Clothing is Bleeding onto Itself

I bought a sweater with a red top and white bottom. I washed it in cold water, but the bottom turned pink. I washed it two more times with the color grabbing cloths, but it is still pink. Any suggestions?

By Diane from Bangor, ME

Answers:

Clothing is Bleeding onto Itself

The color grabbing cloths won't help, they keep colors from bleeding. I have a white v-neck sweatshirt that has a white inset in the neckline and the red has never bled onto the white. A trick my Mother did when she had little girls that had dresses with white colors to keep the colors white enough to suit her was she would put just a little bleach water in tea cup, and carefully dipped the collar into the water, not letting any of the colored part get in the water. I did the same with my daughter's little dresses. What I am thinking is maybe you could try dipping a white cloth of some kind in straight bleach and carefully blot at the pink area, being sure to rinse each area in plain water as you go. I probably wouldn't risk doing more than 3-6 inches at one time without rinsing the area first. (05/25/2010)

By Joan

Clothing is Bleeding onto Itself

I have had great success with Shout Color Catcher. I buy a lot a red and had the same problem, but you put the dryer sheet in the washer before the item is washed the first time and you never have it bleed onto itself. You can buy it where you buy laundry detergent. It comes 24 sheets to a pack. I found it by accident and I wouldn't be without it. (05/26/2010)

By June Odom

Clothing is Bleeding onto Itself

Amazing! I am so happy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Two brand new dresses (one deep bright yellow, one deep coral, each worn once) and a coral yoga top, all looked like black Sharpie marker exploded on them (result of a brown swimsuit cover up getting stacked on top of them when all were wet). I tried all kinds of suggestions, but held off on the Clorox bleach and boiling water because of the intense color of the garments I thought surely bleach would ruin them.

When nothing else worked even a little bit, I figured I had nothing to lose and gave it a shot.

All 3 garments turned out perfectly with no fading of the original color. Only the dye transfer spots are gone. I can't believe it.

I think water temp is a factor though, because when I tried to treat the 2nd garment in same pot (of cooling water) I had used for first garment, nothing happened. (I did not boil, but used hottest tap water, our heater is set to 130 degrees). But when I used fresh water and bleach each time it worked like a charm. I used 1/4-1/2 cup of bleach (depending on amount of fabric in garment) in about 8 quarts of water. (07/05/2010)

By Renee