How to wash tie dye

If you’ve just gotten a new tie dye shirt from someone else, or you’ve dyed your own, the most important thing to remember for the first several washes is not to mix it with light colored items. Just wash it with other dark clothes or other tie-dye pieces that aren’t light. Move it promptly from the washing machine to the dryer.

If it sits wet on top of other natural fiber clothes like cotton, rayon, linen, or hemp, the excess dye can bleed onto them and stain permanently, or at least take work to remove. It’s ironic that it can bleed off one item and then bond stubbornly to another, but it happens.

You don’t need to be overly anxious about using your washing machine for tie dye. As long as you separate by color intensity, the dye won’t spread around. If you really want to get all the excess dye out of something freshly dyed, you can soak it in hot water with dish soap. That’s a common step sellers use before shipping dyed shirts. Some use dish soap, others use a textile detergent called Synthrapol, which helps carry away loose dye so it doesn’t redeposit on the fabric.

I have a lot of tie dye clothing, and after the first five or six washes, I throw everything in together without sorting colors. I don’t notice any color bleeding at that point. If you’re using professional dyes like Procion or MX fiber reactive dyes for cotton, rayon, or hemp, the main concern is only those early washes is bleeding, not fading.

Faded tie dye clothing usually happens with non reactive dyes, like the cheap kits used in group projects. Those dyes don’t bond permanently. Professionally dyed textiles, on the other hand, stay vibrant as long as you avoid bleach and long sun exposure.

If you’ve recently bought tie dye and you’re unsure how to wash it, most sellers are happy to tell you about their process. Knowing how many times it’s been pre washed helps take the anxiety out of the first wash.