How to Restore Color in Clothes Without Bleach
How to Restore Faded Clothes
I’m SO excited to show you how to restore color in clothes and make them look brand new again! I really wasn’t sure this laundry tip was going to work but IT DID and it’s totally worth using!
Here’s what happened: I bought the cutest yellow sweater about a year ago (yes I know, a year!). I washed it before I wanted to wear it and the minute I pulled it out of the laundry, I found it dingy, gray-tinged, and just plain dirty looking! I was SO upset! So, this sweater got tossed to the side. I’ve washed it several times since then (all without ever wearing it) in an effort to get rid of the nasty dingy look to NO avail!
Yesterday I threw it aside and figured I’d give it one more shot before this never worn sweater was tossed into the garbage. No, I’m not the kind of person that normally does that either. Yes, I donate my clothes. However, I wasn’t about to give something to Good Will that looked like it had been used and abused. Anyway, let’s move on.
What I’m Working With
It’s really hard to tell unless you put the sweater pictures side by side but this was REALLY dingy. Here’s another photo so you can see what I mean:
Fabric Brightener Ingredients
Since my sweater is yellow, I didn’t want to add straight bleach to the wash. The color safe bleach certainly didn’t do anything to help either. So, I tried my own concoction.
Here’s what you’re going to need:
- Your dingy clothing
- 1/2 cup of Vinegar
- Handful of Salt
- Normal Laundry Detergent
Step 1.
Place your clothing that needs a little extra brightening into the washer. Add your regular detergent to the machine. Now, add 1/2 a cup of vinegar to your fabric softener dispenser.
Step 2.
Next, add a handful of salt right into the detergent mix. Try and stir it a bit so it dissolves some.
Step 3.
Put your washer on a normal cycle and let it run! This is what the sweater looked like straight out of the wash…
There’s already a HUGE difference between what the sweater looked like before the wash and now! Here’s the sweater right out of the dryer:
Make Your Clothes Look New Again
This homemade fabric brightener worked extremely well as you can see from the photos above! My sweater has been saved from an eternal resting place and after a very long frustrating year, I can finally wear it!
Honestly, I’m not sure I will ever use the store-bought stuff again. Oh, and just in case you were wondering, no, the clothes do not smell like vinegar when you’re done the washing.
That’s it! Now that you know how to restore color in clothes really easily, you can go revive some of your favorite pieces of apparel! If you found this helpful, please share it with your friends and family on social media! They’ll appreciate it too! Thanks for reading.
More Laundry Tips:
- Homemade Fabric Softener
- Homemade Stain Remover Using Strong and Gentle Dawn Dish Soap
- Homemade Laundry Soap Tutorial (With Pictures)
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I use Vinegar as my fabric softener. I have’nt bought fabric softener in years. I make my own laundry soap too. I will try this because my whites have been looking kinda dingy lately, hope it works for me! Thanks
you should use Shout color catchers. if it turned dingy after the first wash it was probably the dye from other garments being redeposited onto you new sweater. I have even seen diy recipes for making the color catchers, though I have never tried making them.
GOING TO TRY RIGHT NOW THANKS 🙂
What a great idea! Can this method be used safely in an HE washer? I can’t see why it would create a subs problem, however, better safe than sorry.
Wow, you did well!
Do you use normal or white vinegar
I want to try this at home. I use vinegar to removed odor
Does it matter what temperature you use? I have a pastel pink fleece I’ve had the same problem with. Does it need to be cold or does it matter?
My mom and I tried this a few days ago and I can truly tell you, it really works! I know I sound like a bot but I’m serious, it really worked. Thank you!
😄 yay!! So glad it worked out well!
Hi Cathy,
I intend to brighten 3 knitwear tops at once using your method. Do I have to add 3 halves of a cup of vinegar and 3 handfuls of salt to the dispenser or one proportion is fine?
Which detergent do you use, Cathy?
Does this work with whites too?
Worked for me thank you so much! I too had a yellow jersey I had managed to fade after soaking in stain remover… after googling the British equivalent of a cup I used white vinegar and it’s definitely brighter! May need another go to get it back to pre soaking brightness but I’m so pleased … thanks again!
You are welcome! Glad it worked for you.
When you say detergent mix, do you mean to put salt in the detergent ? or into the vinegar in the softener dispenser?. Hope for your clarification