Laundry: How Do I Make Red Stop Bleeding!

I bought a beautiful new bedspread that was cream with red flowers and the lady that sold it to me told me to wash it in cold water with a cup of salt. She said that this would set the color and from then on I could wash it and it would not bleed. I did that and it has never bled. I did dilute the salt in a little warm water before I added it to the cold. but you could hand wash in salt water and see what happens.

I vote for the hand-washing! It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes. One other thing I do is to wash reds with blacks only, in cold water in the machine. This idea goes back to the days (before my time) when washing machines - and color dyes - were not nearly as reliable as the ones now. So some women sorted dirty clothes by color as well as fabric. Color-wise, they washed whites and pastels, greens and blues, reds and blacks. Hope this helps.

My son's tae kwon do instructor does not recommend washing the belts. The uniforms gets sweaty, so wash those, but the belts don't need it.

this is just in case - I use Color Catcher by Shout when I prewash fabrics, and when I mix colors. It can even be used if colors run and you catch that fact before drying the load. I drop a new one in when I expect running but keep one that has been used before in for just about every load. Not natural but a product that works for me and I don't end up with all the reds or other bright/dense colors that I love bleeding on the rest of the load.

I give my grand-daughter a lot of bright colrs too, and included a box of these as well. It saves my feeling guilty for sharing what I love.

I have had a red Karate Jacket and belt and soaking it in vinegar and some water in the washer worked really well. It will still bleed a bit, but my jacket and belt are still vibrant red.

Hi Chris - yup, handwash is the way to go to keep from ruining your other items. When you wash, you'll have an idea how much it bleeds color and if it keeps bleeding color. Red dyes can be hard to set which is why they bleed. If a red dye doesnt set the first time, it can be a hard process to get them to set later. Since it is just a fabric belt and hard to ruin, you could try simmering it in a pot of water along with 1/4 cup salt and 1 cup white vinegar. Wash in hot water with non-bleach detergent only with other reds.

Hope that helps!

I second the Shout Color Catchers!!!!

Soak it in white distilled vinegar and cold water (like in the kitchen sink). This apparently allows the color to 'bleed' and sets the color at the same time. Then you should be able to wash on cold as often as you need to.