Put A Stop To Fading Colors
It’s never fun to pull a dark shirt or pair of slacks out of the wash and realize they’ve faded to a lackluster version of their former color. But I’m here to tell you that fading colors are not the unavoidable side effect of laundering they might seem to be!
Fading occurs when warm water breaks down the individual fibers in a fabric and causes dye to be released, an effect sometimes referred to as “bleeding.” Bleeding dyes, along with fading caused by friction, sunlight, and other elements, are to blame for the fading colors of your clothes and linens.
While some bleeding and fading may be unavoidable, there are ways to keep colors from fading as much or as quickly as you’re used to. That’s what you’ll find below: 9 easy tips on how to wash colored clothes without fading, so you can keep your clothes looking like new!
Related: 10 Universal Laundry Problems And How To Overcome Them
How To Keep Clothes From Fading In The Wash: 9 Easy Tips
1. Turn Your Clothes Inside Out
One of the easiest things you can do to prevent color loss is to flip your garments inside out before washing them. They’ll get just as clean, but you’ll reduce the amount of friction on the outside of your clothes. (While you’re at it, make sure zippers are zipped up before tossing them in the washing machine to minimize friction and avoid snagging.)
2. Wash Clothes In Cold Water
Washing in cold water is another no-brainer, considering that fading colors are often a result of hot water relaxing the fibers in the fabric and making them more likely to break down. Using warm water as opposed to hot will help prevent some bleeding, but cool or cold water will help even more.
Related: These Handy Guides Take The Guesswork Out Of Clothing Care
3. Don’t Overfill Your Washing Machine
Stuffing as much laundry as you can into your washing machine creates more friction between your clothes, which we already know is a big no-no. It also raises the risk that your clothes won’t get cleaned or rinsed thoroughly enough in the wash, so make sure your wash drum is full-ish, but not jam-packed.
4. Keep Clothes Out Of The Sun
The ultraviolet rays from the sun are another big offender in terms of contributing to fading. You can still hang your clothes to dry outside, but try to choose a shaded area with lots of room for air to circulate. That way, you’ll still get the benefits of air drying in the sun while avoiding the bleaching effects of direct sunlight.
Related: This Old School Laundry Hack Has A Laundry List Of Benefits
5. Check For Colorfastness
Before washing dark items for the first time, always check for colorfastness, or the ability of a fabric to retain its dyes without fading or bleeding. To do it, rub a damp cotton swab on an interior seam or hem, and if there’s color on the swab after doing so, you’ll know to wash it separately or with like colors.
Bonus Tip: Care instructions like “wash alone/separately” and “wash with like colors” are often signs that the fabric may not be colorfast, or that it contains excess dye that will bleed out the first several times you wash it.
6. Wash Before You Wear
Dye doesn’t just come out in the wash—it can rub off onto your skin and furniture too. To avoid any unfortunate issues with dye stains or residues, be sure to test for colorfastness and wash new clothes before you wear them.
Related: 3 Surprising Reasons You Should Always Wash New Clothes
7. Separate Your Laundry By Color And Weight
There’s a reason our foremothers made sure we understood the importance of separating our laundry into dark colors and light colors! This step goes a long way toward helping your clothes maintain their color over time.
You should also consider further separating your laundry weight as well. The idea here is that heavy clothes can put too much friction on lightweight fabrics, which could harm their fibers and lead to fading or color loss.
8. Wash With Vinegar Periodically
Adding a cup of vinegar to your wash loads won’t necessarily prevent colors from bleeding, but it can help brighten both whites and colors by eliminating residues that can make fabrics appear less vibrant. Vinegar has the added benefit of reducing odor and softening your clothes, so it’s wins all around.
Related: The Most Important Things To Know About Cleaning With Vinegar
9. Choose A Gentle Wash Cycle
Since preventing friction is key to keeping your clothes bright and vibrant, it can help to choose brief and/or gentle wash cycles when possible. And if a garment is especially delicate (including those susceptible to bleeding), hand washing is always the safest way to go!
For more washing, drying, and folding hacks than you can shake a stick at, check out all of my laundry tips and tricks!
Do you have any tips to prevent fading colors?