Name: Linda
Message: I was told after a shirt is dyed, I should put it in vinegar and something but no one knows how long to let it set. I've looked on the web site but I can't find anything on this process.

There's plenty on my website about how stupid it would be to soak a dyed cotton shirt in vinegar. It won't ever help a bit, and in some cases may even strip the dye out of the fiber.

For example, see "FAQ: Is there any way to "set" dye in purchased clothing or fabric?".

If you purchase a shirt and fear that its dye will run, wash it separately from other garments, in cool water. Poorly applied dye will always run much worse in hot water. To solve the problem, except for vat dyes such as indigo, mail-order some Retayne or Raycafix and use it to treat your poorly dyed clothing. Almost any mail-order dye supplier will sell one of these dye fixative products; see my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page for a listing of such companies around the world.

If you have tie-dyed a shirt using cool water fiber reactive dyes, such as Procion MX dye, and followed the instructions carefully, using soda ash, then just wash the heck out of the garment until all loose dye is removed. Use cold water for the first washing and hot water for subsequent washings. Properly attached fiber reactive dye cannot be washed out, so only the unattached dye will be removed.

If you have tie-dyed a shirt using a hot water dye such as all-purpose dye, do not wash it until after you have obtained some Retayne or Raycafix or a similar product by mail-order, and apply the stuff. All-purpose dye is notoriously prone to fading in the wash. If you applied all-purpose dye with cold water, and did not heat set it by boiling the fabric in the dyebath, you should either steam it for half an hour, wrapped in plastic wrap, as you might steam vegetables, or just wash the dye out altogether and redye, using a better recipe or higher quality dyes. Fiber reactive dyes give much better results than all-purpose dyes can do.

Vinegar has no place in dyeing cotton, and anyone who tells you that it does is not to be relied upon for telling the truth.


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