Fading Finds

[ILuvDon]

Greetings!  In the last couple of months, I have had two different shirts (thrift shop finds) bleed in the washer.  Both times, cold water and woolite were used.  Both shirts are red and appear to have been worn before.  Both times the red bled onto white portions of the shirt.  During the most recent episode, the red shirt turned the laundry bag (one of those gentle cycle sweater bags) a shade of pink.  None of the other clothes in the load seemed affected.  However, the other time, the red shirt did bleed onto some other clothes.  Nothing major.  This seems odd to me, espeically since I''m using cold water and the clothes have been worn before.  Any ideas?

[tvgirl4fun]

I always wash red items by themselves in hot water whether they are new or from a thrift store.  Jaie

[Good Buddy]

We went to Italy a year ago and Cookie washed a bright red Coca Cola themed shirt with a bunch of whites. It took a dozen washings and bleachings to get all the pink out.

[Cookie]

Depending on the fabric, it seems to me like red clothes will bleed a couple of times until the color is kind of set.  This usually happens with cotton or cotton blends.  And when the red bleeds onto another part of the shirt that is white, then you just have to keep washing it and eventually the red will fade out of the white portions.  Sometimes it takes five or more washings for the red to stop bleeding onto other things and you have to be patient.  You are doing the right thing by washing the red items separately and in cold water with Woolite.  I think the problem is that the red just isn''t done bleeding.  Maybe the items you purchased were only washed a couple of times by the previous owner who got frustrated with the bleeding problem and donated the clothes to a thrift store.  Hope this helps!

[Laine]

G''Day    I find with red clothing ,material ,new or pre loved when washing add  lots of salt to the cold water it seems to help with the bleeding. I do this when I prewash my materials  for patchwork quilting . I hope this helps

In a ''opp shop '' [thrift shop ] here I purchased a cashmere & wool coat  made in England for  $15.00 Aus. a great buy for my holiday in New York at Christmas . I can''t wait to explore when I arrive in NY.
 by for now Laine  Sydney , Australia

[alexandra]

I am very particular about what I buy -- and evaluating fading (or the possibility of it) is part of what goes into the decision to buy or not.  I buy lots of polo shirts and sweaters, and will only buy "better" brands.  A Talbot''s polo shirt is not likely to bleed, nor is a Polo/Lauren, or Lands End.  A Basic Editions (KMart) or George (Walmart) shirt probably will bleed.  If a piece looks faded, or it if looks like the type that will fade, I just don''t buy it! 

So much of what I buy ends up being hand-washed anyway (I have a thing for cashmere sweaters) -- so there isn''t too much danger of a red shirt bleeding on to all of the whites (and I must say, that is something that at least every man I know has managed to do at least once!).  I don''t like the look of faded colors -- but when it comes to the color red, I think faded red denim looks kinda cool (a sort of "Nantucket Red" kind of look).

There are some laundry detergents supposedly formulated to help avoid color fading and bleeding.

Thriftily,
Alexandra
www.livingwithoutmoney.blogspot.com