Brand Doesn’t Matter as Much as the Condition of Your Clothing
People generally have a good sense of how to choose the right brand of clothing for their physique. Despite what the care label may suggest, only a small percentage of the people really follows it. It’s inevitable that after many washes and wears, your favorite sweater may lose some of its original vibrancy. It’s likely you’ll still wear it, yet this is a perpetual loop that will not be broken. How can you prevent the same thing from happening to the rest of your colors? Knowing how to wash dark and black garments properly helps extend their life and prevent color transfer to lighter garments. If you intend to maintain your clothing looking fresh, you must know how to protect black and dark-colored garments from fading. Following the basic recommendations in this guide provided by the laundry service specialists that partner with Sirwiss will go a long way toward ensuring that your clothing retain their pristine condition.
Do Clothes Really Need to Be Washed?
Those of you who are now debating whether or not to wash a pair of soiled underwear or socks may rest easy knowing that the answer is an emphatic “yes.” However, if an item of clothing isn’t soiled or smells stinky, there’s little need in washing it. A good enzyme-based stain remover may be kept on hand to spot-clean clothing between full washes, reducing the frequency with which laundry has to be done. Simply spray the stain with the cleaner, let it stay for a few minutes, then blot dry. When your colorful garments become dirty or smelly, however, it’s important to know how to wash them so that they retain their original vibrancy without the use of harsh chemicals.
What Causes Fading in Clothing?
The use of hot water, strong detergents, excessive agitation, and excessive drying all contribute to the fading of clothes. Bleeding and fading may also be caused by the dye itself if it is not fully set or if the incorrect color was used. Wear and tear from rubbing against other garments is another common source of discoloration. The effects of these variables on the dye in your clothing may be mitigated by using cold water and the gentle cycle when washing and drying your clothes, and by not over drying the garments.
Tips: How to Reduce Color Bleeding
After a few washes, most clothing will no longer bleed color. Certain garments are doomed to perpetual bleeding color. What you can do to lessen the likelihood of such occurring is as follows:
1. Set the dye: Adding a half cup of vinegar to the wash water will help set the color in certain fabrics, although this is not always the case.
2. Wash solo: Test new clothing for colorfastness by washing it by itself after purchase. Wash them only with items of a very similar color match if they do bleed color.
3. Turn bleeders inside out: New clothing should be washed inside out for the first few washes, and denim pants should always be washed inside out (unless you want the faded effect).
Sorting Laundry by Color
Sorting laundry by color is step one when doing a load of wash with many colors. It’s best practice to separate your dark, bright, light, and white garments while doing laundry. When you sort your dark clothes from your light ones before washing, you may avoid dye transfers and color absorption. Lint and pilling may give dark clothes a worn and old look, but sorting your laundry by fabric type and weight will help you avoid this. In fact, the wear and tear on the more delicate item might be exacerbated if heavier duty materials like denim rub against it in the wash cycle. Detailed sorting may be accomplished by assigning each item of clothing to one of the following groups:
1. All-white outfits and without any colored clothing
2. Lighter, pastel hues, especially whites with similar color blocks
3. Various shades of red and pink
4. Several different shades of orange, yellow, and purple
5. Vivid hues of blue and green
6. Colors and materials that are very dark Most bleeding fabric is denim, particularly when it’s brand new.
Following guide will ensure that your freshly sorted laundry is washed properly:
Check the Instructions.
The labels sewed onto your garment aren’t there to irritate your neck. Always read the care tag on your clothing for correct washing and drying instructions, including any dry-cleaning needs, before washing it. The care tag symbols and washing and drying instructions may help avoid fading and keep your items looking vibrant and fresh. The care tag will indicate whether a standard or delicate cycle is required. Delicate cycles are shorter and softer than regular cycles, making them ideal for washing dark or black garments.
Stains Should Be Pre-treated
Use a natural stain remover to pre-treat stains on colored clothing. If you’ve never treated a garment before, try it on an inconspicuous area first. Allow the stain remover to soak in for a few minutes before washing as normal. Check to make sure the stain is entirely removed before tossing it in the dryer. If not, get it back and rewash.
Tips for Washing Colored Garments
It’s time to start the washing once you’ve sorted the garments, checked the labels, and pre-treated the stains. Here are the fundamentals of washing colorful clothing.
Turn Clothes Inside Out Before Washing
To avoid fading, turn your clothes inside out before tossing them in the washing machine. This enables the interior of the clothes to bear the brunt of the agitation and fading from the washing cycle while still delivering a thorough, clean wash. Avoid overloading the washing machine to enable garments to circulate freely within the drum.
Use Cold Water and a Delicate Cycle to Wash Dark Clothes
Start a short, gentle cycle in cold water after sorting your darks and turning them inside out. By reducing the amount of time your clothes spend in the washer and by using cold water, you may help keep the colors from bleeding.
Best Laundry Detergent for Preserving Dark Hues
The most effective way to keep dark clothes from fading is to wash them with a liquid detergent made specifically for them. When doing laundry, it’s best to use a mild detergent, but if you just have standard detergent on hand, it’s still best to use a minimal quantity, and to use liquid rather than powder, to prevent any residue from remaining on the garments. Before you throw your clothes into the washer, remember to pour the detergent into the drum. Putting detergent on top of dirty clothes might lead to stains.
Don’t Use More Detergent Than Necessary
Use just a little quantity of concentrated detergent if your washing machine doesn’t have an automated dispenser. When in doubt about how much detergent to use per load, consult the label or inquire with the manufacturer.
To Prevent Fading, Use a Fabric Softener
Reduce the amount of friction created by washing by include a fabric softener in your routine. This process also removes any odors and makes your garments feel as soft as new.
Use a Low Heat Setting or Let Clothes Air Dry
Drying clothes on a low heat setting or air drying may help avoid damage and fading. To prevent exposure to sunlight, use an inside drying rack instead of an outside clothesline. Additionally, using the tumble dry mode without heat on your dryer might give an effective and simple alternative to air drying.
How Do You Keep Black Clothing Black?
Wash your black shirts and black pants inside out in cold water on a gentle cycle to keep them dark. To avoid fading, use a low heat setting in the dryer or air dry. Always read the care label on your garment for correct washing and care recommendations.
Keeping Whites White
It may be challenging to maintain your favorite white shirt white forever, but here’s how to keep it as white as possible.
1. Wash whites separately from other white items.
2. Treat stains as soon as they appear after they have soiled the clothing.
3. Don’t overfill your washing machine since it would hinder the water from draining away the debris, resulting in dirty garments.
4. Only use bleach as a last resort when all other stain removal methods have failed.
5. Avoid washing white items with detergent or softener that includes optical brighteners such as bleach or chlorine, since these chemicals may harm the fabric fibers and may actually erase white color (some garments might be dyed white). The residue that fabric softener leaves behind coats the fibers, allowing dirt to attach to the fabric and make it seem less white.
6. It sounds overkill, but your washing machine may need cleaning on sometimes (like after washing your raw denim jeans). To ensure that stuck dirt is not contributing to the discoloration of your whites, properly clean your washing machine.
7. If feasible, dry your white items in the sun to benefit from the sun’s natural bleaching properties.
4 Natural Ways to Keep Colors Bright
Commercial color guard detergents include chemicals derived from petroleum, and you could use a lot of them in a wash cycle, but in its place, you may use these four all-natural techniques to ensure that your colors last as long as your personality does.
1. Vinegar
Rinse your clothes with a cup of white vinegar. Vinegar is useful for “setting” colors and stopping the buildup of detergent residue that causes colors to fade. Also, it may be used as a natural fabric softener. Your laundry shouldn’t come out smelling like a salad bar since the vinegar will go throughout the rinsing process. To ensure that the clothes are completely free of that powerful odor, hang them outdoors to dry.
2. Black pepper
Add a few tablespoons of black pepper into each cycle of laundry to bring out the colors. Don’t fret about a few pepper flakes sticking to your clothing. During the last washing, the pepper will be removed.
3. Salt
That’s right, salt, except it’s added to clothing instead of food. A half cup of salt added to the washing machine can keep colorful clothes from fading. That’s the best way to wash brand new garments. The colors of textiles that have faded may be brought back to life by using salt.
4. Baking Soda
This multipurpose cleaner works well on both whites and colors. (The versatility of this pantry essential is almost limitless.) A half cup of baking soda added to the wash cycle may help maintain the vibrancy of your colors.