How To Dye Clothing Like A Pro

Inside: Check out these easy tips on how to dye clothing. You can find out how to use Rit Dye and make your clothes like new again.

One of my favorite pairs of pants is a cheap pair of capris I bought years ago from Wal-mart. They are dark black, but over the years have faded to a very dark grey. Since I like them so much I didn't really want to throw them out.

Instead, I decided to use Rit dye to darken them back to black again. I love using Rit dye to update clothes and make them look new again. I have changed the colors of clothes or just used black to get them back to normal again.

Rit dye can be a game-changer for your wardrobe and the best part is you can easily do it all in the washing machine at home. There are tons of different colors and it can help save your favorite clothes and make them look new again.

If you have ever wondered how to dye clothing and how to use Rit dye check out these tips below. Dyeing your clothes is easy to do in the washing machine and you will love the new and updated looks you get.

How To Dye Clothing

To start you will need a few things. Obviously, you will need the items you wish to dye and the Rit dye. But you will also need table salt, bleach, and citric acid (if you have hard water). I like to buy my citric acid on Amazon. It is sometimes hard to find in the store.

If you are just dyeing 1-2 items then one box of Rit Dye will be plenty. If you have a whole load of clothes to dye then I would recommend using 2-3 boxes.

Make sure the items you are getting ready to dye are clean and free from stains. Any stains that are on your clothes may dye a different color so you will want to inspect everything really well before you dye it. Dye works best on fabrics like cotton, rayon, or linen. I have had success with all kinds of fabrics, but just know you may not have the desired results with some fabrics.

Start the washing machine using the hottest water that you can for your fabric. The hotter the water the better the dye will take. You don't want to use so hot of water that you damage your fabric so check the label and use the appropriate temperature.

Also, make sure you use the right load size. If you just have one smaller item the small load should work fine.

Once the machine is full add your packet (or packets) of Rit dye to the machine. Then add a cup of table salt to the machine. Let the machine swish for a minute or two to completely dissolve the dye and the salt. Why salt? It will help the color soak into the fabric better and you will get a closer dye color to the packet.

When you have the salt and the dye mix completely dissolved you can add your clothes to the washing machine. Give the machine a minute to circulate the clothes around so they are completely wet. Then let the cycle run for a few minutes.

To really get a good color set in your clothes you will need to let it wash for around 30 minutes to an hour. This will depend on how dark you want it.

If your washing machine has a timed wash on it you can just set it and forget it. However, if your washing machine is like mine and doesn't have any time on it you will need to watch it very closely.

You want the machine to be running while you are dyeing the clothes so it doesn't get stained differently in different areas of the fabric. So, I just let the machine run and keep a really close eye on it. When it just about finishes the cycle I restart the cycle again.

Mine takes about 10 minutes in the first cycle so I will restart it at least 3 times.

Once your clothes have been washing in the dye for at least 30 minutes you can start to check them to see if they are getting to the desired color. If you have a top load machine you should be able to stop the cycle for a minute and remove the clothes. I usually use a set of metal tongs to remove the clothes and check the color.

You will want it to look just a little darker than the color you want it to be. By the time it rinses and dries it may lighten a bit so it is best if it looks a little darker in the water.

If the color isn't where you would like it to be after 30 minutes then I recommend letting it continue in the washing machine checking on it every 10 minutes.

Once you have the color you want to let the load cycle finish out washing the fabric. Then, rewash the clothes in warm water and detergent once it is finished to remove any extra dye that is still in the fabric.

When the fabric is finished washing you can dry it following the instructions on the clothing.

To keep the color locked in the fabric I recommend washing the clothing you have dyed with Woolite Color Renew. It will help keep the color that you dyed it.

Cleaning The Washing Machine After You Dye Clothing

Once you have finished dying the fabric you will want to clean your washing machine. You don't want to get the dye on the next load of clothes that you wash.

I recommend putting the water temperature on the hottest setting. Then adding 2 cups of bleach to the wash cycle. Let it run through the whole cycle to really get the dye out of the machine.

If you have hard water where you live then you may notice that the rit dye is still stuck on the side of your washing machine. This is because the machine has hard water build-up on it and the dye is turning the hard water build up colors. You will want to run an empty load using the citric acid.

The citric acid will get rid of all the hard water build-up. Just run a large load empty with 1 cup of citric acid. If you have an extra rinse cycle I would run it too. Your machine will look like new afterward.

So grab that old shirt and change it up to a new color or darken those pants back to the original black that they were with these easy tips on how to dye clothing like a pro. It's easy and affordable! It's like getting some new clothes for cheap and helps you save your favorites.

Now that you know how to dye clothing like a pro you can transform your wardrobe and fix up those old clothes. My pants look great after getting dyed again.

Want some other easy laundry tips? Check out how to remove deodorant build-up on darks with these easy tips.