I have this pink skirt that I hate, but my friend needs a skirt for a costume she's making. However, she needs a white skirt, not pink. How do I dye/bleach the skirt white?
By emma from FL
Either use it color remover or hot water with lots of bleach in it.
Rit Dye makes a product to remove color from fabric. I don't remember the exact name but it is located with the regular Rit Dye. You should be able to find it in your local Wal-Mart type store or grocery store.
Commercially dyed pink skirt is going to react differently. May come out spotted. If the fabric is cotton, you have a better chance. A poly fabric will not undye itself!
Bleaching, or 'discharging' clothes to lighten or remove color can be helpful if you are going to cold-water dye, tie dye, and even to enhance the dramatic effect of printed or painted images. Bleach is a strong chemical, so here we will learn how to use it safely while effectively removing color.
First off, know that over-bleaching will significantly weaken your clothing. When you use bleach, think more about lightening dark clothing, not completely whitening them. Many dyes are that are applied to fabric actually become part of the fabric molecules, so it can be impossible to totally remove the color.
Safety First. Bleach is strong stuff, so work outdoors if you can. Bleach is a very potent chemical with toxic fumes, and can stain wood floors and carpeting. At least work in a well-ventilated area if you can't go outside. Wear rubber gloves and an apron- you do not want to get this stuff on your hands.
Dip Dying: You may need to experiment with the strength of bleach that best fits your purposes. Try using 1 part bleach to 4 or 5 parts water. Always dilute the bleach, as straight bleach can damage clothing, irritate your skin, and ruin the other clothes in your next few wash cycles. Leave your cloth submerged for at least 5 minutes. Check it every minute to see if it has lightened to your liking.
Spray dying: Bleaching to remove color is best done in small areas of the clothing where you want the lightened area to stand out. For jeans, use a spray bottle to get a spattered look that won't take a lot of life out of your jeans. Try tying up clothing for a tie-dye bleach dip, or placing objects like leaves or stencils on the fabric for a resist bleach dye. For more ideas, see our many ways to dye clothing.
Neutralizing the Bleach: After you are done dying, you need to stop the process of the chlorine. Rinse the fabric with water. You can use professional-grade bleach stoppers, but the most common household solution is hydrogen peroxide. It usually sells for under a buck at your local pharmacy. Soak your project in 2 parts hydrogen peroxide to 10 parts water. Soak for at least 10 minutes.
Tips for Success:
Bleach works best on cotton, rayon and linen. It will also work on synthetics like polyester.
Use warm, fresh bleach for the best results. Used and cold bleach are least effective.
Do not use vinegar to neutralize bleach because it can create a toxic gas.
Specialty bleach stoppers include Anti-Chlor and Bleach Stop.
Not all fabrics were created equal, and not all of them are prepared for the punch that bleach delivers. It will disintegrate wool and silk fibers.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I'm trying bleach my gray shirt, white. It is a name brand shirt if that makes any difference. How much bleach do I use and do I need to use hot water with it? I really need help with this.
By Jackson T.
The possibility of bleaching will depend to a great extent on the fabric content. If it is all cotton you should be able to bleach without too much trouble.
Many of the manmade fabrics will not bleach at all. Just be sure to dilute the bleach before getting it on your fabric or it will probably leave a hole in your garment.
As for preportions of bleach to fabric I cannot tell you as it has been many years since I have used bleach. You might check on Rit color-remover with better luck. This is found in both grocery and fabric stores and will give you more detailed instructions for use.
It depends on the fabric fibers whether you can even turn it white or not and keep in mind that bleach can melt and/or cause holes even in cotton fabrics.
I learned that lesson first hand over the years while hoping for the best outcome by experimenting with a few items that ended up becoming either hobo house clothes or cleaning rags.
Maybe just purchase a new white shirt on sale if need be and leave the gray one gray and still usable for nice wear?
If I have a beige sweater, can I just wash it in the washer with bleach and it will become white?
By Anjelisa C.
I wouldn't count on it. Depends on what the sweater fabric is. Even if it's all cotton, you could end up with just bleach spots on the sweater. Part of it may stay beige and part could be white. If it's a synthetic fiber, it could all remain beige.
Probably not. You can get a colour remover from Rit, which is a common brand of clothing dye. However, I have never used it, and I don't know how well it works. Most synthetic fabrics will not take dye well, and so do not lose colour either. If you like the sweater as it is, at all, I would leave it alone. Bleach will also weaken the fibres and may cause holes.
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This is probably a stupid question, but I have a pink shirt that I would like to make white.
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