How to Remove Hair Dye Stains

Wet dye on a sink, tub or tile should come up with paper towels. Skip vinegar on marble, limestone, travertine, granite and cement grout.

A solid-surface vanity top has its own listed method: wipe it with household acetone or solvents. Acetone can damage other countertops, plastics and finishes, so use it only on a solid surface whose maker says it resists acetone.

Vinyl floors have their own guide, so start with the Laminate & Vinyl Floors guide for the floor itself. For rubber and silicone, start with the mildest treatment first.

Blot it with a clean white cloth, then test the detergent pretreat on a hidden spot for 5 minutes. If nothing lifts, stop there rather than moving to anything stronger.

Dye that rubs off onto other clothes in the dryer needs a quick rewash, so get those items into the wash as soon as you can. Add 1 cup non-chlorine bleach to that rewash, or for white or colorfast items use chlorine bleach or a commercial color remover, following the package. Check each rewashed item in good light before you do anything else.

For the dryer drum itself, check the dryer maker's care instructions before using anything on it. Keep any cleaner off the drum until you've confirmed it's safe for that finish.

Washable clothes follow the steps above, with the Clothes guide for item-specific details. Towels and tablecloths have their own guide, Towels & Table Linens.

Mattresses and bags can't go through a wash, so start by blotting wet dye with a dry white cloth only. If it doesn't respond, a professional cleaner is the safer call than repeated attempts at home.

Don't wet suede or apply any remover. Suede is a leather, and dye on leather changes the color right away and can't be removed.

Blot any wet dye with a dry white cloth and take the shoes to a professional who handles suede. The Leather guide covers what's safe on leather in general.

With dolls, start by blotting any wet dye with a clean white cloth. Then check the doll maker's care instructions before using any product.

Test any product on a hidden spot first, such as the base or the inside of an arm. If the dye doesn't come out after that, ask the maker or a doll restorer rather than trying stronger chemicals.

Many frames are acetate, triacetate or acrylic, and rubbing alcohol isn't safe on those, so check the frame material before reaching for it. Blot any wet dye with a clean white cloth first, the same as any other stain.

For glasses, an optician is the better bet than chemicals on the lenses. An optician can check the frame material and tell you what's safe.

Permanent dye is the hardest kind, and it's usually removed through repeated treatment rather than one strong one. Expect several rounds rather than hoping a single treatment finishes the job.

Dried stains need repeated rounds, as covered in the set-in section below. Dark and red shades follow the same steps, but test colorfast before any bleach.

Wipe hair dye off skin as soon as you can, since soap and water mostly works only before the color has dried. Don't scrub hard, because rubbing can leave skin irritated or raw, and treat rubbing alcohol as a last resort.

Leftover stains on hands and arms usually fade after a few washes, and hairline stains fade as you wash your face. The full skin methods, including petroleum jelly and toothpaste, are in the Skin & Hands guide.