5 Color Fading Prevention Steps
Here are five easy color fading prevention steps everyone needs to know and, most importantly, use. These steps will help make your laundry last longer, and keep it looking its best.
1 – Wash Likes Together
No one wants their favorite blue and white sweatshirt to have pink letters because it was washed with the new red towel. This happens because the colors bled out of that newly dyed laundry and into the nearby companion. Resulting in your lovely whites turning pale pink. To prevent this, wash like colors and materials together, and brand new laundry by itself the first time. As another safety precaution use the go-to color catchers to catch any excess dye.
2 – Use Cool or Cold Water
While we advocate that warm/hot water really does clean better than cold, if fading is a major concern, you’ll want to wash with cool or cold water. When you wash any clothes in hot water, the heat opens up the fabric and allows dirt to escape, but by the same token the same thing can happen to the dyes in your fabric. Use hot water only if your clothes are extremely dirty and cold water just won’t do the job. The cold water will help to keep the dye in the fabric and out of the water.
3 – Proper Chemical Use = Less Color Fading
Color fading can happen as a result of too much or too strong of a detergent. Make sure to use a detergent formulated for cold water, and guaranteed to be gentle on colors. Tide and Woolite both offer products with these promises. Anything with Oxi may remove more color than you would like.
4 – Turn the Clothing Inside Out
So you may be wondering how turning the clothes inside out could, ever possibly help prevent color fading! I mean, after all, it’s the same water, same detergent and same piece of clothing. What difference does it make? It makes a big difference because of friction. The friction of your black t-shirt rubbing against the nearby dark red shirt could cause a transfer of colors. Turning both pieces inside out will move the process to the inside of the clothing where any damage over time would be less noticeable.
5 – Air Dry to Prevent Color Fading
Air drying your laundry can help prevent color damage too, in much the same way that turning the clothes inside out can. Heat and friction in the laundry can cause the fibers to break down (Now you know where lint comes from.) and give you a less-than-bright piece of laundry when it’s all said and done. Line drying eliminates both of these damaging effects, and can help keep your clothes looking great for years to come.