Retain colour in clothes using natural methods

You may buy an expensive churidar or sari. But how would you feel if it fades with the first wash; or it losses colour; or border colour makes patches on the body of the dress? You can’t use it any more. Depending on the stuff chosen or dyeing methods used, colour may retain in dress after washes, or you can even ruin your dress with first wash. Bright colour dresses have more chances of colour bleeding.

Here I provide a few useful tips you can make use of before washing your cloth for the first time. A few tips can help to retain dress colour for a long time and keep it new.

1. It’s always a better idea to dry your expensive clothes in shades, or not under direct sun. Repeat exposure to sun will fade the colour of clothes easily.

2. Take away the dresses from sunlight as soon as they dry. It’s also a good idea to iron the dresses before it completely dries. A little moisture in clothes helps you to make ironing perfect.

3. Make sure that inner side of the clothes come in direct contact with sunlight. If so clothes won’t fade easily.

4. Before the first wash of new dress, you need to test if the colour goes. For that, dip a sponge in water and rub it anywhere in the inner side, not visible from outside. If sponge gets colour we can assure that colour bleeding is to happen if dipped in water.

5. Once identified the chances of colour bleeding, you can have first wash in salt water. Add half cup salt to one bucket water and mix well. Use this water to clean clothes. You can also add extra shine to your faded clothes by washing in salt water.

6. If natural methods are used for dyeing, there are more chances for colour bleeding. Such colors can also attack body and skin. So it’s better to wash the dress once in salt water before you use for the first time.

7. Use cold water to wash colour fading and colour bleeding dresses. While you wash kurtas and shirts, turn the inner side outwards before you wash.

8. Never dry bright coloured dress under direct sun. The colours will fade quickly.

Giving new colour to cotton dress

It’s possible to give life to cotton dresses with faded colours. New colours can be given using fabric dye powder. It’s available in markets. Boil a little fabric dye powder in water and dip the cotton costume in it. The dye should reach every part of the dress uniformly. Boil it for 5 minutes. Add a handful of salt and boil again for 5 more minutes. Dip the dress in one bucket cold water and hang it to dry. Never squeeze the cloth to remove water.

Image source: Pixabay

Also read topics on dress caring tips. Here is the page link. Click on the images in the gallery to read.