It can be annoying to deal with faded clothing, especially when your favorite pieces start to lose their original color. Understanding how to restore these items is essential, whether it’s a white garment that picked up unwanted color or a once-bright shirt that became dull.
It’s critical to know the proper techniques for both colored and white fabrics. To restore the desired appearance without doing further harm, each calls for a different strategy.
This post will walk you through a variety of efficient methods for restoring faded clothing, from do-it-yourself solutions to employing specialty products. Let’s investigate how you can give those things a new lease on life.
| Steps | White Items | Colored Items |
| 1. Soak in cold water | Soak the white item in cold water immediately to prevent stains from setting. | Soak in cold water to avoid color setting deeper into the fabric. |
| 2. Use oxygen bleach | Apply oxygen-based bleach to remove color bleed from white fabric. | Use a color-safe stain remover specifically designed for colored items. |
| 3. Wash with detergent | Wash with a strong detergent designed for white clothes. | Wash using a detergent for colored fabrics to prevent fading. |
| 4. Check before drying | Check if stains are gone before drying. Repeat if necessary. | Check if color transfer is gone before drying to avoid setting the stains. |
- Returning whiteness to faded white items
- What to do if colored items have faded
- Video on the topic
- I used to throw them away! And now I tell everyone THIS SECRET! Save faded items when washing!
- HOW to save a FADED item! 100% RESULT! A powerful method if the item is colored!
- 100% RESULT! IF THE THING HAS FADED!
Returning whiteness to faded white items
If you wash light items and colored clothes together, they can easily get ruined. A T-shirt or blouse that is snow-white with stains that are multicolored appears awful and seems to be unwashable. Yet, it is simpler to restore such clothing to its original white color than to wash a faded colored item. Since maintaining the product’s original color is not a concern, there is a greater variety of bleaching techniques and tools available.
Repleasing the wash. Take a damp, faded item out of the washing machine and begin processing it right away; don’t wait for it to dry. Can I run the item through the washer again? Sure, provided I can fill the drum with the same kind of goods. It’s crucial to wash at a high temperature—at least +60 to +90 °C—to get the desired outcome. Some of the paint will still wash off even if the item isn’t thoroughly cleaned, which will simplify subsequent steps.
Natural cotton items that have faded white can be boiled. Put the object in a pan with water, a small amount of washing powder, and simmer on low heat for two hours.
Whites and colored items should always be washed separately.
Boiling soda and soapy water. When boiling, use a soap and soda solution (which has a bleaching effect) instead of synthetic detergents. Add 15 g of baking soda and 40 g of grated laundry soap to 5 liters of water. The boiling container’s volume should be twice that of all of its contents. Make sure to rinse the product in cold water after processing.
When bleaching anything, be aware that it might take several treatments to achieve the desired results.
Potassium permanganate can be used to bleach faded clothing. In order to give the liquid a faint pink hue, dissolve a few grains of potassium permanganate in a small amount of washing powder. A white item should be placed in the prepared solution, covered with a lid, and left for five to six hours. Streaks and streaks of color ought to disappear.
To remove a faded white object composed of thin fabric, mix two liters of water (at a temperature of +70 °C), one tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide, and a small amount of baking soda. After soaking the product for ten to fifteen minutes, turning it over multiple times to ensure even bleaching, rinse it.
A combination of makeshift tools applied to white provides a potent effect in the battle against colored stains. Add the following to three liters of hot water:
- 0.5 cups of salt;
- 20-25 g of citric acid;
- 1 tbsp. l. grated laundry soap;
- 1 tbsp. l. potato starch.
After preparing the solution and soaking the product for 12 to 14 hours at night, rinse and wash as normal. Occasionally, this remedy also whitens the yellowed items.
Store products with a whitening effect work well for washing the crisp white clothing. Soaking is required to enhance the action of oxygen bleach types Vanish or Lion. Put the item in 3–4 liters of warm water that has been diluted with 1 tbsp. of products, and let it sit for about 10 hours. When the wardrobe item has had enough time, wash it in a washing machine at +60 °C, making sure to use the same bleach.
Bleach that contains chlorine (Ace, "Whiteness") works well to remove stains from dyes, both recent and old. One measuring cap of the product must be diluted in five liters of hot water, and the clothes must be submerged in the water for forty to sixty minutes before continuing with the regular washing cycle. It is worthwhile to soak the item in the prepared solution for a whole night if it has faded significantly, and then wash it in the washing machine at +90 °C. Only natural fiber linen can be used with this technique.
Avoid overusing caustic bleaches when washing items that have faded during washing as this may cause the fabric to become deformed and the fiber structure to thin.
What should be done if, for example, a black-and-white item has faded? Soak the item for 15 to 20 minutes in two liters of medium-strength filtered green tea. After that, remove it, squeeze out a little, then add table salt to the white sections and wait an additional fifteen minutes. After that, wash and rinse as normal.
Whether the item is colored or white, the first step in properly washing it is determining the type of fabric and the reason behind the fading. Try soaking colored items in a vinegar and water solution or use specific color-restoring products. A solution of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, or bleach can be used to bring back the brightness of white textiles. To prevent additional damage, always test any solution on a small, hidden area first. Then, do a gentle wash cycle afterward.
What to do if colored items have faded
When handling colored items, you should exercise greater caution than when handling white ones. Careless handling can cause faded clothing to take on a new hue or, conversely, lose its vibrancy. That being said, there are ways to fix the issue and restore your favorite items to their former glory.
Fresh dye stains can be entirely removed or their concentration on clothing can be decreased by repeatedly washing or rinsing clothing. Try thoroughly washing the damaged item in extremely cold water first. It will require at least ten to fifteen changes. If the item is covered in easily removed stains from cheap fabric paint, this method can produce excellent results.
It is harder to wash faded colored items than comparable white ones.
Try applying vinegar-quenched soda to clothing to remove small colored stains. After putting the gruel on the damaged areas and letting it sit in this state for an hour, wash the item by hand or in a washing machine.
As in the case of fading white things, it will help to remove colored clothes ammonia. He will not only wash off the “alien” paint, but also return the color saturation. In 3-4 liters of water, it is necessary to add 200 ml of a pharmacy and soak the clothing item for several hours in the solution. To increase efficiency, you can warm the liquid without boiling. Then you need to immediately rinse the item in cold water with the addition of fabric softener. To remove the smell of ammonia, you can use a vinegar solution for rinsing at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. vinegar per 1 liter of water. It is best to dry things after such washing in the fresh air.
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Soaking amplifies the impact of stain removers.
Shop-based stain removers can assist you in washing faded items. Make sure the item is packaged with the label "Color" before making a purchase to avoid damaging it altogether. Observe the product dosage as specified in the instructions. After diluting the stain remover with water, soak the clothes in the mixture for forty to sixty minutes, and then give them a thorough wash. Use cold water to rinse the object.
Consider the washing mode requirements listed on the labels to prevent items from fading.
Use our advice if you’ve given up on washing that faded dress or your beloved blouse. We’re hoping they’ll help your items regain their beauty and freshness. If none of the products worked and it seemed wasteful to discard the damaged item, seek assistance from a dry cleaner. We hope you wash well!
Whether it’s a colored or white item, it can be restored with the appropriate method. It’s important to move fast because the sooner the stain is treated, the more likely it is that the fabric will be restored.
Home cures for white clothing often work well, such as hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, or vinegar. More care is needed for colored items; you may be able to save your garment by using basic household items like salt and vinegar or specialized color-restoring detergents.
Always sort laundry carefully, don’t fill the washing machine to capacity, and use color-catcher sheets to stop color runs in the future. By taking these preventative measures, you can deal with undesired dye transfers more quickly and easily.
