How To Remove Color Bleeding From Clothes Naturally

Since you’re reading this article, you’ve likely had the gut-wrenching experience of opening your washing machine to discover that color bleeding happened to your clothes.

Overcoming such a situation can feel impossible as you stare at the unsightly splotches. However, if you act quickly enough, you might be able to reverse color bleeding.

We’ll teach you how to remove color bleeding from clothes with a six-step process.

How Color Bleeding Happens

Color bleeding happens because of cheap dyes or a poor dye job during the clothes-making process. When a piece of clothing that falls under either of these situations gets wet, the dye leaches out. 

The result is that your clothing no longer has the bright color it once had and that your other clothes—especially lighter-colored garments—become stained with that color. For this reason, you often hear people washing their white and dark-colored clothes apart.

Color bleeding is most common in new, darkly colored clothes.

So, it’s wise to wash new clothes separately from the rest of your laundry for the first or second time, especially if the label warns you to wash the item before wearing it.

Removing Color Bleeding From Clothes in 6 Steps

It’s likely too late to tell you to wash a new outfit first. So, here’s how to remove color bleeding from clothes so you can get out of your situation. Act quickly and you might have a chance.

Step 1: Find the Clothing Culprit

If you have a washing machine with a see-through feature and notice color bleeding mid-wash, you’re in luck. You’ll have the best chance of getting color bleeding stains out of clothes when they’re still wet. 

So, stop the washer and pick through it to find which item is causing the color bleeding. Focus on new or never before washed clothes, as it’s rare for well-washed clothes to start color bleeding suddenly.

Step 2: Remove the Stained Clothes

Next, you’ll need to comb through the rest of your clothes to check if the color bleeding impacted them. Separate those out and get ready to put them through a new wash cycle.

The escaped dye won’t affect all your clothing items in some cases.

So, take any unharmed garments and set them in a laundry basket. You can put those through the wash again after sorting out the more critical color bleeding situation you’re facing.

Step 3: Put Affected Clothes Through Another Wash Cycle

The benefit of catching color bleeding when your clothes are still wet is that a second wash might get it out.

So, put the affected clothes back in your washing machine, add regular laundry detergent, and set them to the cycle you usually do. Don't overcompensate with extra detergent, thinking that’ll help solve the problem, as too much detergent can cause stains too.

If your clothes appear color bleeding-free after this wash, congratulations, you’re in the clear and have successfully reversed the color bleeding. You can put them in the dryer and skip the rest of these steps.

Step 4: Apply a Stain Remover

We're sorry you had to come this far, but we’ll help return your clothes to their original color. You can use one of the following three ingredients to try to remove color bleeding from your clothes naturally.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is chemically identical to water, except it has an extra oxygen molecule. That’s what gives it stain-fighting abilities, and you can use it on your clothes as follows:

1. Mix water and hydrogen peroxide in a 3:1 ratio.
2. Put your stained clothes in the solution for eight hours.
3. Remove the clothes and douse them in cold water.

Oxygen Bleach

Oxygen bleach effectively removes color bleeding in clothes because of its sodium percarbonate makeup. Best of all, it’s safe to use on white and dark garments. Follow the steps below to apply it.

1. Mix one gallon of water for every one cup of oxygen bleach.
2. Let the affected clothes sit in the bleach for 30 minutes.
3. Rinse with cold water.
4. Run the clothes through a washing cycle.

White Vinegar

White vinegar is a gentle at-home remedy for getting color bleed stains out of clothes. Following the steps below can also help to remove mildew on old clothes.

1. Mix one cup of white vinegar in a sink full of water.
2. Let your stained clothes soak in the vinegar for 30 minutes.
3. Repeat as necessary if there are still stains.
4. Rinse with cold water.

Step 5: Check Your Work

Now is the moment you’ll likely be holding your breath to see if your hard work paid off. If you still see a stain, here’s the good news: It’s a common occurrence when working with color bleeding that happened a while ago. So, try one of the other two ingredients we recommended.

Step 6: Wash Your Stain-Free Clothes in the Washing Machine

If or when you get the color bleeding stain out of your clothes, put them through a final, normal wash cycle. That way, you’ll remove all the smells from the hydrogen peroxide, bleach, or vinegar. Doing so will also reduce the chances of it injuring your skin. 

How To Prevent Future Color Bleeds

Below are some of the best ways to ensure you won’t have to battle a color bleeding problem in the future.

• Check new clothing for a label warning to wash the item before wearing it
• Run a new outfit through the washer by itself the first time
• For a more eco-friendly approach, wash the garment by hand to see if dye comes off in the water
• Wash your white and dark clothes separately
• Use cold water instead of warm or hot water

The Bottom Line

Learning how to remove color bleeding from clothes is one of those things you never think of needing to know until it happens. We can’t promise that the steps above will solve your color bleeding issue, especially if your stained clothes have already been in the dryer one or more times.

However, if you catch the problem early enough and act quickly, there’s a good chance that you will be able to go back to rocking your favorite clothes in their original state. Good luck!

Related:

• Why white clothes turn pink
• Why white clothes turn yellow