Washing New Jeans? Here's How to Prevent the Fabric from Bleeding (2024)

FAQs

How do you stop new jeans from bleeding color? ›

Add Vinegar to Your Cold Water Rinse

Vinegar will help seal the dye within the fabric of dark denim jeans, reducing the chance that your jeans will continue to bleed (and potentially stain other fabrics) when you wear or wash them in the future.

Even after several washes, always be sure it is only washed along with other dark items in the future. You can get past the major bleeding stage faster by washing and drying the denim 3-4 times before wearing. The hotter the water, the more the dye will come off—using a little detergent will also help.

Add 1 cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle or one-half cup salt to the wash to help hold in colors. Use color-catcher sheets, which trap extraneous dyes during the wash cycle to prevent bleeding.

When you get a new pair of jeans, early loving care is important when it comes to long-lasting denim. The best way you can do this is to wash your jeans by hand and wash them alone. Turn them inside out, and either wash them in cold water in the sink or in the bathtub, where they can be placed down flat.

Add a cup of white vinegar to your cold water rinse. The vinegar will help seal the dye within the fabric so that they won't continue to bleed. At the very minimum, the added vinegar should at least lesson the amount in which the indigo dye bleeds and stains other fabrics.

Similarly, salt allows the fibers to absorb the dye during the dying process but it does not prevent the dye from running or crocking after it has set. Although it wouldn't hurt to do these two, you would only be wasting your effort and resources as it does not really step up to the job.

Many jeans manufacturers recommend that you wash jeans separately for the first few times. That means before the first time you wear them and for the next few washes afterward. This is because some of the dye will bleed out of the jeans and stain any other clothes that are in the wash with them.

The Best Way to Wash Jeans

It's also important to zip zippers and fasten buttons and snaps — this helps keep the jeans in shape and prevents snagging other items in the load.

Dark and light colored clothes should be washed separately in cold water. Washing clothes in cold water will mostly prevent color bleeding between clothes.

Hot water opens up the fibers in clothes to release the dye, while cold water keeps them closed, trapping the dye inside to prevent bleeding. Choosing the cold setting on your washing machine will eliminate most problems with color bleeding, and may also help clothes last longer.

Does salt stop fabric bleeding? ›

Salt can help restore vivid colors to your aging fabrics. Color Bleeding: Add 1/2 cup of salt to the wash cycle to prevent new colored fabrics from running.

According to Speed Queen, anything below (60°F) can prevent your detergent from providing a proper clean. Cold water is the preferred choice to prevent color bleed. Also, choosing cold water can make your clothes last longer by reducing wrinkling, reducing fading and preventing shrinking – all while saving energy!

Fill up the bathtub or kitchen sink with cold water and add 1 cup of white vinegar. Turn jeans inside out and place in cold water. Let soak anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. Lay jeans flat and let air dry.

To prevent shrinking or bleeding, only use cold water to wash your jeans, and wash them separately or with similarly-colored denim. If you decide to hand wash your new jeans, don't wring them out when you finish rinsing them.

One of the most common questions after getting a new pair of jeans is whether you should wash them before wearing. The answer is YES, with the exception of raw denim. Washing jeans before wearing them the first time helps to prevent dyes from bleeding onto your skin and other clothes.

Use liquid detergent. If your jeans come out of the wash with white marks, it's possible that these are tiny bits of undissolved detergent. Powders are more likely to leave a white residue than liquid detergents, especially if you're running a cool wash, so just switching to liquid may solve the problem.

Vinegar is sometimes used as a fabric softener or for getting rid of stains and odors in laundry. But as with dishwashers, it can damage the rubber seals and hoses in some washing machines to the point of causing leaks.

Add one cup of distilled white vinegar to a cold water bath and soak your jeans for about an hour. Hang or lay flat to dry, and don't worry about smelling like vinegar—the odor goes away after your pants dry. This technique locks in the dye's color, keeping your jeans dark and your furniture clean.

To use Epsom salt in laundry, simply add 1-2 Tablespoons to each load along with your choice of laundry detergent. For top-loaders, you can add the Epsom salt at the very beginning of the cycle, before you put the clothes in. For front-loaders, you can add the Epsom salt to the detergent dispenser.

How long does it take to break in new jeans? ›

WEAR HARD & WAIT

Many denim brands say to wait at least six months, some even a year. The key is holding out. If they start to get a little funky you can steam them, hit them with some Febreeze, and hang them outside to air-out.

Let your denim soak for one to two hours. The water might look kind of murky afterwards but don't worry, your denim is fine. Take your denim out of the tub and squeeze the excess water out. Air-dry your denim.

"Not washing new denim before you wear them risks color rubbing off the denim onto anything else you are wearing that touches the denim, and even the upholstery in your car ... this can be made worse if the fabric gets wet while you are wearing it," she said.

The denim detergent is the one that is specifically made for it and we are glad to share that we've got the perfect denim wash for you. The XBrite Denim Wash is formulated specifically to keep your denims soft.

Best practice is to make sure clothing with zippers are fully zipped before throwing them in to wash or dry. Loose coins can cause the same problem, potentially with more force, and they can also get stuck under the drum, causing unwanted noise and wear and tear.

Jeans can typically be worn 3 times before washing. Leggings and tights should be washed after every wear to get rid of the baggy knees. Suits typically can be worn several times during normal use before dry cleaning (3-4 times for wool and 4-5 times for synthetics).

But what's a quick, easy and cheap way to remove colour run from clothes? Simple: Use baking soda. Baking soda, aka bicarbonate of soda, is a non-toxic odour neutraliser that can also brighten white laundry. So, it's the ideal product to work with when trying to remove a colour run issue.

This is because of colour bleeding. When manufacturers use cheap dyes and ineffectively set said dyes into their fabrics, water can cause the colours to run. Conversely, some clothing companies dye in excess to create bolder, brighter fabrics. In such cases, the extra dye often rinses off after the first wash.

When to Use Cold Water – For dark or bright colors that bleed or delicate fabrics, use cold water (80°F). Cold water also saves energy, so it is a good choice if you want to be eco-friendly. If you choose cold water, you may need to pre-treat or pre-soak your clothes if your laundry items are heavily soiled.

Another household staple you can use to remove color bleed stains is white vinegar. To use white vinegar as a natural color remover, wet a cotton ball with vinegar and rub it at the back of the garments you are about to soak. If you don't see any color transfer on the cotton ball, you can use vinegar in the garments.

How do you get bleeding color out of clothes? ›

How to Colorfast Your Clothes. Thoroughly clean a large mixing bowl or cleaning bucket, and then fill it with one gallon of fresh, clean water. Add one-fourth cup table salt and one cup vinegar. The vinegar and salt work together to naturally lock the color into the fabric.

Aspirin is known for removing stains and keeping whites bright and sparkly even if you've worn the same shirt over and over.

Vinegar seems to neutralize odors, leaving your clothing smelling clean. It can reduce odors from smoke, pets, and sweat. Add 1/2 to 1 cup of vinegar to your laundry to deodorize smelly clothes.

Always use cold water. Any warm or hot water will “cook” the protein in the blood into the fabric.

Ice. Applying ice to a wound will constrict the blood vessels, allowing a clot to form more quickly and stop the bleeding. The best way to do this is to wrap ice in a clean, dry cloth and place it on the wound.

A baking soda paste (two parts baking soda to 1 part water) is also a good trick to help lift blood stains. Apply the poultice directly to the stain and leave it for up to 30 minutes. After you've removed the paste, carefully blot the area with a damp cloth or paper towel then wash as normal.

Start by adding 3 tablespoons Clorox® Regular Bleach₂ to one gallon of water in a plastic dishpan. Fully submerge items in the bleach solution for up to 5 minutes. You may notice the color coming off immediately, or it may take the full 5 minutes (but don't let any item soak for longer than 5 minutes).

The real trick is to heed the warnings you might have noticed on your new jeans' tag: "Before wearing them, wash the jeans several times in cold water to rinse out any loose dye that may rub off," says Heloise.

What temperature should I wash my jeans? ›

When to Use Warm Water – For man-made fibers, knits and jeans, use warm water (90°F). Most of your clothes can be washed in warm water. It offers good cleaning without significant fading or shrinking. When to Use Cold Water – For dark or bright colors that bleed or delicate fabrics, use cold water (80°F).

Hot water opens up the fibers in clothes to release the dye, while cold water keeps them closed, trapping the dye inside to prevent bleeding. Choosing the cold setting on your washing machine will eliminate most problems with color bleeding, and may also help clothes last longer.

"The first time you wash a brand new pair of blue jeans, wash them separately. Of course, denim varies from brand to brand, but in general, new denim can lose a lot of color into the wash water.

If you're doing this in the washing machine, use 1 cup of vinegar. If you're using a bucket, use 1/2 cup or less! It's best to soak overnight in a cold water and vinegar mix - at the bare minimum, soak the jeans for at least a couple hours. Once you're done soaking, rinse out the jeans with cold water.

Soak in Oxygen-Based Bleach

Mix a solution of oxygen-based bleach (such as OxiClean, Nellie's All Natural Oxygen Brightener, or OXO Brite) and cool water. Follow the package directions for how much product to use per gallon of water. Submerge the stained items and allow them to soak for at least eight hours.

To start, dissolve oxygen bleach in hot water, then add enough cold water to cool the mixture. Soak the garment in this solution for 15-30 minutes, then rinse. If the stain remains, try wetting the stains with 3% hydrogen peroxide. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and then rinse thoroughly.

A helpful hint: The first time you wash your jeans, add 1/2 cup of white vinegar and a pinch of baking soda to the washer. It will help set the color so they don't bleed and fade as much. It is always best to hang dry denim, because this will prolong the life of your favorite jeans.