Name: Janice
Message: Hi,
My mum washed my purple jacket (which was supposed to be washed separately) with my light blue denim jeans (without turning them inside out), and now i have purple stains on my jeans, is there any way I can get rid of these stains?

Wash the jeans in hot water, and the stains may come out. Many dyes are much more easily removed from fabric at hot temperatures. In fact, if the purple jacket had been washed with your jeans in cold water only, the dye might not have transferred from it.

If this does not work, do not use Rit Color Remover. The indigo dye used in dyeing denim turns a sickly yellow color in the presence of this chemical, which is otherwise ideal for removing unwanted dye (though it sometimes removes the original dye, at well). You can use chlorine bleach on your jeans, though of course this will lighten their overall color. If you lighten them too much, you can over-dye them with fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, or Dylon Cold Water dye. I do not recommend the use of all-purpose dye on cotton.

Your purple jacket could be made more wash-fast by the use of a special dye fixative called Retayne, which may be purchased at your local quilting supplies store, or mail-ordered from most of the dye retailers listed on my Sources for Dyeing Supplies page. After the Retayne is applied, the jacket will still need to be washed in cool water, though.