Remove Clothing Dye Stains

By Matt Oden | Comments | Ink and Dye Stains

It is unlikely that you’ll ever think about the need to remove clothing dye stains until you have an accident with clothing dye. At that point you’ll likely be frantically searching for a way to reverse permanent dye stains that may have made their way onto less than desirable surfaces. So just what options do you have? Is your best bet just to live with the clothing dye stains? While the permanence of the dye does pose a few problems, there are several methods that you can try.

Background on Removing Clothing Dye Stains

The key to any stain removal is to ensure that you are moving swiftly and getting the stain removal underway as fast as possible, before the stain has been allowed to set. Whether you are trying to remove clothing dye stains from your hands, your vinyl floors, or your clothing, you need to be certain that you never use heat on the stain. This will quickly set the stain permanently, and leave you with a whole lot more frustration.

The means by which you can find yourself with clothing stains can vary greatly. There could have been a problem with a bright red sock in the washing machine or it could be from a tie-dye project run amok. Just remember to remain calm and work diligently! That stain is no match for you!

Remove Clothing Dye Stains From Cotton Clothing

What You Will Need Before You Start

Oxygen bleach
White vinegar

You have just thrown your whites into the washing machine, feeling accomplished and on top of the laundry monster! You open the machine after it cycles and realize, in horror, that everything within the washing machine’s drum has been stained a pale pink or green. A lone red sock or neon t-shirt may have been your culprit! Before you despair, however, there are a few things that you should first try.

Before you put the clothing into the dryer or hang it up to dry, it is imperative that you work on the stain. If you delay working on the stain you’ll find it almost impossible to have any measure of success.
Fill the washing machine up with cold water and add a cup of white vinegar. Use the presoak cycle on your machine to run the vinegar through the stained items.
Once the machine has come to a full stop you should run it through again, this time on a full wash cycle and with two scoops of oxygen bleach in the machine. Be sure to use oxygen bleach and not any type of chlorine bleach.
Examine the damp items after the machine has gone through its cycle. If there is still a bit of discoloration remaining then you may want to consider another run-through with oxygen bleach; allowing the clothing to soak for up to thirty minutes before the machine start to agitate.

Remember that some items of clothing, like silk and wool, should not be washing in the washing machine. It is typically better to wash them by hand or take them to professional cleaners.

Remove Clothing Dye Stains From Carpeting

What You Will Need Before You Start

White absorbent towels
Clean sponge
White vinegar
Oxygen bleach

Finding yourself with the need to remove clothing dye stains from your carpeting can strike fear into you, especially if you are in a rental property. The good news, however, is that if the stain hasn’t been treated with any sort of heat then you have a very good chance of getting the stain out completely. Remember to always use white towels or rags when working to remove stains as this can help to prevent additional color transference during the cleaning process.

Use a white towel or paper towels to blot up any excess liquid if the stain is still fresh.
Create a paste using the oxygen bleach powder and the white vinegar. The paste should have the consistency of your toothpaste.
Carefully dab the paste onto the stained carpet and work it into the fibers of the carpet.
Using the clean sponge and fresh cool water, remove the cleaning paste from the carpet.
Rinse well with fresh clean water in order to remove any traces of the cleaning solution.
Press a clean white absorbent towel firmly on top of the damp carpet so that you can soak up any excess moisture. Not doing this step could cause molds to grow on the damp carpet, not to mention become a magnet for dirt and grime to become trapped.

You may want to consider using a carpet shampooer on the carpet or at the very least using a spot-treating cleaning machine in order to get as much of the cleaning solution out as possible.

Remove Clothing Dye Stains From Vinyl Flooring

What You Will Need Before You Start

Paper towels
Rubbing alcohol
Clean scrubbing sponges

Vinyl flooring is a great addition to your kitchen, bathroom, or other areas of your home. However, vinyl flooring is very often porous, which can lead it to be easily stained if the wrong types of substances are spilled on it. The good news is that there are several things you can do in order to remove clothing dye stains from vinyl flooring.

Clean up fresh spills with paper towels, as soon as you are able to.
Pour rubbing alcohol onto the stain and scrub at it, gently, with the scrubbing side of your sponge.
Wipe clean with cool fresh water and another sponge, or paper towels.

If you do not have any rubbing alcohol then you may have good success using nail polish remover on the dye stain.

Avoid clothing dye transfers when you are doing your laundry by ensuring that you properly separate your whites, lights, and brights. Just because an item has yet to stain or bleed through to other clothing doesn’t mean that it won’t.