HOW TO WASH COLORED CLOTHES AND KEEP THEM VIBRANT
It can be disappointing when your favorite sweater or pair of jeans starts to get that faded, worn look, and you don’t feel like you can wear them anymore. While color fading can be a frustrating part of doing laundry—especially when it happens to your favorite clothes—there are ways to help mitigate it.
With a few simple laundry habits, you can help preserve the color in your clothes and keep them looking fresher for longer. Keep reading to learn more about how to wash colored clothes.
WHAT’S THE BEST DETERGENT FOR COLORED CLOTHES?
If your priority is to preserve the color of your garments, you probably want to stick with a mild detergent that’s free of boosters or bleach alternatives. This can help prevent the dyes from bleeding into the wash. Using too much detergent can also leave residue behind on your clothes, impacting the vibrancy of the fabric’s color.
HOW TO WASH COLORED CLOTHES THE RIGHT WAY
If you’re planning on machine washing colored clothes, there are certain steps you can take to help protect them. Pretreating garments, properly sorting your items, and using cooler water temperatures and gentler cycles can help keep your colors looking bright and fresh.
SUPPLIES
- Laundry detergent
- Stain remover (optional)
- Drying rack (optional)
1. CHECK YOUR GARMENT LABELS
Just because your garment is a particular color, doesn’t necessarily mean it belongs in the wash with other similarly colored clothes. Before tossing any item into the wash, be sure to check the label to see if your item belongs in the machine or requires either handwashing or dry cleaning. Your garment label may also have information and laundry symbols to help you select appropriate wash temperatures and let you know whether you should hang dry it.
2. SORT BY COLOR
While you may have been taught that white clothes go in one pile while brights go into another, there are additional steps you can take to help protect your clothes. Sorting your colors into similarly hued piles—like reds and oranges in one pile and darker colors in another—can help to keep clothes from bleeding and fading. Black clothes should also be washed separately. If you have any brightly colored items that are new, wash them separately the first few times so they may be less likely to bleed onto your other clothes.
3. PRETREAT STAINS
Clothes can pick up stains from everyday wear, but pretreating them can help to break down any unwanted stains before they go into the wash. Pretreating stains as soon as possible also allows them less time to set into your clothing. Be sure to check your care tags first and test your pretreatment of choice on a small area first, to be sure your fabric can handle it.
4. ADD CLOTHES AND DETERGENT TO WASHER
Although this sounds simple, it’s still important to approach this step with care. Make sure to give your clothes plenty of room to move around the washing machine by loading them loosely and evenly inside the drum, especially if you’re tossing them into a top load washer with an impeller or agitator.
Using only as much detergent as necessary can help limit residue buildup that can make your colors look worn. Swash™ Laundry Detergent1 can help. Swash™ features an Auto-Stop Top that will stop automatically when you have the right amount. So there’s no guess and no mess.
5. SET WATER TEMP AND CYCLE
If you're unsure how to wash colored clothes in a washing machine, pay attention to your water temperature and cycle type. Using cooler water temperatures and a gentle laundry cycle can help keep your clothes looking fresh and bright. While cold water can help prevent colors from bleeding and fading, a more gentle laundry cycle can help prevent agitation on fabric.
Before tossing any garment into the wash, be sure to check the care tag for instructions.
6. DRY WITH LOW HEAT OR HANG DRY
Before moving your clothes from the washer to the dryer, check your care tags to make sure it’s OK. Depending on the garment and care tag instructions, you may want to hang dry instead of machine dry. If you do decide to machine dry your colored garments, use the lowest heat dryer cycle that’s recommended on your care tags.
Extra Power
BOOST STAIN FIGHTING ON ANY WASH CYCLE
Maytag® washers with Extra Power give clothes an intense pre-wash and extra agitation to help wash stains away
SHOP MAYTAG® WASHERS WITH EXTRA POWER
Maytag® washers with the Extra Power Button boost stain fighting on any wash cycle with an intense pre-wash and extra agitation so you can walk away while stains wash away. A high detergent concentration phase also attacks stubborn stains right in the wash, removing the need to pre-wash on your own.
HOW DO YOU SANITIZE COLORED CLOTHES?
Some washers, like this one from Maytag brand, have cycles that are designed for sanitizing clothes, which can help remove household bacteria from garments. However, sanitize cycles usually use hot water, which is typically not recommended for colored clothing. Instead, consider washing at a colder temperature with a laundry sanitizing product.
TIPS TO KEEP COLORED CLOTHES BRIGHT
Remember the following tips to help keep your colored clothes looking vibrant, even after laundry day:
- Let your care tag guide you. Always check the care tags on your clothing before tossing them into the wash. Labels can provide guidance on water temperature, cycle settings, and drying, not to mention, letting you know whether a garment even belongs in the washer.
- Group clothes by color. Lighter fabrics can absorb dyes from darker fabrics, which can alter the color of your clothes. Sort and wash clothes into like-color groups to help keep colors looking their best.
- The less heat the better. Colder wash cycles and lower heat dryer settings can help to preserve color on laundry day.
EXPLORE MAYTAG® WASHERS AND DRYERS
Whether you're washing your brightest clothing or your whitest linens, Maytag® washers and dryers can help you power through your clothes on laundry day. Choose from front load or top load configurations, or even consider a stackable setup, to find the laundry set that’s right for you.
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1. Swash™ is owned and distributed by Whirlpool Corporation
