How to make a garment no longer rub off? It happens that after a few machine washes that the linen fades and that the colors are less vibrant than at the beginning.
Fortunately, there are tips that will allow you to overcome this problem of clothes that bleed. Here are 10 tips and tricks for clothes that rub off.
Fixing the color of a fabric and therefore of a garment after its purchase is an important step to keep your garment in good condition and above all to keep colors bright and intact.
But how to fix the colors of a fabric?
Fix the color of your new purchase by soaking your new garment in cold water with white vinegar added. Vinegar helps to fix a color of a fabric. But don’t forget to rinse your garment afterwards to remove all traces of vinegar from the fabric.
In addition to fixing the colors, it is important to take good care of your clothes. Here is a comprehensive guide just for you: Take care of your clothes.
2. Milk for bleached laundry
Do you like to test grandmother’s remedies and recipes at home? Well, did you know that milk is a very popular grandmother’s recipe to put an end to the laundry that rubs off?
Indeed, if the damage is already done and your garment has already rubbed off here is what can be done:
- Soak the bleeding garment in cold milk for a few hours (add between 2 and 5 liters of milk depending on the dimensions of the garment to be soaked).
- After a few hours rinse the garment thoroughly to avoid milk odors in the fabric.
- Finish in the washing machine according to the garment washing instructions.
After rinsing the garment you will notice that the original fabric color will return. Milk is therefore an excellent trick for a fabric that rubs off.
3. Soda crystals for faded white laundry
If you are looking for a solution to recover a faded white garment then soda crystals is one of the best cleaning tips to try.
Here’s how to do this trick:
- Add cold water to a basin or the kitchen sink.
- Pour the equivalent of 300 or 350 g of soda crystals into the water.
- Add the garment to the basin and soak for 24 hours.
- Remove and rinse the garment to complete the trick.
If you are looking for other tips to recover discolored clothing then this other article offers several tips for removing discoloration stains from clothing.
4. Fix the color of the garment with coarse salt
Another natural trick to fix the color of the fabric and thus prevent the clothes from bleeding is to use a mixture of water and salt.
Here are the steps to properly fix the colors:
- Fill the kitchen sink or a basin (large enough to hold the garment) with lukewarm water.
- Then add 1 cup of coarse salt to the water and mix.
- Add and soak the garment to be fixed for 3 or 4 hours.
- Rinse the garment and let it dry.
If after rinsing you notice that there is still color coming out then repeat the steps above to be sure that the garment no longer bleeds.
Black colored clothes?
For a black garment or fabric, here is an article with several tips to help preserve this color: How to revive the black of clothes?
5. Bleaching white clothes and bleach
If unfortunately colored clothes have rubbed on a white garment during machine washing, there is a solution to recover it.
Indeed, bleach (if used well) can be effective in recovering a faded white garment. Here are the steps and some tips to make your garment white:
- Add 4 to 5 liters of cold water to a large basin (large enough to immerse the garment in).
- Add 60 ml of bleach to the basin.
- Leave to act for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often and gently with a spatula.
- As soon as you notice a change in color, you must quickly remove the garment.
- Rinse the white garment in cold water and finish in the washing machine on the regular cycle.
You should regularly check the condition of the fabric because if you leave the garment unattended for too long, the bleach may burn the fabric. It is better to repeat the operation several times with a smaller amount of bleach than to damage the garment forever.
Looking for laundry whitening tips?
For those looking for specific tips to whiten clothes, it’s here: How to whiten the laundry?
6. What can I do to prevent the clothes from bleeding?
Of course, to prevent the clothes from bleeding between them, you must of course be careful when washing them in the machine. Indeed, a mistake that many people make is to wash all colors and fabrics together, without distinction.
Sorting clothes before washing them… It’s important!
It is important to sort the linen before washing them in the machine. It is therefore necessary to sort the colors in order to wash the white clothes together and the colored clothes in another load.
In addition to white clothes which should be separated and washed individually, dark clothes as well as clothes in very bright colors should also be washed together.
7. Garment that fades during drying
Have you noticed that some clothes even bleed when drying in the dryer?
Well just like machine washing it is important not to mix white (or light) clothes with dark clothes in the dryer.
It’s even better to air-dry clothes, either on a rack indoors or directly on the clothesline outdoors.
Air drying will help retain color in clothes and prevent damage in the dryer due to heat.
8. Tip to preserve the color of clothes
Before you let go, here are some good tips and tricks to help keep and even revive the color of clothes:
- Turning the clothes inside out: For textiles such as jeans, you can wash them by turning them inside out. This will prevent the color of your jeans from fading.
- Beware of limestone in the water: The colors of laundry and clothes will fade more if your water has a lot of limescale. This is often the case for houses in the countryside, unfortunately.
- Add vinegar to the machine: Add a glass of white vinegar to your brewed water, especially for new laundry and clothes. So your colors of clothes will be better preserved.
- To keep clothes white: Just add a little baking soda to your laundry and your clothes will keep their whiteness.
Now that you know how to fix colors, how about discovering how to eliminate pilling? Here is an article about it: How to remove pilling from a sweater?