URGENT help needed = dye transfer

Freckles

Today I washed a new t-shirt of my son's. In the next wash I washed a new turtleneck of mine and the black dye from his t transfered all over the turtle. In the wash after that I washed a new green Lacoste shirt of my son's with the same problem.
Now the turtleneck, while disappointing, was not expensive so just sigh. His Lacoste shirt though I really really need to save.

I left in soaking in a sinkful of water with some Lestoil with no improvement.

Any ideas?

Tia

13 years ago

General

13 replies

Latest reply was from Gaylene

Anonymous

Rit dye has a product called Color Remover, and I believe it can be used in your situation. So sorry this happened. Run your washer through a cycle with hot water (no clothes) and a cup of bleach to clean it really well. That's the procedure after dyeing something (on purpose).

13 years ago

Freckles

Veteran

Thanks Claire. Since these tops are new they are losing their own dye just being normally washed. Will the colour remover destroy their natural colour too?

I ran the machine through the 2.5 hr tubclean cycle and the following load of sheets are fine. Do you think I should do the bleach thing as well?

13 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

Dye stains can be very difficult to remove as you are finding out. I've never heard of Lestoil, but I have had success soaking the garment in an OXYGEN bleach which is safe for colored fabrics. Using a stain pre-treatment product before soaking might also help.

If that doesn't work, you might want to try soaking the garment in a solution of vinegar and water (about half a cup of vinegar to a gallon of water). The vinegar/water soaking worked like a charm when someone spilled a glass of red wine on my white denim jacket. Totally removed all the wine stain.

I'd test the shirt for color-fastness on an inconspicuous spot first-- but, on the other hand, if it's not wearable as is, you've got nothing to lose.

13 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Ugh. I have no good advice, Freckles, but I do sympathize. Washing mishaps are so frustrating. It happens to all of us at some point.

13 years ago

Freckles

Veteran

Thanks ladies.

Gaylene I had thought that the oxygen bleach would remove too much colour as the shirt was on it's first wash so was losing colour anyway. Soaking it in the Lestoil it lost more. That may be the way though...

I always thought that you used vinegar to set dye before washing reds and blacks and such, never thought of it for removing dye... The black dye on the gorgeous green shirt is just awful. That he actually chose a gorgeous green that looks fab on him was a yippee moment instead of the sea of black.

I'm so disheartened Suz as they're the first good shirts the kid has bought...sigh. Grrr. The black t-shirt is gorgeous but I think I'm going to be handwashing it from now on.

13 years ago

Freckles

Veteran

Another question...

I still have them soaking in water. I thought that perhaps leaving them wet would help before I could treat them tomorrow. Am I wrong?

13 years ago

Anonymous

You will laugh at this one. I have posted it many times.

Take a big pot, fill with water, add eggshells and boil for a few minutes. It works.

13 years ago

Freckles

Veteran

Zapotee I know that I've read your eggshell post in other instances but for dye? Would not the hot water set the dye?

13 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

Stains are so different that different methods work for different types. For example, the only thing that will take out blueberry or peach stains from clothing is pouring boiling water on the stain. Again, works like a charm, but sounds like it would set, not remove, the stain.

I was really reluctant to use the vinegar/water soak on my white jacket, but after trying soap, stain-remover, and cool water-- all of which just turned the red color a nasty purple, the vinegar/water combo totally removed every vestige of the red wine.

I usually try the most conservative methods first and then the more radical ones. If the shirt isn't wearable as is, I figure I've got nothing to lose; even if the bright green color isn't quite as bright as it was originally, at least it might still be wearable.

ETA: I can't see how leaving the garment soaking in cool water overnight would be harmful. Probably better than letting the dye dry onto the fibre.

13 years ago

Angela

Active Member

Don't let the dye dry! Keep it wet until you try to remove the dye. I used a colour remover once, and it needed the product to stay wet from the wash.

13 years ago

Anonymous

I tried the eggshells several times and never had a problem. I had a white dress with a black trim that was hand wash only. As it dried, the black dye would run into the white.
I also had a big issue with a black pair of skinny jeans that stained everything.

It's hard to know what's going to work, do you have a reliable cleaner? Perhaps you can give them a call.

13 years ago

Freckles

Veteran

The dye is GONE! I left them soaking overnight and took a quick look at them this morn before going to physio. The black dye seemed to be gone and the water in the sink was clear. Took them out and hung them over bathroom curtain rod and all seems well. Yippee. I wonder if it was the Lestoil or the soaking overnight that released the black dye.

Thank you so much ladies. I will keep all this info for future endeavors.

Gaylee stains sure are a science aren't they. Thanks for all the hellpful information. I do well with grease stains since those seem to be the majority of what we get but am still unsuccessful with blood or many different stains on one garment.

Angela thanks. That is really important info to know in case this happens again.

Thanks zapotee. Do the eggshells work on many different varieties of stains or is there one type that it works on?

Success...who knows why but I'm happy. I know it's only a polo shirt but been trying to get him to buy better clothes and this is success on so many levels.

13 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

*applause* I'm so glad that you got the dye out of the shirt without affecting the color.

13 years ago

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