Name: Marie

Country: USA

Message: I am trying to remember this method, from about the 1980s, where you can take panty hose and bleach them out to dye them. I don't remember if you use bleach in boiling hot water so that  you can dye them. Do you have any idea how to do this?

What you're trying to remember is that you MUST use a different chemical than bleach, to remove the color from nylon stockings. Never use household bleach on synthetic fibers such as nylon, because the hypochlorite in the bleach will eat them right up. Chlorine bleach will destroy nylon or spandex, and it creates a permanent ugly yellow color on polyester.

The chemical you used was probably Rit Color Remover, which is usually pretty easy to find in drug stores or grocery stores. It is less damaging to fabric than chlorine bleach. You can use it in hot tap water, but almost-boiling water on the stove top is more effective. It's worth trying the hot tap water first, because it's so much less trouble. Don't use an aluminum pot for heating your Rit Color Remover, because the pot may be ruined; use stainless steel or enamel or glass.

There are other chemicals that work similarly to Rit Color Remover, such as Jacquard Discharge Paste, which is good for making prints or designs. Rit Color Remover is used for removing the color from the whole garment at once. The other dye-removal chemicals are harder to find and usually must be purchased by mail order. See "What chemicals can be used to remove dye?".

Something new that you may not have thought of yet is that the fiber content of pantyhose has changed over the years, for many brands. They used to contain 100% nylon, but many brands now contain some nylon and some spandex. Spandex makes the pantyhose fit better, thanks to its stretchiness, and it makes the stockings last longer without runs, too. Unfortunately, spandex-blend stockings are not as suitable for removing color from. The chemical in Rit Color Remover is safe for spandex, but the heat required to make the Rit Color Remover work is not. Spandex is very heat sensitive. Heat can make spandex permanently lose its shape.

If you want to try using Rit Color Remover on a spandex blend, try it first in lukewarm water, 105°F, and see if it works at all. If not, try warmer water, but not boiling hot water! Do your tests with hot water on an old pair that you don't want to wear anymore. Keep the temperature below 140°F at the highest, and see if that works for you, and whether it distorts the shape of the pantyhose too much.

If you find some pantyhose that are 100% nylon, it's okay to get them to a temperature as high as 185°F. Use a thermometer. You don't want to allow more than just a few tiny bubbles at the very edge of the pot. A full boil is too hot and might damage even 100% nylon.

To add color to nylon or nylon/spandex with dye, see "How to Dye Spandex" and "How to Dye Nylon". Note that nylon dyes require heat, which can damage spandex; if your stockings are a nylon/spandex blend, try using very hot tap water, no hotter than 140°F,  even though it does not work as well for dyeing nylon as nearly-boiling water does. For bright colors, you need to use Color Remover first. Be sure to wash the pantyhose well and dry them, so that the air can remove traces of the Color Remover chemical, before you start to apply dye.

I have to warn you that, although it is not as toxic as chlorine bleach (which is really a dangerous chemical), Rit Color Remover does produce sulfur dioxide, like the other dye removal chemicals that are safer than bleach. This means that it can trigger an asthma attack, if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, and high concentrations can cause lung damage. Be careful to have good ventilation (work outside or with a fan in a wide-open window), and if you're going to be working with color remover chemicals much, get yourself a cartridge-based respirator. A dust mask will not protect you against chlorine bleach or sulfur-containing dye removers, but a good cartridge respirator with organic vapor cartridges will. Dye removal chemicals, especially including bleach but also including all other dye removal chemicals, are much more hazardous than home-use dyes. You can use them safely, but you should be careful with them.

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