Colors from a brightly-colored article of clothing can bleed on other clothes during a wash cycle, an occurrence that can happen, for example, if a red sock gets tossed in with your white clothes, resulting in pink-hued laundry. You may be able to remove the bled colors and salvage your stained clothes, as opposed to purchasing new clothing items to replace them. You can use a natural solution to restore your clothes, instead of resorting to harsh bleaches or other chemicals that can damage the fabric.
Things You'll Need
Washing machine
Bucket
Hot water
Green tea
Table salt
Salt Shaker
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Step 1
Put the color-stained clothing back in the washing machine. Shut the washing machine door. Adjust the setting on the washing machine to allow it to agitate the clothes in cold water for approximately 15 minutes. This should wash out any excess dye.
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Step 2
Fill a bucket with hot water. Add green tea to the water. Soak tea bags, at one tea bag per 8 ounces of hot water, in the bucket for the recommended amount of time. Remove the tea bags. Remove the stained clothes from the washing machine and place them into the water to soak. Allow the clothes to sit in the bucket for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Remove the clothing from the green tea solution. Spread out the clothes on a clean table or other flat surface. Sprinkle a heavy amount of table salt over each article of clothing. Allow the salt to sit on the clothes for 15 minutes.
Step 4
Place the clothes back into the washing machine and wash them on the usual setting. Remove the clothes after the washing machine completes its final cycle and check to ensure the color stains have been removed.
Tip
Separate the color-stained clothes items from any unaffected clothes. Set the unaffected articles aside. Check for any bright-hued items that may have caused the color bleeding incident. Separate it from the other clothes to ensure there is no reoccurrence of color bleeding.
Treat the color-stained clothes as soon as possible after the color bleed has been detected for optimum stain removal.
Warning
Refrain from drying stained clothes. The heat exposure during the drying process will help the stains set into the clothes.