I recently ordered a top from eBay. The picture indicated it was a pale, dusky pink, but on arriving it's actually a horrendous fluorescent bubblegum pink. I don't really want to try and return it because last time this happened to me I just got brushed off with "the images look different on different screens" so I was wondering if it would be possible to simply bleach it down to a more acceptable colour.
I know the typical method of leaching dye using a chlorine bleach solution and a bleach neutralising agent, but this top is a 95% viscose/rayon, 5% elastane blend and all the research I have found so far has been incredibly contradictory, suggesting variously that the chlorine bleach method will either damage viscose, turn it brown, or be absolutely fine, and suggests no other alternatives. The only thing I have found at all is a blog post where the writer had dyed a viscose-rayon dress to be pastel pink and received chemical bubble-gum instead, but this only results in a responder repeating the chlorine solution method, claiming that they had used it after having the same issue with a cotton blend dress and that "bleach is not such a terrible thing for rayon", but no word on whether the OP tried it and what happened.
Has anybody got any advice on the matter?
(And that's the last time I order anything pink online - it's always pink I have this problem with.)
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I have since learned that viscose, since it's made out of cellulose, is actually a more natural fabric than, say, polyester, as such it is easier to dye than a fake fabric. The danger is that it CAN be brittle and break, and that if something happens to make the dye job uneven, it's hard to get it back: textilelearner.blogspot.com/
It sounds like your only worry is whether the bleach can damage the fabric.
THis source discussed the process of using pure hydrogen peroxide to lighten the fabric books.google.com/
Thanks, that sounds roughly like what my research was turning up - that it can be done with the right method and the danger is in getting the fabric wet, not the actual bleaching process because while it is a manmade material it's made using natural fibers, unlike polyester. I had seen that first page in my hunt...
What I couldn't find was anything like the second page (I don't know why I didn't think of Google Books, as a student I practically live there), so thank you very much for that.
Bleach is for natural fabrics. You can burn a hole in this synthetic fiber. Leave it alone or return it.
I would think the bleach would damage it. I have accidentally bleached some before and it was not good....
Send it back. If they try to tell you something to make you drop it, you can report this to Ebay and they will certainly make the seller give you a refund. Ebay is usually on the side of the buyer in disputes, and it sounds like you have a legitimate grievance.
I agree that if your return time limit has not passed (eBay - 30 days but PayPal is 90 days) then your best bet is to request to return it. It is very easy to do (eBay has improved on this) just click on return and state that it is not as described and you do not want it. The seller will have no recourse but to refund all of your money - that includes what you paid for the item as well as the postage you paid - in other words, you should receive all of your money back.
I assume you can bleach rayon (viscose is the same thing) using a diluted bleach solution. At a resale store, I had bought a rayon wrap skirt that was a pinky gray color, and it had some bleach spots on it that were peach colored. And the material where those spots were did not look damaged or anything. I think it depends on whether the washing instructions say you can handwash the rayon or have it dry cleaned. If you can handwash it, then using the diluted bleach solution on it is probably fine.
That isn't right that you are being challenged by the seller when trying to return the top. Like others have said, ebay has a good return policy. You shouldn't have to settle for something you don't want. However, if you like everything else about the top, and feel bad in having to return it, then you might be able to safely bleach the rayon. It depends on whether the washing instructions say you can hand wash the rayon or have it dry cleaned. If you can hand wash it, then using the diluted bleach solution on it is probably fine. At a resale store, I had bought a rayon wrap skirt that was a pinky gray color, and it had some bleach spots on it that were peach colored (They were not professionally done, as it looked like someone's mistake).
I would not bleach this synthetic fabric. You have a good chance of destroying it.
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