How to wash a faded item and return it to its original color

Every housewife sooner or later encounters a situation where textiles change color after washing - in some cases this is due to the wrong choice of mode or detergent, in others the reason is the poor quality of the fabric dyeing. How to return color to faded colored items and what to do if a white item fades during washing, read on. The situation can be corrected using both special means and folk methods.

Where to begin

You need to start rescuing a faded item right away, under no circumstances allowing it to dry out. This way, the paint will not have time to penetrate deeply into the fibers of the fabric, and the situation will be corrected with less time and labor.

First of all, you need to determine the type of material.Fabrics made from natural fibers, such as linen and cotton, can withstand more aggressive conditions than silk, wool and synthetics.

It is also worth considering the color of the fabric. If white things have faded, they can be soaked in hot water, while colored ones can only be soaked in cool water. What maximum temperatures are permissible for a particular type of material are indicated on the product label.

Having dealt with the details, you can move on to the next stage - choosing a means to restore the previous appearance of things, based on the type and color of the fabric.

How to wash a white item

The easiest way to save faded white items is to wash them again, but at a higher temperature and with a small amount of bleach, if it is allowed to be used on this type of textile.

You can even boil flax or cotton by adding shavings of laundry soap or washing powder to the water. But if the fabric cannot withstand high temperatures, and additional washing does not help, more efficient and time-consuming methods will be required.

Special means

It is easy to restore whiteness using bleach. For delicate fabrics, it is better to choose liquid or gel products; in other cases, powders are also suitable. The most popular means are:

• "Weasel";
• Persil;
• Vanish;
• ACE;
• Sarma;
• Bos plus.

In order to wash a faded item at home and not spoil it, it is important to choose a product suitable for this type of fabric and use it strictly according to the instructions. But what to do if it is difficult to determine the type of material, and there is no label indicating whether bleaches can be used? In such a situation, you need to perform a simple test:

1. Cut a small piece of fabric from the inner seam of the affected item (manufacturers include small pieces of material with some products, you can take it).
2. Dilute a small amount of the selected product in water and place the fabric in the solution.
3. After 10 minutes, remove the material, rinse and dry.

If the fabric has retained its integrity and has become snow-white again, you can safely proceed to washing the item.

Folk remedies

You can return white things to their former appearance using improvised means. But it is worth considering that they are usually effective only against fresh stains.

Laundry soap and citric acid

Procedure:

1. Grate the soap and pour water into the shavings to form a thick paste.
2. Mix thoroughly until the mass becomes homogeneous and add a little citric acid (about 1/4 of the amount of chips).
3. Apply the resulting composition to faded areas, after moistening the fabric. Leave for 3-4 hours.

After this, you need to wash the item as usual. If the stains have only faded but have not disappeared completely, repeat the procedure.

Dish soap and baking soda

Procedure:

1. Combine detergent and soda in a 2:1 ratio, respectively.
2. Apply the resulting paste to the stain and leave for 3 hours.
3. Remove the composition with a brush or soft cloth and wash the item.

In this case, dishwashing detergent acts as a stain remover, and baking soda acts as a bleach.

Citric acid, salt, starch and aspirin

Procedure:

1. Crush aspirin into powder and combine with the rest of the ingredients, taken in equal parts.
2. Dilute with water to form a thick paste.
3. Apply the product to the stain and leave for 1 hour, then wash the item with a suitable washing powder.

On a note. This composition removes not only fresh, but also old stains of various origins.

Hydrogen peroxide

Procedure:

1. Prepare a warm (not hot!) solution at the rate of 50 ml of peroxide per 5 liters of water.
2. Soak things for an hour.
3. Rinse and wash as usual.

If the stains do not come off, washing is not required - you need to prepare a new solution and repeat the procedure.

Ammonia and salt

Procedure:

1. Prepare a solution of 3 liters of water, 1 tbsp. l. ammonia and 3 tbsp. l. salt. To enhance the effect, you can add 1 tbsp. l. washing powder.
2. Beat the liquid until foam forms and place the affected item in it.
3. After 2 hours, rinse and wash the product.

On a note. This method is suitable for white items made from delicate fabrics.

Boric acid

Procedure:

1. Prepare a solution at the rate of 2 tbsp. l. boric acid per 4 liters of water.
2. Place the product in it. If we are talking about cotton or linen, leave it for several hours, and when the item is made of delicate fabric, the soaking time should not exceed 20-30 minutes.
3. Rinse and wash items as usual.

This composition is the least harmful to the fabric, but also not as effective as the previous ones. If you didn’t succeed in bleaching white fabric this way the first time, it’s better to use other means.

Potassium permangantsovka

Procedure:

1. Prepare a weak solution of potassium permanganate so that the liquid acquires a pale pink tint.
2. Place the item well soaped with laundry soap into the composition and leave for 2-4 hours.
3. Rinse, changing the water several times.

If the product has returned to its original color, after rinsing thoroughly, it does not need to be washed.

How to wash colored items

If things made of colored fabrics have faded, the task becomes somewhat more complicated, since in this case it is impossible to use bleaches and aggressive agents. In addition, you will need to strictly control the soaking time so that the pigment is not washed out along with the faded stains.

Special means

You can find many types of stain removers for colored fabrics in supermarkets. The most popular and well-proven are the following:

• Ace Oxi Magic Color;
• Ludwik Color;
• G-Oxi gel.

Important! When choosing a stain remover, you need to pay attention to the inscriptions on the label. Products suitable for colored items are marked “Color”.

Folk remedies

You can also defeat stains on colored items using improvised means. True, their choice is not as wide as in the case of white textiles.

Ethyl alcohol and lemon juice

Procedure:

1. Mix equal parts alcohol and lemon juice.
2. Soak the problem areas of the fabric with the resulting mixture.
3. Leave the item for 30 minutes.

After this, the product must be rinsed and washed with a suitable powder or gel.

Glycerin and ammonia

Procedure:

1. Combine 1 tsp. glycerin with a similar amount of ammonia.
2. Pour in 8 tbsp. l. water, stir until smooth.
3. Apply the composition to faded areas.

After an hour, you can start washing the item as usual.

Lemon acid

Procedure:

1. Dissolve 1 tsp in a glass of water. citric acid, stir until the grains dissolve.
2. Moisten the faded fabric generously with the solution, cover with a white cloth (it is advisable to use thicker textiles rather than gauze) and iron with a hot iron until almost completely dry.
3. Treat the item with the solution again and leave for 15 minutes so that the liquid is well absorbed.

Next, the product is washed by hand or in a machine with a suitable detergent.

Vinegar

Procedure:

1. Pour 3 tbsp into 3 liters of cold water. l. vinegar 9%.
2. Soak the item for 1 hour.
3. Rinse and wash as usual.

On a note. This method can be used as a preventive measure - after soaking in vinegar, the fabric will not fade when washed.

What to do if a faded item cannot be washed

The most obvious way to save a faded item that neither improvised means nor special compounds could return to its previous appearance is to take it to the dry cleaner. But this is not possible in all cases; there are many materials for which this type of processing is prohibited. In addition, the services of specialists are not cheap.

In this situation, you will need to get creative and use one of the options below.

Change the item

If faded spots appear on the cuffs of a long-sleeved blouse, you can simply shorten them. It is just as easy to transform trousers, in which only the lower part is damaged, into capri pants or shorts.

It will be a little more difficult with a dress, but still, having certain skills in sewing and repairing clothes, you can turn it into a skirt or blouse, depending on which part has become unusable.

Cover the stain with a decorative element

There are many options here - the stain can be “camouflaged” with iron-on adhesive, embroidery, a decorative patch, stitched on a figured edging, etc. The flight of fancy is almost unlimited, but the disadvantage of this method is that it is suitable for sports-style clothing.On a formal business suit or a classic dress, such decor will look at least strange and inappropriate. In such a situation, you will need to look for other methods.

Repaint the thing

Using special dyes for fabric, you can either completely change the color of an item or create unique patterns on the fabric. For example, if you tie knots on a T-shirt and boil it in a dye mixture, you will get a fashionable and stylish print.

You can use not only purchased dyes, but also improvised means:

• An infusion of onion peels or tea leaves will help give the textiles a brown tint;
• a rich blue color can be achieved using bluing;
• to give an emerald green tint, brilliant green is suitable;
• You can color the material black, purple or red using ink.

Berry juices or decoctions of the appropriate shade are also suitable. And if a dark item has faded, you can lighten it with bleach or, conversely, paint it black.

How to prevent things from staining

It’s easier to protect things than to look for ways to wash them if they’ve faded. You can prevent trouble by following these recommendations:

1. Wash items made from dyed fabrics only in cool water, at a temperature of 30-40 degrees.
2. Do not put white items into the washing machine drum at the same time as colored items.
3. Follow the recommended dosage of detergents.
4. Select powders and gels based on a specific type of fabric, especially if we are talking about delicate material.
5. Wash new items separately from the rest. And before the second wash, you need to soak the product in warm water with a small amount of washing powder and leave for 15 minutes.If the water is not colored, you can put it in the drum along with other textiles of similar shades.
6. Separate items in pastel and bright colors, light and dark, and wash separately.
7. If the material fades after both the first and second wash, you need to fix the color with vinegar or lemon juice (3 tablespoons per 4 liters of water) or table salt (6 tablespoons per 4 liters of water). After keeping the product in the solution for half an hour, it needs to be rinsed (without conditioner or other products), dried naturally and ironed with a dry iron, without steaming.

You can also use special Paclan Color Expert napkins. They are called “color traps” - during washing, they absorb paint particles from faded fabric, thereby protecting the rest of the items in the drum from accidental staining.