Synthrapol
 

Hi,

Can any one tell me if synthrapol really gets extra dye out of fabric easier than any other method. I have been told that salt or vinegar doesn't work any more. I also read that instead of using synthrapol you can use just one drop of dish washing liquid as a substitute. One drop does not sound nearly enough but what would I know as I know nothing about synthrapol. Can any one help?

Sheena

I have had excellent results with Synthrapol. I had a red and white Ohio Star quilt where the red bleed onto the white. I followed the directions on the bottle. It did take three washings, but the bleeding came out. I highly recommend Synthrapol.

Synthropol is for hand dyed fabrics and Retyne is for commercially dyed fabric. They both work well for their specific uses

Umm, no not really. Retayne is used to SET dyes be it hand dyed or commercial. Product description from Dharma Trading: Product Description
Use this product to 'fix' dyes in commercially purchased solid colored cotton fabrics or clothing to prevent color bleeding during washing. Also use to add washfastness to your own dyeing. Particularly valuable to quilters.

Synthropol SUSPENDS excess dye in the wash water so it doesn't settle on the other fabrics. It makes no difference if it is commercial or hand dyed. Again from Dharma http://www.dharmatrading.com/html/eng/2127-AA.shtml
Product Description
Synthrapol works best with HOT water, yes, HOT water, when washing out excess dye, particularly Fiber Reactive Dye. You are getting out the excess loose dye molecules that have not been chemically bonded to the fabric. This is a good thing! Then you can rest asssured that the dye won't bleed on you,

This is not completely accurate if you are speaking to someone who is not dyeing their own fabrics. Dyers use Synthrapol during the dyeing process, but not Retayne, because they set their dyes with the product intended for the particular dye they are using. The statement is very confusing to the average quilter.

Synthrapol suspends loose (excess) dyes and other chemicals in the wash water so they do not adhere to other fabrics and are washed away with the rinse water. It is for use on any cotton fabric and is often used by quilters for completed quilts. It can also be used to prepare fabric for dyeing because it strips commercial fabrics of the finishing chemicals.

Retayne is an anti-bleeding rinse used to fix dyes during washing. It is for use on cotton fabrics before they are made into quilts because it will set loose dye on any fabric in the same wash load. It will not necessarily set the blue to the blue and the yellow to the yellow in your finished quilt.

When I wash a quilt for the first time (I don't prewash fabric) I use Synthropol. It takes a teaspoon so a bottle will last for years.

Ok thank you all for the information

Both feline fanatic and ghostrider are accurate. Additional notes: With Retayne, wash in HOT water using 1 tsp per yard of fabric; rinse in cold water, dry regular heat cycle. With Synthrapol, wash in HOT water using 1-2 tsp per avg size load; rinse in COOL water, dry regular heat cycle.

Will synthrapol work at all in warm or cold water? I have a quilt that I finished and although I prewashed all the fabrics (thirties fabrics) some of the red ones are bleeding in another quilt where I used the same fabrics. I don't know if it's a good idea to wash an applique quilt with wool batting in hot and all i've read of Synthrapol is to use hot water.

Do note that once fabirc has been treated with Retayne only a cold water wash should be used.. or you will remove the Retayne and have potential bleeding/running.
I have used both for years and yes Feline , and Ghostrider are both accurate in their statements. and both require 140 degree water when used.