How to get dye out of clothes: fix color bleeding and pink whites

Step by step: how to get dye out of clothes

Safety first. Never mix chlorine bleach with ammonia, vinegar or other cleaners, and do not soak in bleach and color remover at the same time. Use color remover in a ventilated room, wear gloves, and keep it away from children.

1. 1

   Pull the load before it dries

   As soon as you see pink or blue tints, take everything out of the washer and keep it damp. Do not put anything in the dryer, because heat can set loose dye into the fibers. Find the item that bled (often a new red, navy or black piece) and set it aside.

2. 2

   Check the care labels

   Read the label on each stained item for water temperature and whether bleach is allowed. A triangle with lines means non-chlorine bleach only; a crossed-out triangle means no bleach of any kind. Sort the items into whites, colors and delicates, since each gets a different treatment.

3. 3

   Soak in oxygen bleach or a bleach alternative

   Fill a tub or bucket with warm water. Either dissolve oxygen bleach at the amount on the tub and soak for as long as its label allows (often an hour or more), or add about 1 tablespoon of a bleach alternative liquid detergent per gallon and soak up to 5 minutes, as Tide directs. Submerge the items and lay a white towel on top so nothing floats.

4. 4

   Rewash on the warmest safe setting

   Without rinsing out the soak, move the items to the washer with a normal dose of detergent. Wash on the hottest temperature the care label allows. Leave out the item that bled.

5. 5

   Inspect wet, and repeat if needed

   Look at each piece in good light while it is still damp. If you still see a tint, repeat the soak and wash. Faint pink on white often lifts after a second round.

6. 6

   Use color remover on stubborn white cotton

   For white cotton or cotton blends that are still pink, use a color remover following the package directions, usually in hot water in a stainless steel pot, sink or washer. Color remover strips dye, so use it only on items that are meant to be white. Rinse well and wash again with detergent.

7. 7

   Try bleach only where the label allows it

   If a white cotton item is labeled bleach-safe and still tinted, wash it with chlorine bleach at the amount on the bottle. Do not use chlorine bleach on wool, silk, spandex or anything with colored trim. Air dry and check before using the dryer.

8. 8

   Air dry and check once more

   Hang the items to dry, then look again. Once the color is gone, they can go through the dryer as normal. Wash the item that bled on its own, in cold water, for its next few washes.

Which dye removal method fits your stain?

Match the method to what happened: a whole load tinted in the wash, a single spot of colored dye, or white cotton that has turned pink. Start with the gentlest option and move down the table only if the stain stays.

Tide’s dye transfer instructions follow the same order: a short soak in a bleach alternative detergent solution, a wash on the hottest temperature the label allows, then a pretreat and second wash if the stain persists.

How do you get a red dye spot out of clothes?

Treat a single red dye spot with a soak, then alcohol. The University of Georgia Extension stain guide gives this sequence for red dye on washable fabric:

• Soak 30 minutes in 1 quart warm water, 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish detergent and 1 tablespoon ammonia, then rinse.
• Soak 1 hour in 1 quart warm water and 1 tablespoon white vinegar, then rinse and let it dry.
• Dab with rubbing alcohol, cover with a pad dampened with alcohol, and change the pad as it picks up color. Rinse.
• Bleach that is safe for the fabric may take out the last traces.

Rinse completely between the ammonia and vinegar soaks, and never let ammonia meet chlorine bleach. Test the alcohol on an inside seam first, since it can lift dye from the garment itself.

How to stop clothes from bleeding dye

Wash new and dark items separately for the first few washes, in cold water. Most bleeding comes from new, deep colors, and cold water releases less dye.

• Sort by color shade and wash new pieces alone; Tide’s color washing guide notes that new items may bleed and suggests cold water for new colored clothes.
• Turn jeans and dark cotton inside out and do not overload the drum.
• Toss a color catcher sheet into mixed loads; it traps loose dye in the water.
• Check pockets and the drum for stray red socks before you start a load of whites.

If the whole wardrobe is starting to look dingy rather than tinted, see our guide to removing stains from white clothes.

Mistakes to avoid

• Drying the load before checking it, which sets loose dye into the fibers.
• Washing the stained items again with the garment that bled.
• Using chlorine bleach on colored clothes, wool, silk or spandex.
• Running color remover on a colored or patterned garment, which strips its own dye.
• Mixing ammonia from a spot treatment with chlorine bleach later in the process.