some ways to remedy that problem.

First things first: Wash your darks with your other darks. That may seem obvious, but it needs to be stated. You can significantly lessen the chance of your clothes bleeding onto each other by simply washing your darks with your darks and your lights with your lights. This will do wonders to maintain the color quality of all your clothes.

Also, wash your darks in cold water. This will succeed in preventing bleeding and maintaining the color. You can also invest in a detergent made specifically for dark fabrics. (This may be pricier than you're hoping for, but this alternative can be bypassed). You can prevent your blacks and other darks from fading by not drying them in the dryer. Air drying will do wonders to reduce the fading.

If you want to start preserving your color from the beginning, you can soak your clothes in vinegar and then wash as normal. Also if detergent comes in direct contact with fabric it can cause it to fade. That's why it's a good idea to add it as the washer is filling with water and wait until it is dissolved before adding your clothes.

Washing dark fabrics isn't too hard and if you just follow a few tricks you'll be good to go on maintaining the darkness of your fabrics. It's so frustrating when your clothes don't maintain well their quality, so you need to help that along and make sure that you're taking every step you need to keep your darks dark!