Is there anything better than finding a great-looking pair of jeans that fits just right? We love denim jeans because they’re low-maintenance, comfortable, and versatile. But even when you think you’ve found the pair of your dreams, there’s one “wild card” factor with the potential to cause you some major headaches: colorfastness.
I personally don’t usually stop to consider how colorfast a pair of jeans is before I buy them, but I probably should. I’ve pulled on a number of new pairs of jeans, only to discover later that my hands had turned blue from rubbing up against the denim.
Not only does “bleeding” dye have the potential to stain your other clothes, but it can also cause the overall color of your jeans to fade rapidly. But by taking a few simple steps, you can ensure that your jeans will look great for a long time to come.
Related: 3 Surprising Reasons You Should Always Wash New Clothes
How To Test Denim For Colorfastness
There’s an easy way to test for color-fastness when shopping for a new pair of jeans, or when you bring a new pair home. Just rub a white piece of paper agains the denim. If the paper comes away with any discoloration, that’s a good sign that you’ll end up with blue residue everywhere if you wear them immediately!
How To Set Denim Dye
A vinegar soak can help “set” the dye of dark denim. Fill a bucket with cold water and add a cup of white vinegar. Turn your jeans inside out, and submerge them in the bucket for at least an hour, up to overnight.
After soaking, place the item in your washing machine. Add either a cup of vinegar, or the recommended amount of a detergent formulated for dark clothing. Wash the jeans with on the coldest water setting, then allow them to air dry.
Tips For Washing Dark Denim
- Use a color-catcher each time you wash your denim. Color-catcher sheets trap loose dyes that get suspended in the wash water. They don’t stop your jeans from fading, but they can help keep the denim dye from staining other clothes.
Read More: Make Your Own Laundry Color Catchers
- The washing process involves a lot of friction against your denim, and friction can lead to color-loss. You can reduce problematic friction by turning your jeans inside-out before each wash.
- Another way to reduce washing machine friction is to select a shorter or gentler wash cycle than you typically use.
- Always wash your denim in cold water. Hot water opens up the fibers in your denim, where color can be washed away. Cold water helps the fibers stay closed, trapping the dye inside. Plus, washing in cold water can extend the life of all of your clothes, not just your jeans.
- Because heat promotes color loss, it’s also a good practice to air dry your denim. Your dryer may be faster, but air-drying will keep your denim looking newer, longer.
Last Resorts For Troublesome Denim
Option #1: If All Else Fails, Use Hot Water
Sometimes you end up with a pair of jeans that seems determined to stain everything you own, even after multiple washes. If you find yourself in a situation like this, you may want to try washing them in HOT water.
I know, I know, I just barely explained why hot water is not good for denim. But if your jeans are refusing to cooperate, it may be a good “last-resort option.” The hot water will help remove some of the dye from the exterior fibers of the jeans. Yes, they’ll probably fade a bit (and may even shrink some), but at least they’ll stop turning everything blue.
Option #2: Accept Your Fate
In rare cases, whether because of the dyeing process, the dye itself, or some other variable, denim will bleed no matter what you do. At this point, you have two options. You can decide these jeans aren’t worth the trouble and replace them, or learn to live with them.
If you’re really attached to a permanently troublesome pair of jeans and are determined to keep wearing them, avoid wearing them with light-colored items. That includes light-colored boots, tops, purses, jackets, etc. And definitely avoid sitting on lightly-colored furniture!
Do you have any other tips you would add about denim dye?
More Ideas You'll Love
My daughter introduced me to color catchers and they work really well. But I have always turned my jeans inside out to wash them and washed them all together. I have never tried the white vinegar method.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I don’t understand WHY anyone would WEAR anything that has NOT been laundered. It may have been tried on & handled by many people, before you pull it on—EWWW! If you wash it and see too much “bleed”, return it before it ruins your sofa, bag, etc. This is common sense—right up there with hand washing.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I always wash & dry new jeans. I’m short so they will need to be shortened. If there’s going to be shrinkage, let it happen before I take them in to be hemmed. I just washed 3 pairs and it’s the only time I’ve seen denim bleed. Once I get them back, wear them, I’ll wash them separately to check for any more bleed which I doubt that I’ll see.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Years ago, I had a striped, fluffy ear warmer (more like a band that tied under the chin). Mom told me to hand wash it with some salt in the water and air-dry it so the colors wouldn’t bleed. It worked!! I wish they still made those ear warmers !!!
Instead of tumble drying the jeans, we use pants stretchers (availably through Amazon, ebay, and numerous other sources. Google them), which not only aid the air drying, but also virtually eliminate the need for any ironing. These are pants stretchers btw, not wasteband stretchers. They have been around forever (I remember my mom using them when I was quite young in the 50’s). The old ones were one size fits most, while the modern ones sold now are adjustable for length as well as width of the pants leg.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi there. I’ve purchased 4 metres of stretch denim fabric which had dreadful colour bleed. So after two cold water vinegar overnight soaks, plus twelve washes, four of them hot, I’m still getting colour bleed. Do you have any other suggestions. I’m just about pulling my hair out over this.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I do the same thing as the first comment, I wash new jeans with old jeans and if they fade, its ok they fade on the old jeans anyways…..but I never really noticed a difference…..as I always wash my jeans in cold water and hang to dry….then I put them in dryer on cold fluff…..(never on any heat)………for a couple of mins. or so and the wrinkles come right out…..
I have heard vinegar is good for jeans but I never used it…..I do use vinegar in some of my laundry tho……1/4 cup to final rinse……
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like to wash new jeans with older ones. The new bleeds onto the old, rejuvenating the color.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I tried lots of things on my beige leather sofa. Warm wet rag with lots of dish washing liquid ( not the stuff for the machine) worked the best. I cleaned in a circular motion and had a dry cloth ready to do the wiping and drying. i had tried vinegar, leather cleaners, ……. and other items as well. Now i place a blanket on the sofa BEFORE i sit on it w/ my dark jeans.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have stained a brand new expensive leather blush colored purse with dark denim! I have tried vinegar, rubbing alcohol and even gasoline to get the large blue stain (on both sides) off. Any suggestions?
Try this! http://jillee.co/2fUuMLb
Great idea!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.As always these and so many other ideas work and make my life easier. I air dry all my jeans regardless of color, My tan , Black and OD green Jeans get an added step for drying, I bought two metal frames which stretch the Jeans and leave a nice crease. Sure readers are asking why. Well you would be surprised how nice pressed (Stretched) jeans can look, With dress shoes and a pull over I look fairly sharp in places like church. An old military trick, we used to have to starch our Utilities.
Trousers may take a bit longer to dry and I loved being able to hang them outside but in the new digs its not allowed. . So they take 2 days.
Ibikes
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I grew up stretching jeans, after struggling though trying to iron them. I didn’t know anyone still did that. Stretched jeans do look much nicer.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Well, i dried some jeans… it wouldve been the 4th air dry but i became impatient and dried them. I now have a baby blue dryer interior. Lol! Can i fix it??
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Try using rubbing alcohol or a magic eraser!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Before you do that “last resort” hot water wash, dry clean them! It sets the color better than any other process but of course is much more expensive than vinegar and salt. If you pay a ton for a pair of jeans, dry cleaning the first time would be money well spent.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great, i learned about salt and vinegar at school in my home science lesson.salt fixes the colour while vinegar brightens the garment and it really works.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Irene, I learned of this at a langerie party in my mid teens. Salt and vinegar soak. This also helps to keep your whites, white.
Jillee, I love your posts! Keep them up. I am learning something all the time from your posts. Thank you for doing them.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I add 1 cup table salt to the rinse cycle to set new denim, washed on cold with like colors and hang dry the first & second wash.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Color or dye catchers can be reused until they get pale in color or develop holes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use color catchers in every wash to avoid colors bleeding on to other clothes. It’s worth the effort to save clothes, time & money in the long run..
Do you have a way to remove fabric bleed from clothes that won’t ruin them. I am not sure what happened (I use color catchers and never had this happen) but I was ironing a pair of khaki work pants and I noticed one leg has some slight pink color spots. These are one of my favorite pair of pants for work and I don’t want to ruin them. Please help!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh no! You might want to try this stain remover: http://jillee.co/2awRhEC
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Add kosher salt to the vinegar for the soak, and it will be even more efficient! The vinegar and salt soak is something I learnt from my mother eons ago.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Will this work for red clothes as well? I have a red t-shirt that is almost a year old, washed many times, soaked in vinegar and it still bleeds a lot when I wash it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Salt will stop reds from bleeding! But how do I get the denim blue off my leather car seats?!?
Yes!
Thanks for sharing. This is good to know. I’ve luckily never had this problem. I don’t wear jeans a lot, so I rarely wash mine. I’m just not someone who can comfortably wear jeans all day.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This is what I’ve been doing to keep denim from bleeding from years and it does work. I didn’t figure it out by myself rather, it took a village.
Thank you for confirming that all of the trouble I’ve done has been by other intelligent women (and men)!
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