Washing Colors

Written by Julia Woodbury (last updated December 6, 2021)

A tag on a new pair of jeans might instruct you to wash them before wearing them. Why? To prevent your legs from turning blue. Newer clothes will often have dyes that are not entirely bonded to their material. Even old clothes can wreak havoc in the washer if they are not washed with similar colors. For this reason you should separate your colored clothes into loads based on their color and recommended washing temperature. The standard is cold whites, hot whites, cold darks, and hot darks. It would be prudent to even have a wash that is all reds.

If you want to protect the brightness of your colors and if you want to prevent bleeding, try washing all your colors in cold water. If you do need to use warm water, try adding salt to the wash. You can add up to half a cup of salt to a large wash to freeze bleeding and retain color.

Feel free to try the various color-protecting products available in stores. Some are more effective than others simply because of the difference between hard and soft water. If you would like to use around-the-house items you can try a salt and vinegar solution to set the colors prior to washing. This process requires these materials:

  • 1/2 cup of vinegar
  • 1/2 tablespoon of salt
  • 1/2 gallon of lukewarm water

Mix all three of these together and then add your article of clothing. Let the item soak for an hour and then rinse with cold water. If color is bleeding into the rinse water, try the process again. Once the colors have been set in an article of clothing, they shouldn't bleed onto other clothes. Only do this process on single-colored items. For example, you shouldn't try this on a red shirt with a white collar, otherwise the collar will turn pink and stay that way.

Author Bio

Julia Woodbury

Julia Woodbury is a recent graduate of Brigham Young University. She delights in the written word and has interests in magazine writing and editing. ...

MORE FROM JULIA

Washing Whites

There's a reason they're called whites. Don't let irony get the better of you with grey and dingy "whites." Here are some ...

Discover More

Washing Delicates

Although we should all wash our hands, when the tag on an article of clothing instructs to "hand wash," its not talking ...

Discover More

How to Clean Your Toilet

Oh yay! Our favorite household item to clean! The bad news is there's more to clean than you think. The good news is if ...

Discover More

Tough Cleaning Jobs Require Brawny! Brawny paper towels provide the versatility you need: the strength for demanding jobs and the softness to clean up your child's messy face. This 24-roll pack of pick-a-size sheets can handle just about every cleaning task in your home. Check out Brawny 24-Pack Giant Paper Towels today!

More Cleaning Tips

Removing Blood Stains from Bedding

How many times have you had to run into the kids room due to someone screaming in pain? Getting into the room, you find ...

Discover More

Cleaning Embroidered Shirts

Embroidered shirts often present a unique problem when doing laundry. The reason for this is that the mixture of the ...

Discover More

Making Old, Hard Towels Soft Again

Keeping towels soft and fluffy over time can be a real challenge to anyone. Here are some simple ideas for revitalizing ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is two more than 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in Cleaning Tips from Tips.Net. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.