Maintaining the quality of your clothes can be difficult, especially when the colours begin to fade. However, there’s a simple solution loved by cleaning fans, and it’s completely natural.
Coloured clothes can fade when the chemical bonds between the dyes and the fabric break down, according to How Stuff Works. To keep the dyes from dissolving, you should wash the clothes in a way that prevents this, while also protecting the fabric fibres. TikToker Carolina McCauley suggested using white vinegar during the washing process.
How to keep colourful clothes bright
To keep those colourful or dark clothes “rich and vibrant”, all you need to do is add white vinegar to your wash cycle. Swap out your regular detergent for white vinegar to the drawer.
Vinegar can also help keep clothes colourful by removing any detergent residue that has built up within the fabric. This residue can cause colours to fade.
Vinegar’s mild acidity helps break down this residue, allowing the colours to shine through, according to Real Simple.
How Stuff Work also recommended soaking the colourful clothes in salt water. Salt will help lock in the dyes and prevent bleeding.
White vinegar can also double up as a fabric softener, leaving clothes soft to the touch. You should also wash your colourful clothes separately from any darks or whites.
White vinegar can be used as natural fabric softener as it can help to break down any detergent residue, mineral deposits, or any ‘body soil’ such as sweat, body oils, and dead skin cells. These can make clothes feel stiff and scratchy.
By adding vinegar to the washing machine dispenser, it can work to break down all of the things that can make clothes uncomfortable.
To keep clothes from fading, especially if they’re darker in colour, Whirlpool shared some top tips.
Consider washing coloured clothes inside out on a cold water wash or delicate cycle in the washing machine.
Once washed, the clothes can then be dried on a low heat or air dried to retain their colour.
It’s also important to take a look at a garment’s care label to make sure they are being washed and dried correctly.