Laundry Hack: How to Set Your Clothing Dye

Buckle up, ladies, because I am about to help you love your clothes even longer with this tip:

How to set the dye in your clothes.

Tired of those indigo blues fading after the first wash?

Or that red and white smocked Christmas dress from Grammy Sue turning red and pink?

These scenarios are exactly why you would want to set the dye in your clothes. 

This life hack will keep you from running out for a backup dress before Santa pictures for little Harper Jane.

 Here’s how to do it: 

Grab you a jug of white vinegar – any brand will do. Fancy brand or Walmart brand. Doesn't matter.

How much? I typically eyeball it… about 1 to 2 cups should do the trick.

You can either set the clothes in your sink with the vinegar solution, or pop them in the washing machine and hit the soak cycle.

How long do you leave clothes soaking?

Oh great, question you ask…pretty much until you remember they’re there. Overnight? No problem. First time you’ll get laundry advice like this, pinky promise. 

Once your internal timer tells you the soak is done, you can just pop those clothes into the dryer or line dry, if needed. And, nope, your clothes will not reek of vinegar, but you can always choose to wash them again if your heart desires.

So how do you know when to do a vinegar soak?

Basically your instincts - any time you hesitate to wash a piece because that deep seated fear sets in that it will bleed or fade. That’s when, friends.

Our Abby Cate PJ jeans are a great example, to keep that deep blue color from fading.

I also do this with my kids backpacks. 

Bonus mom tip: I’ve switched to black backpacks because I couldn’t handle the filth on our pastel pink unicorn bags. So there you go… grab a darker backpack and do your vinegar soak to set that dye  - your kids might look worn down after a day of 2^nd grade recess, but their backpacks will be going strong, because you know, we like to control what we can. Am I right?  

Enjoy the process and brighter, non faded clothes, friends!