Simple Laundry Tips To Help Keep Colors Bright

_{Easily help maintain the color of your clothes longer with the help of these practical tips. Reduce fading and keep colors bright with every load of laundry.}

keep clothing from fading - woman holding a folded pile of laundry in hands

Simple Laundry Tips To Help Keep Colors Bright

You just bought a new pair of black leggings, and boy after washing you noticed a big difference in coloring. What a bummer!

There is no worse feeling than purchasing clothing based on its coloring, washing them, and seeing them turn a lackluster color. According to the makers of Tide, “Colorful garments are fun, but they also need special care since they can fade and lose color quicker than light or dark clothes.”

Fading doesn’t need to happen. It can be prevented to keep your coloring and your family’s clothing looking fabulous for longer.

But first – Keeping colors bright in the laundry starts with reading your garment’s care instructions (reverse side of the tag). Knowing the type of fabric and the manufacturer’s instructions is important. After all, they know their products best.

However, even without those tags, you can end fading by following easy simple laundry tips that will help keep your colors looking bright.

Manufacture tag in clothing with washing instructions

What Does Color “Bleeding” Mean?

Clothing can lose its vibrant hue when warm water breaks down individual fibers in the fabric, causing the dye to be released. This is often referred to as “bleeding.” Bleeding dyes, as well as fading caused by friction, sunlight, and other elements, are both to blame for why the colors of your clothes start to look muted or dulled after a while.

New clothing often “bleeds” with the excess dye being washed out. But we can help prevent it from fading more. Let’s keep your clothes looking newer for longer.

Dye doesn’t just come out in the wash—it can rub off onto your skin and furniture too. Always washing your clothing first before wearing.

Wash Dark Colors Together

Sorting goes a long way toward helping your clothes maintain their color over time. You can’t just mix, white clothing with dark. Otherwise, your whites will look dingy Washing your dark colors together can help to prevent the colors from fading.

Washing all the dark laundry items together can help to prevent the colors from fading and bleeding out. The darkly dyed colors always bleed out a little in the wash and this can affect the vibrancy of your colors and whites.

Inside tip: Don’t just separate clothing by colors. Also, separate into different weights. The thought process here is that heavy clothes can put too much friction on lightweight fabrics, which could harm their fibers and lead to fading or color loss.

Wash them Inside Out

This goes for all of your clothing if you want to keep it looking in like new condition. The washer and dryer naturally cause some wear and tear on your clothing like pilling, fraying, and fading and this makes those brightly colored clothes look a little worse for wear.

By turning the clothes inside out before washing and drying them, those little damages are to the inside of the clothing where no one is going to see them.

Wash in Cold Water

Remember, as mentioned before, washing your clothing in warm to hot water will relax the fabric. This makes it easier for your clothing to break down and fade. So, washing your laundry in cold water will help keep those clothes from fading.

Plus, washing in cold water can also help you save on your energy bills because you aren’t waiting for the water to heat up.

Don’t Overstuff the Machine

It can be tempting to overfill the washing machine so that you get more clothes clean at once, but putting too many items in there prevents it from working correctly. This causes unnecessary wear and tear to your machine and your clothes.

They also won’t get as clean as they could because they won’t get washed and rinsed. Your clothing may also have leftover detergent in them, which can make them itchy and unpleasant to wear.

Wash Clothing With Vinegar Periodically Keeps Colors Bright

By adding half a cup to a cup of vinegar to your wash will help brighten both whites and colors by eliminating residues that can make fabrics appear less vibrant.

Vinegar has the added benefit of reducing odor and softening your clothes, so it wins all around. You don’t need to do this every time you run a load, just every once in a while.

Don’t Overdry Your Clothes

Did you know that your clothing is supposed to be slightly damp when you remove it from the dryer?Not wet, just a little bit damp. If it is not a little bit damp then you are overdrying your clothes.

This can cause unnecessary wear and tear on your clothes and also cause your colors to fade faster! If you want to prevent fading, then you should dry your clothes on a clothesline. However, you need to turn them inside out to keep the sun from fading your pretty colors.

You want all of your family’s clothing to stay looking great for as long as possible, and using these simple tips will help to keep colors bright and reduce fading for a long time to come.