Getting Dye Out of Clothing

Getting Red Dye out of Clothes

I did a dark wash with one red shirt and some assorted light color clothes. For some reason the red ran on everything. Can the red dye be cleaned out of the clothes? Mindy from NY

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RE: Getting Red Dye out of Clothes

Well I guess you found out the hard way not to put a red item in with lights. I'm assuming this red item had not been previously washed or is relatively new. After several washings, it probably won't happen anymore. I am not sure what to take the red out with but seems there are some products out there. Go look in the cleaning products aisle in Wal-Mart and also in the area where they sell fabric dye. Also what you could do is to hand wash the red item separately in the future. I think you can set the color by using salt in water.

Also, it's best to do darks separately from lights.

Go to www.ask.com and pose your question as you might get some better answers than what I was able to give. Good luck! (09/06/2006)

By Debbie52

RE: Getting Red Dye out of Clothes

Soak the clothing (minus the red shirt) in Oxiclean and hot water before rewashing. I've had good luck removing red dye doing this. Susan from ThriftyFun (09/06/2006)

By ThriftyFun

RE: Getting Red Dye out of Clothes

Once I washed an old, old orange shirt with some white socks and panties. I had washed the shirt dozens of times but apparently, it still had some dye to give. Guess what! I had orangey-peach socks and panties. It was not a solid color but orange and white tie-dye pattern. I tried everything to get it out with no luck. It eventually faded some but I still have some orangy tie-dye socks. It's a funny story and I had one of a kind underthings! (10/03/2006)

RE: Getting tie dye out of baje shorts

I don't know how to take out the die in my shorts they are my favorite shorts please give me some advice! asap (06/09/2007)

By victor123

RE: Getting Red Dye out of Clothes

I washed a white shirt and a light green shirt with a red shirt by accident. When I went to put the clothes in the dryer, the white and green shirts had red all over them. I tried washing the green shirt with Oxiclean and Shout but nothing happened. I tried the same thing with the white shirt and the red came out somewhat. I then put the white shirt outside in the sun to see if the sun could bleach it back to white but, it only took a little bit of the red out. What should I do now? (07/09/2007)

By ceoamiton

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Getting Red Dye Out of Clothes

Some nice shirts were washed with an item that leaked red dye. The shirts have been kept moist by soaking in cool water, not dried, while we search for a solution. Any suggestions? Thanks. Holly from Richardson, TX

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RE: Getting Red Dye Out of Clothes

I had the same problem a while back. I posted here and the advice that worked best for me was to soak my white shirts in lemon juice. I ran the shirts through wash cycle, then left them to soak overnight. Next morning I ran them through full wash/rinse cycle and they were white again. Hope this works for you. Good Luck (08/22/2007)

By Betty

RE: Getting Red Dye Out of Clothes

Rit Dye actually makes a product for this. It is only $2.49 for a bottle and it works great! (I know this because my husband "helped" by doing laundry) (10/16/2007)

By Tiffany Rohe

RE: Getting Red Dye Out of Clothes

My 13 year old was doing her laundry and thought "if I put every thing in at once, it won't take my so long." Well the school team jersey 1/2 polyester and 1/2 cotton blend, White with a thick purple stripe starting at the shoulder doing down to the bottom. gold and purple letters in the front and back. Is now pink, purple and gold due to being washed with a red sweatshirt. It was dried in the dryer and she looks to me on getting this out before the couch sees her. I have tried everything today and can not get it out. Is there a secret I do not know about? Can you please share. It has to be white again. (b)Editor's Note:(/b) Once it is dried, removing stains is harder. I've had the best results removing bleeding dyes with Oxiclean. Soak the garments in hot water with a good amount of it and let it soak for a while. Hope this helps. (10/26/2007)

By Kim

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Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

I have a new sweatshirt that I put in the laundry today and blue dye ran all over into it.

Cathy from Canada

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RE: Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

Add bleach in the washing machine. It works best if there's color on white clothing! (04/08/2008)

By amanda

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Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

I've just accidentally washed new white tops (which contain slight splashes of color design) with a blue skirt. Now the main body of both white tops are a pale blue! What can I do? Any solutions on how to return the white to it's original brilliant white color?

Mary from Ireland

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RE: Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

Bleach does work wonderful. I like to try it in the sink with the item of clothing, that way you have control over how much you are using. Very little is actually needed, about 1 Tablespoon for a sink full of water, letting the item soak for about twenty minutes. You don't have to worry about pre-printed items on the t-shirt, it should not lighten it. If this doesn't work, add more bleach to the water, add it to a container with water, and pour into sink away from clothing. Good luck! (08/07/2008)

By ranchhandgirl

RE: Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

Hi,
I've used Rit Color Remover before and it turns your whites back without using bleach. It can be found in the laundry aisle. The info below came from their website. Best of luck.

Fabric Treatments, don't throw away stained or dingy clothes - save them with RIT Fabric Treatments! RIT Color Remover removes or reduces fabric color before dyeing to a different or lighter color. Also safely removes most stains on whites that have accidentally been washed with colored items.

RIT Rust Remover removes yellow or tan discoloration caused by rusty water, rusty metal, and clay on white fabrics only.

RIT White-Wash whitens solid white fabrics, including hospital uniforms and non-bleachables such as lingerie.

RIT Whitener and Brightener brightens dull whites and colors without chlorine bleach.

(08/07/2008)

By JoAnnDeMom

RE: Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

I would use Oxi-clean. Then I would try something they did years ago, I would lay it flat out in the sunlight. I think my mother used a white sheet to lay them on. The sun will bleach out what the Oxi-clean doesn't get. (08/08/2008)

By SunshineRose

RE: Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

After washing, try putting it outside on the line in the sun. The sun sometimes whitens and bleaches. This may take a few washes and a few days in the sun. (08/08/2008)

By JOAN

RE: Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

Thanks to everyone who offered advice, I'll start with RIT Color Remover and see how it goes, fingers crossed! (08/10/2008)

By Mary from Ireland

RE: Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

Thank you so much. I would've thought hot water and bleach would've destroyed the clothes! My bf bought a new shirt and jeans from an expensive dress store and I threw it on top of a red table cloth I'd forgotten was in the wash machine. I almost died when it came out splattered with red as it was light blue. I tried everything for a week. This definitely worked, thanks a million! (01/01/2009)

By tiannalilly

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Getting Blue Dye Out of Clothes

How do I get blue dye out of white clothing?

By gemmano1 from Birmingham