How can I lighten dark blue shirts to light blue, without damaging the yellow iron-on logos?

Name: Patty

—ADVERTISEMENTS—

Country or region: USA

Message: I have some dark blue tee shirts that I would like to lighten to a light blue but am unsure what product to use to do this. They are work shirts so I don't want to screw them up! They are 100% ultra cotton and there is a bright yellow logo on the front that appears to be iron-on that I also do not want to damage. Thank you for your time.

The trouble with removing dye is that the results are unpredictable, unless you dyed the shirt yourself and know exactly what dye was used. Some dyes will lighten in bleach or color remover, but some will not change color at all no matter what you do, and some will change to weird colors. It's common for a dark blue color to change to a light brown or weird dull orange, instead of white or light blue.

I think you'll want to avoid using household bleach, which is the hypochlorite-based stuff called chlorine bleach. There's a good chance it might damage the synthetic-material iron-on logo on the front of your shirts. Hypochlorite destroys nylon, and it tends to make polyester turn an ugly dull yellow that cannot be removed. The material in the iron-on logo might be undamaged by hypochlorite, but there's certainly a risk, since you don't know what it's made of.

That leaves sulfur-based color removers, such as Rit Color Remover, iDye Color Remover, and Thiox. (See my page, "What chemicals can be used to remove dye?".) There are several different chemicals you can use to remove color, but they're all based on producing sulfur dioxide when heated, and all give similar results to one another, different from the results of chlorine bleach. They are safer for a synthetic fabric than chlorine bleach. They all require heat; heating them on the stovetop works best, but it's so much easier to do it in the washing machine, with the hottest tap water available, that I always try that first. It often works, but not always.

The sulfur-based color removers are certainly not more toxic than chlorine bleach, probably less so, but they can be a real problem for people with asthma, so it's best to use them with excellent ventilation and/or a cartridge-type face respirator mask with acid gas cartridges. I don't worry about a mask when I use Rit Color Remover in the washing machine, because I don't stay in the room, and there is a window in the room where my washing machine is. I have not noticed any fumes. Be careful if you have asthma, though, and avoid any fumes in any case.

After you try Rit Color Remover in the washing machine (it'll probably require two or three boxes), you'll see whether it worked well enough. Maybe your dark blue will turn to a lighter blue, maybe it will turn an icky yellow, or maybe it won't change at all. If the shirts are not light enough, you can repeat the Rit Color Remover on the stovetop while wearing a respirator (not a dust mask!), or you can wash it out and try bleach, depending on how much of a risk you are willing to take. If they lighten too far, all the way to white, then you can consider yourself lucky, and then use a light blue Procion MX dye to color the shirts a light blue. Other types of dye will work, too, but all-purpose dyes such as Rit dye give inferior results.

If the yellow in your logo disappears when you use the color remover, which is likely, then you can use a yellow fabric marker to restore the color. If you use dye to color the shirts light blue, the logo may or may not take the blue dye, depending on what fiber it's made from, which is very hard to tell in advance. Polyester won't take any normal dye, but nylon will be colored by Rit. Procion MX dye will leave both polyester and nylon uncolored, but will color rayon. It is possible to use a resist to protect the logo while dyeing, but more information about that belongs in another question.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)

Posted: Sunday - June 03, 2012 at 11:20 AM

Follow this blog on twitter here.
Tweet

getBlogName(); > getCategoryName("<$EntryCategoryFolder$>"); >

How can I lighten dark blue shirts to light blue, without damaging the yellow iron-on logos?

> >