How to Stop Black Cotton From Fading

When clothing contains 100 percent cotton, the fibers often release a portion of the fabric dyes during the laundering process. This fade may be especially evident with dark colors, such as black and indigo. Stop black cotton from fading with careful washing and drying of your items. Buying cotton with a small amount of polyester added to the cotton will help reduce fading problems also.

White vinegar
Laundry detergent for dark clothes

Instructions

- 1
  Turn the item inside out before washing, if possible.
- 2
  Place the item into the washing machine. Add 1 cup of white vinegar to the washing machine for the initial wash only. The white vinegar can help set the black dye in the cotton fabric.
- 3
  Add the appropriate amount of laundry detergent formulated for dark clothes to the washing machine. This laundry detergent contains ingredients that wash darks gently without some other ingredients (such as optical brighteners) that lead to fabric fading. Set the wash cycle to gentle and the water temperature to cold and start the washing machine.
- 4
  Remove the item from the washing machine when the cycle ends. Air dry the item, if possible. Hang the item inside out from an outside clothesline, from an indoor clothesline or over a bathtub to dry. If you must machine dry, place the item inside out into the dryer on an air cycle without heat.

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Laundry