It’s every janitor’s dream to minimize the amount of time they spend doing the laundry.
But if that household is full of fashionistas keeping up with the latest trends in fashion, there’ll most likely be a sea of multi-colored clothes in the bin whenever it’s time for the laundry!
And trust me, not all of these clothes can actually be washed together (especially with whites), because some of them bleed and will transfer their dyes to lighter colors in the washer, which will ruin them.
Let’s take beige for example.
Beige colored clothes can only be washed with white clothes when the dyes on them don’t run off. Beige clothes can be tested for colorfastness using a color catcher or by dabbing a moistened cotton swab on an inconspicuous area of the clothes. When the swab picks up the color on the cloth, then the beige cloth is not color fast, otherwise, it is, and it’s safe to pair with white clothes for washing.
Below, we’ll discuss more about the care and maintenance of beige colored clothes!
Don’t wash new beige cloth with white
Got a new beige dress? The first thing you want to do is wash it separately and alone using salt, precisely one half cups of salt.
This would ensure that the colors don’t come off from the cloth, and as a result, the fabrics will maintain their appearance with subsequent wash.
Use color catcher to determine how much color runs off
Color catcher is a product (in sheet form) that helps absorb colors that run off from clothes and transfer to the wash water where it can transfer to lighter colors present in the same wash cycle.
Using a color catcher together with your colored clothes has the advantage of giving you the clue on how colorfast a fabric is, and with this formation, you’ll be able to tell whether or not pairing them with lighter colors, other colors, or even whites is a good idea.
So whenever you want to wash a beige cloth, run it in the washer together with a color catcher to discover the degree of its colorfastness.
If the cloth isn’t color fast, meaning that the color catcher absorbs colors that leak out from the cloth during washing, launder it separately until a color catcher no longer absorbs colors when you use it together with the cloth, which would indicate that the cloth is no longer bleeding.
At that point, it’s pretty much okay to pair the beige with whites without running into any problems after the wash session is over.
If you do not have a color catcher, inspect the wash water to determine how much bleeding is going on. A clear water indicates no bleeding at all, whereas water stained with the dye of the beige color means it’s still running off color, and shouldnt be paired up with whites or other lighter clothes.
There are different brands that offer color catchers and it’s important to go with a high quality brand to get satisfactory results.
Check for colorfastness using cotton swab
You don’t always have to use a color catcher to determine whether or not the beige clothes are colorfast. You can use the cotton swab method which involves dabbing an inconspicuous area of the fabric, for example the collar area, with a cotton swab moistened with water, and check for color transfer. If that happens, avoid pairing the beige cloth with white clothes or any other clothes because it will bleed into them in the washer.
If you need to sanitize, wash separately
Sanitizing a laundry typically involves using tough washer settings like hot cycle (which is bad for the dyes on clothes), longest cycle, as well as the heaviest cycle.
All these are a recipe for disaster because they promote color bleeding in the washer. So whenever you’re sanitizing your beige cloth, avoid pairing it up with any cloth that is light enough to pick up stains.
You also want to check the beige cloth for colorfastness to the laundry sanitizer you’re using before applying it. This would prevent you from applying something on your cloth that would damage it.
To test for colorfastness, use the cotton swab technique as we describe above.
If you need to bleach, wash separately, or use a color safe bleach and test beige for color fastness
Bleach clothes are also classified as laundry sanitizers, but they occupy a different category of importance which is why they have a heading of their own.
Whenever you’re trying to use bleach on your white clothes, avoid pairing them up with beige clothes or any other color clothes, as the bleach will discolor them.
If you must use bleach to sanitize colors, use a color safe bleach like OxiClean, and ensure to test it on an inconspicuous area of the fabric to be very sure!
To test bleach, add it to the spot and let sit for a few minutes, but don’t allow it to dry, then rinse and let dry. Inspect for any damages or change in color, and if there is none, proceed to use it together with whites in the washer provided it is colorfast to begin with.
Don’t mix them in the dryer
Let washing be the farthest you go with mixing beige and white clothes together. Do not put both clothes in the dryer. Heat is the enemy of color.
Hot water will make the color loosen up from the fabric and run off, and likewise heat from the dryer. So avoid putting colors with whites in the dryer.
Best way to wash colored clothes like beige
Sort them according to colors
Whenever you’re dealing with colored clothes, always sort them according to color and wash them like that. This will minimize and prevent the effects of color bleeding.
Wash new clothes with salt
Washing new clothes with salt has the advantage of keeping their quality intact with subsequent washing, especially in the color department. You’ll find that your colored clothes do not bleed as you continue to wash them if you treated them with salt in the first place, especially if they’re black.
Wash the clothes with laundry booster
Laundry boosters are an addition to laundry that helps improve the cleaning efficiency of detergents. By adding them to the laundry, they’ll come out cleaner, if whites, whiter, and if colored brighter!
Add vinegar to the final rinse cycle
Vinegar is one type of laundry booster that helps brighten garment and remove odor from them. To reap the effects of vinegar, add one half cup of it to the rinse cycle of your laundry.
Always follow cloth label
Whatever you do, always make sure you follow the clothing label to avoid destroying your clothes. The clothing label contains all the necessary instructions you need for the care and maintenance of your fabric. Let the instructions override any other instructions: either from laundry products or write-ups on the internet.
Final Thoughts
You can put beige and white clothes in the washer together, but you have to make sure the beige is color fast otherwise it will run into the wash water and transfer to the white clothes.
You can use a color catcher for that purpose or wash the beige alone and inspect whether or not it runs color.
