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*Overview of the best according to the editors of Healthy Food Near Me. About selection criteria. This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.
Everyone likes colored things, but over time they begin to lose their original brightness. After reading our article, you will learn how to extend the life of the fabric and keep its shades at their best.
Which fabric needs color protection?
Just because a piece of clothing is brightly colored does not mean that the colors will come off when washed. There are several ways to find out if things need extra care:
Place the item on the ironing board, cover with a clean white cloth or paper, and run through with a hot iron. If a part of the color remains on white, the clothes need to be processed. If you have a delicate fabric, such as silk, just run a damp white cloth over the item on the inside, inconspicuous side. If at least a little color is transferred to it, the object will “shed”.
Take the extra piece of fabric that came with the clothing tag and soak it in alcohol for a few minutes. If, after drying, the flap noticeably faded compared to the thing, the item may fade.
How to fix paint on fabric with vinegar
The best way to fix the color is to use vinegar. It is suitable for any color of paint and for any fabric – denim, cotton, linen, wool. What do we have to do:
Choose a suitable container that will hold your colored clothes, such as a bucket or basin. Fill it with water, leaving 5 centimeters empty to the edge. It’s important to keep this gap so that the water doesn’t overflow when you add the fabric.
Add 1 cup (240 ml) of white vinegar and 1 tablespoon (18 g) of salt to the water. Stir with your hand or a wooden spoon until the substances are dissolved. This solution will help to fix the paint on the fibers of the fabric. Do not use apple cider vinegar – it does not have such strong fixative properties.
Immerse the dyed fabric and press down with your hand so that it is completely wet. Slightly shake the object in the water to get rid of air bubbles. Leave the item to soak for 20-30 minutes, the vinegar needs time to soak into the fibers of the fabric. Make sure the container is out of the reach of children and pets.
Remove item from container and rinse under cold water. Hold the object under the stream for about a minute so that the pressure of the water will force the vinegar solution out of the fibers of the fabric. Do not rinse the fabric with hot water, otherwise the paint may bleed.
Wash the fabric on a cold cycle. Add washing powder or detergent as usual, put the treated item in the machine. Do not put other items to avoid staining. Set the minimum temperature and start the machine. If you are washing wool or silk, be sure to set the cycle for delicate fabrics.
After washing, hang the item to dry.
What can be used instead of vinegar:
Depending on the material, you can choose another color fixer. Just dissolve the chosen substance in a bucket of water and soak as in the method above.
The color of natural fabrics, cotton and linen, is fixed with table salt. You will need 10 tablespoons (180g) or 90g salt and 90g baking soda
For delicate fabrics, silk and wool, glycerin is suitable – dissolve 20 tablespoons of the product in a bucket. Do not wring the clothes, just hang to dry. If you can’t place it above the bath, place a basin under the dryer so that the water flows there and does not flood the floor.
A good substitute for vinegar in fixing color is turpentine. For every liter of water you need to pour one teaspoon. So that the paint is well fixed, you need to hold the item in the solution for 10 minutes. After that, it must be rinsed in cold water and washed on a cold cycle, as in the case of vinegar.
How to avoid staining when washing
Never wash dyed fabrics at high temperatures. Because of this, the fibers of the fabric open up, and the paint flows down. Use a gentle cycle to reduce friction and prevent staining. For best results, use a cold working laundry detergent.
Over time, due to friction in the washing machine, the ink can separate from the fabric. If possible, turn garments inside out before washing. If the item cannot be turned inside out, wash on a gentle cycle to minimize fading.
Do not overfill the washing machine drum. The more things you put in there, the stronger the friction of the fabric will be. For better color retention, it is recommended to divide the wash into two loads.
There are special sheets that trap paint. They absorb color pigments in water and do not transfer them to other clothes. For a small download, one sheet will suffice, and for a large one, two.
Separate light-colored clothes from dark-colored clothes when washing to avoid stains. So you definitely won’t ruin things if a little paint still comes off. Wash whites separately, light fabrics separately, and dark clothes in a different load. You can dry things together – staining will not occur.
Attention! This material is subjective, is not an advertisement and does not serve as a guide to the purchase. Before buying, you need to consult with a specialist.