First few minutes
Just happened? Do this first
- Rewash or rinse the item as fast as you can, and don't let it dry.
- Blot wet dye with a white cloth or paper towels. Don't rub it.
- Test any remover on a hidden spot first.
- No dryer and no iron until the color is gone.
Tie dye that has bled onto a shirt or spread into a light load is a fabric dye built to stay in fibers, so it moves quickly once it's wet. The window is short: a spot caught while the fabric is still damp lifts far more easily while the fabric is damp than after it has set, and a load that went through the dryer first may only fade. Silk, wool and dry-clean-only pieces need a gentler route, so check the label before you pick a method.
Get tie dye out of clothes by working on it while it's damp, and rinse the back of the fabric too. Wash indigo stains apart from your light clothes so the blue doesn't spread. If color still shows after a wash, air-dry the item and look again before you move on.
9 items
What you'll need
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- Liquid laundry detergentWorks the stain in during the first rewash and the wash after the soak. (opens Amazon)
- Bleach-alternative detergentUsed for the short soak before the oxygen bleach wash.
- Non-chlorine (oxygen) bleachGoes into the wash for colorfast fabric that can take it. (opens Amazon)
- White vinegarMakes up the vinegar soak for dye that isn't red. (opens Amazon)
- Liquid dish soapThe detergent in the vinegar soak and the red dye soak. (opens Amazon)
- Rubbing alcoholDabbed under a pad to lift the last of the color. (opens Amazon)
- White cloth or paper towelsBlot up wet dye without spreading it. (opens Amazon)
- GlovesKeep your hands off the removers, especially the color remover. (opens Amazon)
- Chlorine bleach (opens Amazon)
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6 steps
How to get fabric dye out of clothes
Step 1 of 6
Rewash before the item dries
Get the item into the washer as soon as you can, and don't let it dry at all. Work liquid detergent into the stain with your fingers, then repeat until the color starts to lift.
If you don't know what the fabric is, stop after this step and check the care label before you try anything stronger.
Step 2 of 65 minutes
Soak, then wash with oxygen bleach
Soak the garment for up to 5 minutes in 1 tablespoon of bleach-alternative detergent per gallon of warm water. Then wash it with detergent and 1 cup of non-chlorine (oxygen) bleach on the hottest setting the care label allows.
Tip. Test a hidden seam first, and stop if the color bleeds onto the test spot.
Careful. Don't use oxygen bleach on wool, silk, mohair, leather or spandex, or on colors that aren't colorfast.
Step 3 of 630 minutes
Soak non-red dye in vinegar
If colored dye is still there and it isn't red, soak the spot for 30 minutes in 1 quart of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon liquid dish detergent and 1 tablespoon white vinegar. Stir it now and then, then rinse and check the spot before anything goes near a dryer.
Tip. Use plain white vinegar, since colored vinegar can leave its own stain.
Careful. Vinegar can change the color of some dyes, so test a hidden spot first.
Step 4 of 6
Dab the spot with alcohol
Put rubbing alcohol on a pad, press the pad on the stain, and switch to a clean pad each time it picks up color. Once the color stops coming up, flush the spot with more alcohol.
Tip. Work from the back of the fabric so the dye doesn't push further through.
Careful. Don't use alcohol on acetate, triacetate, modacrylic or acrylic.
Step 5 of 6
Rinse, launder and check
Rinse the item thoroughly so no remover is left in the fabric, then launder it with detergent. Check the spot in good light before drying, and repeat whichever soak worked if any color remains.
Step 6 of 65 minutes
Finish with chlorine bleach on whites
Use this last, and only on white or bleach-safe fabric such as cotton, polyester, nylon, acrylic or rayon, after everything else is rinsed out. Soak the spot for up to 5 minutes in 1/4 cup chlorine bleach per gallon of water, then rinse and wash with detergent and 1/3 cup bleach.
Tip. Make sure no vinegar, ammonia or alcohol is left in the fabric before you start.
Careful. Don't soak longer than 5 minutes or make the solution stronger; repeat the soak instead.
If you'd rather buy than mix
Best products for fabric dye
Look for an enzyme laundry pretreater or a prewash stain remover spray or stick, and check each label for the fabrics it's safe on.
How we picked these: each product is made for this type of stain, its maker doesn't warn against using it on this fabric, and its directions fit the steps above.
Finished the steps? How does it look?
Nice work. Let it dry completely and check it again in good light before using any heat. Here is what done looks like:
How to tell it's really gone →A faint mark usually needs one more round, not a stronger product.
If the stain was already dried or set, the method changes.
Old, dried or set-in stains →When to call a professional →Pick what it is on
Fabric Dye on every material
No match. Try the main search for anything else.
How to tell it's working
Dye lifting onto your cloth or pad is the sign that it's working, so keep swapping in a clean section as it picks up color. When the cloth stops taking color, rinse, launder and check before the item goes near any heat. If a full round leaves the cloth clean, the dye has likely set into the fibers, and the old and set-in options are the next move.
What changes for yours
Adjust for your fabric
Whites and white shirts
White cotton and linen can handle the strongest option here, and only if the care label allows bleach. Soak the whole shirt in a bleach-safe solution rather than dabbing one spot, so the fabric stays an even shade.
Keep any bleach soak to five minutes at most, since a longer soak only weakens the fibers without lifting more dye. If the color hasn't moved after that, rinse and switch to a packaged color remover, following its label, before you launder again.
Colors and denim
Colored clothes and jeans should skip chlorine altogether. Use a non-chlorine oxygen bleach with detergent, and only on fabric you know is colorfast.
For a dye splash that stays on the color, a 30-minute soak in warm water with a little dish detergent and a tablespoon of white vinegar per quart works well, then rinse and check before drying. Red dye follows a different soak with ammonia, so don't mix the two routines.
Silk, wool and delicates
Chlorine bleach is off the table for silk, wool and spandex, so keep any stain on them to the mildest approach. Blot with a white cloth, rinse in cool water, and stick to the mild detergent steps.
Rubbing alcohol lifts plenty of dyes, yet acetate, triacetate, modacrylic and acrylic can't take it, so check the label first. Ammonia is also off the table for silk and wool, and if these gentle steps don't clear the color, a dry cleaner is the right next stop.
Dry-clean-only items
A dry-clean-only label means home bleaches and solvents are a poor gamble, since they can strip the garment's own color along with the dye. Dab up whatever you can with a clean white towel, then hand the remainder to a cleaner.
Get the item to the cleaner while the dye is still fresh, and tell them the stain is fabric dye and what the fabric is. A stain that has dried or been through heat is much harder to treat than a fresh one.
Tie-dye ink and paint
Permanent felt-tip ink and tie-dye paint often don't come out completely, and laundering can set them further. Don't launder the item in hot water before you have tested it.
Start with a hidden spot and the rubbing alcohol test, since alcohol can damage some fibers. If the ink lightens, keep working the spot with the alcohol dab; if it doesn't budge, the realistic goal is a lighter mark.
Red dye and colored clothes
For red dye, skip the vinegar soak and soak the spot 30 minutes in 1 quart of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon dish detergent and 1 tablespoon ammonia. Rinse, then soak 1 hour in 1 quart of warm water with 1 tablespoon white vinegar, rinse again and finish with the alcohol dab; ammonia damages silk and wool, so skip this route for either.
Colored garments that picked up dye need a gentler touch, because a remover can strip their original color too. Mix a very weak solution of a packaged color remover, a small amount of powder in a gallon of water, then dip the whole garment and rinse it all at once.
Old, dried or set-in stains
Old tie dye has usually set, so expect to repeat the vinegar soak and the alcohol dab, rinsing between rounds, rather than clearing it in one go.
Dye that has been through the dryer is much harder to remove, and it may not come out completely. On white or colorfast fabric, the packaged color remover from the colored clothes card can still help, and on bleach-safe whites the short chlorine soak can be repeated.
If the dye is still there after several rounds, it has likely set into the fibers, and the realistic goal is a lighter mark rather than a clean one. Dye on leather changes the color at once and can't be removed, so use the leather guide for leather pieces.
Vinegar, baking soda, peroxide and more
Do home remedies work on fabric dye?
Most household remedies don't belong in dye removal; detergents, white vinegar and oxygen bleach do the work, with chlorine bleach as an optional last step. You can skip chlorine bleach entirely, since the soaks do most of the work.
Works4Skip2
Chemical safety
Never mix these
Some products in this guide react dangerously with each other. Use them one at a time and rinse with water in between.
Chlorine bleach + Vinegar
Vinegar is an acid, and acid mixed with bleach gives off toxic chlorine gas.
Chlorine bleach + Oxygen bleach (OxiClean)
Both makers advise against combining them: OxiClean says not to mix it with chlorine bleach, and Clorox says the two bleaches cancel each other out.
Oxygen bleach (OxiClean) + Vinegar
OxiClean's maker says it should not be mixed with household chemicals other than detergent in the wash.
Chlorine bleach + Rubbing alcohol
Bleach and rubbing alcohol can form chloroform, which causes dizziness, nausea and loss of consciousness.
If they mix by accident: Stop and add nothing else; leave the area for fresh air, open windows and keep children and pets away; call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222, or 911 if anyone has trouble breathing.
What makes it worse
Mistakes to avoid
Don't rub the dye in
Rubbing spreads wet dye and pushes it deeper into the fibers. Blot with a white cloth or paper towels and lift the color away instead.
Don't use bar soap on a fresh stain
Bar soap sets many stains, so keep it away from a fresh dye spot. Use liquid detergent for the first rewash.
Don't wash it with the rest of the load yet
Tossing a dye-spotted shirt back in with the dryer load can spread the color to everything else. Rewash it by itself, and keep it sorted from the rest until the color stops coming out.
Don't dip only one patch in a color remover
Garments that picked up dye are best dipped whole, so the original color doesn't get stripped from a single area and leave a pale patch. Wear gloves for the job and rinse the whole piece at once.
Don't use ammonia on silk or wool
The red-dye soak uses ammonia, but silk and wool can be damaged by it, so skip that step on those fibers. Test any remover on a hidden seam first, even on fabrics you think are safe.
When to call a professional
If the dye has already been through a dryer, or the garment is silk, wool or labeled dry-clean only, a dry cleaner is the safer bet than more home soaks. Tell them the stain is fabric dye, roughly when it got on, and which home cleaners you've already tried so they don't repeat them.
Questions
How do you get indigo dye out of clothes?
Indigo follows the same dye-transfer route: rewash the item before it dries, then use the detergent and oxygen bleach wash. Test a hidden spot first, since indigo can bleed in the wash, and keep the item out of the dryer until the blue is gone.
Does tie dye stain, and will it come out of clothes?
Yes, fabric dye is made to stay in fibers, so it stains whatever it touches. Fresh dye has the best chance, so rewash it before it dries; once it has been through the dryer, it's much harder to remove.
How do you stop dye from bleeding onto other clothes?
Rewash the garments that picked up color before anything else, and don't dry them until they're clear. Sorting colors properly prevents the transfer in the first place, and many detergents now include a color-bleed inhibitor.
Can you remove tie dye without bleach?
Yes. You can skip chlorine bleach entirely, since the detergent soaks do most of the work.
The alcohol dab works without it too. Chlorine is only an optional last step for white fabric, so check the care label first and skip any step your fabric can't take.
How do you get tie dye out of white clothes?
Use the chlorine soak last, and only on white or bleach-safe fabric, after everything else is rinsed out. On white cotton or linen that isn't bleach-safe, use a packaged color remover per its label, then launder.
What if the garment is silk or wool?
Use the gentlest route: rewash in detergent, skip chlorine bleach and ammonia, and don't rub the fabric, since rubbing damages silk and agitation makes wool felt and shrink. If color remains, a professional cleaner is the safest next step.
Related
How we know this
Every method, amount and warning here comes from university extension services, industry bodies and product makers. We read them, check every step for unsafe combinations and changed amounts, and write it up so you can follow it.