Colour ran in the wash: how to rescue the other clothes

First steps, in order

Speed matters more than products here, so work through the load before it has a chance to dry.

• Find the culprit and set it aside to wash on its own from now on.
• Keep the stained clothes damp. If you cannot rewash at once, leave them in the drum or a basin of cool water for a short while.
• Rewash the stained pieces together with a normal dose of detergent, on the coolest cycle that suits them.
• Check each item in daylight before drying. A faint tint you can still see now will not fade by itself.
• Line dry what is clear, and keep treating what is not.

For white cotton and lawn

If a rewash does not clear the colour from a white kameez or shalwar, try a soak in an oxygen-based stain remover, made up as the packet says, for the time it recommends. Check the piece, rinse, and repeat once or twice if it keeps improving. Oxygen-based products are usually safe on white cotton and on many colourfast colours, but read the pack for exclusions such as silk and wool.

Colour-run removers are stronger. They are designed to strip loose dye, which is exactly why they can also strip the intended colour. Use them only on white or plain fabric as directed, never on printed, dyed or embroidered pieces with coloured thread, and never mix them with chlorine bleach or other products.

When the tinted pieces are coloured

Rescuing a coloured garment is harder, because anything strong enough to remove the stray dye may fade the fabric as well. Rewash it once or twice in cool water. If it is colourfast, which you can check with the method in our colour-fastness test, an oxygen soak may help. Otherwise accept a slight tint or ask a dry cleaner for advice, and tell them what happened.

Silk, chiffon and anything labelled dry clean only should go to a professional straight away, still damp if possible, rather than being treated at home.

Stopping it happening again

Most dye accidents come from deep, new colours washed with pale ones for the first time. A few habits prevent almost all of them:

• Wash new deep colours such as maroon, navy, black and bottle green on their own for the first few washes.
• Use cool water, which releases less dye than hot.
• Do not leave wet laundry sitting in the drum, where colour can move between pieces.
• Use a colour-catcher sheet in mixed loads as an extra safeguard, not as a replacement for sorting.

Sending fabric to be stitched

Our washing machine settings guide covers sorting and temperatures for each fabric, and our page on choosing fabric explains what to check before buying. If you are sending your own suit for unstitched suit stitching, testing it for colour first saves trouble later; start a Stitching Only quote and we confirm the fabric is suitable before you post anything.