<p>Put H’s new maroon polo in the wash yesterday and luckily looked in as the tub was full. The water was deep red, so I pulled it out, drained the tub and started a new cycle. </p>
<p>I havent had anything bleed like that, including new jean, in years. Is there anyway to set the color? I though I had read years ago that adding vinegar or lots of salt might do it, but Internet searches are not yielding anything. He’s OK if I take it back, but it was cheap and it looks good.</p>
<p>When I dropped my daughter off at college, we were doing a grocery run, and she was looking for a specific product you put in the washer to help with the bleeding issue. However, now that I think about it, it might be a product to protect other clothes from the bleeder rather than setting the color in the offending garment.</p>
<p>Bleeding occurs when there is excess of unset dye in the fabric so it’s particularly a problem with dark colots.</p>
<p>Since the shirt bled so much the first time, it will likely continue to bleed for several more washes–or forever.</p>
<p>There are several ways to approach this. </p>
<p>You can use a laundry sheet (Color Catcher) in the washer to absorb the color before it redeposits onto your other clothing. A white piece of cotton fabric will also do the same thing. (Like a white terry dish towel/handtowel or a 12 inch square of white or unbleached muslin.) You can reuse the fabric several times until it becomes too discolored to work.</p>
<p>While the laundry sheet or white fabric will likely absorb most of the excess dye, it doesn’t guarantee dye won’t get re-deposited onto your other laundry. </p>
<p>The other option would be to try to permanently set the dye. The first line of attack is to wash the item separately and use about a cup of white vinegar in the wash water and again in the rinse water. Then re-wash the item using detergent. This works maybe a quarter of the time.</p>
<p>The next step is use Synthrapol which washes away an unset dye. Or Retayne which sets any unset dye and washes away any excess.</p>
<p>I recommend Retayne over Snythrapol. </p>
<p>You ought to be able to find Retayne at your local Jo-Ann Fabrics or at a local quilt store, and it’s also available on Amazon.
Be sure to follow directions on the bottle.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t it just be easier to wash this red item with other red items…and black items?</p>
<p>The excess dye can stain the interior of the washer or it can hang around inside the washer and stain the next light colored load of wash.</p>
<p>Salt can set the dye–like when you tie-dye.</p>
<p>WOWM - thanks for the advice. That’s what I was looking for. I followed your instructions with the vinegar and the shirt was still bleeding heavily with the detergent and looked horrible (wrinkles & uneven color) out of the dryer, so it’s going back this weekend.</p>
<p>I love CC. It’s better than Google!</p>