In this post I’ll give you all my tips on rinsing and washing your tie-dye properly. You’ll learn how to keep your colors bright and beautiful.
Most importantly, I’ll share with you my secrets on how to prevent staining your tie-dye.
No matter how you dyed your shirt or what colors you used, the rinsing protocol is always the same.
This method works even if you have dark and light colors next to each other. Follow it to the letter and you’ll be able to keep all your colors perfect.
How to Rinse Your Tie-dye Easy Steps
You’ve dyed a garment and let it set for 24 hours. Now it’s time to rinse off the excess dye. This is best done in the sink or bathtub. The whole process can take 5-10 minutes to get most of the excess dye off.
1. Bring tie-dye to the sink
Bring your tie-dye item to the sink. It should still be damp at this point. Keep the rubber bands on for now.
2. Start rinsing under cold water
Turn on the tap on cold. Place your shirt directly under the running water. You should see colored water run off the shirt. Rotate and move the shirt to expose all its exterior surface to the water.
3. Remove rubber bands and open up the shirt
Slowly start removing the rubber bands. Continue rinsing while doing so. Open up the shirt, exposing its interior to the cold water. You will start seeing glimpses of your tie-dye design. It’s normal to feel excitement at this point.
4. Turn the shirt inside out
While rinsing, unfold the shirt. Turn the shirt inside out to expose its interior to the water. Be thorough when rinsing, you need to work the water into the shirt and open every fold to release the dye. Continue rinsing the shirt this way until the water runs clear.
5. Let the shirt soak in hot water
When the water runs clear, plug up your sink and let it fill up with hot water. Use enough water to submerge the fabric. Let the shirt soak for a few minutes so the water penetrates deep into the fibers. This will dislodge any remnants of dye.
6. Wring out the shirt
After the shirt is fully rinsed you can wring it out. Remove excess water and get ready to place your tie-dye in the washing machine.
How Long to Wait Before Rinsing?
After dyeing you need to wait 24 hours for the dye to set. During this period, most of the dye will permanently attach to the fabric. There will also be some loose dye particles that we need to remove.
After waiting you can rinse off the excess dye that isn’t attached. Don’t wait too long, you don’t want your shirt to dry up.
Should you Rinse with Hot or Cold Water?
Always rinse with cold water first. Cold water interrupts the dye reaction and prevents its from staining the fabric. Use cold water until most of the excess dye is removed.
Rinse cold until the water starts to run clear. This is your indication that most of the excess dye has been removed.
Clear running water is your cue to increase the temperature. Use warm water to further rinse the shirt. Warm water opens up the fabrics pores. It let’s you release more of the loose dye particles.
What if you Rinse too Quickly?
Rinsing your tie-dye too quickly will not only make the colors weaker, it can also stain the fabric.
Not letting the dye set long enough will make it so most of the dye is still reactive and ready to stain.
Pouring water on at tie-dye that hasn’t had time to set will displace the dye and send it all over the fabric.
How to Prevent Stains when Rinsing or Washing
Rinsing excess dye off the tie-dye is a critical part of the process. If not done correctly, you risk staining the fabric.
Backstaining is the redeposition of dye particles on the shirt during the rinsing and washing process. This happens when water picks up loose dye particles and deposits them on another part of the fabric.
With only a few tips you can make sure to never again risk staining your tie-dye.
Always start with cold water
Cold water does a great job at cleansing a tie-dye shirt. Dilutes excess dye and reduce its staining potential. It also neutralizes the pH from the fixer, stopping the reaction even more. The colder, the better.
Do not squeeze or wring out too quickly
Wait until the water runs mostly clear before squeezing or wringing out the fabric. This is one of the main cause of staining. Wringing out the shirt too early can mix different colors and stain pale areas.
Do not use hot water too quickly
Hot water is great at getting out weakly bonded dye particles. But high temperatures also make the dye much more reactive. You should always start by rinsing with cold water before increasing the temperature. Using hot water right away will muddy your colors.
Rinse every nook and cranny
It’s important to rinse the fabric thoroughly. Fabric sticks to itself when wet, making it harder to rinse certain areas. Make sure to separate the fabric when rinsing. Open up the sleeves and folds. Make sure to turn the garment inside out and rinse the interior too.
Don’t leave your tie-dye bunched up on itself
If your attention gets taken away when rinsing, it’s better to leave your half rinsed tie-dye submerged in water. Leaving it simply bunched up in the sink for an extended period can cause some staining.
Why did my Tie-dye Wash out when Rinsing?
Your tie-dye is not supposed to wash out during rinsing. If you find that your colors fade significantly, then you might have missed a crucial step when dyeing.
At this point of the process, the color is permanently attached to the fabric and cannot fade unless something went wrong. You might want to see this post explaining how to keep tie-dye from washing out.
How to use Less Water when Rinsing Tie-dye
Water usage is definitely a concern in tie-dye. The clothing industry already uses a lot of water to manufacture and dye garments.
When dyeing at home, water is needed to rinse off excess dye and to launder the clothes. There are some tips that will make you tie-dye more sustainable.
Rinse less, soak more
Start by rinsing to remove the first bits of excess dye, then soak for extended periods of time. Rinsing loses efficacy as you remove more excess dye and ultimately uses much more water than soaking.
Soaking your tie-dye lets water penetrate all the way to the center of the fabric. The longer you soak, the more dye will be removed. You can accomplish much more with the same volume of water with soaking.
Hot water is much more potent
Hot water is a great help when washing excess dye off. It is much better than cold water at removing partially reacted dye particles.
A single hot water bath will do a much better job than many cold water baths.
Hang up your tie-dye between soaks
Finally, know that time is your friend. The unattached dye particles need time to migrate from the fabric’s pores up to its surface.
Try wringing out and hanging up your tie-dye between each soak. You will find that the dye works its way up to the surface. Let the shirt hang for 10-15 minutes between soaks and you will save much more water.