I'm still going to use them, no matter what the research shows!
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/m...view/index.htm

I always have a fear of my colors running. Whether it is fabric or laundry, I sort by lights and darks. I've always been scared to throw a dark in with lights, even with a color catcher!

Me too. Why take a chance, they have always worked for me. My first quilt was one I designed myself....stupid aren't I? It was black background with rag gourds of light cream and orange, it was just fine and I used homespuns and flannels. Too many quilters have tested them and they have worked. I will be behind you in the check out aisle at the grocery store, catchers in hand.

I agree! Can't be too careful!

Me too. I think they didn't use enough color catchers. If you wash 10 'guarenteed-to-bleed' shirts with one or two color catchers...of course, that's not going to be enough color catchers.

Judy

I have to agree with consumer reports and have the pink BVD's to prove it. Gets kind of expensive if you have to add more color catchers.

I do and will wash lights and darks in different loads, but I like them for my quilts.

My Carbona works great with my unwashed quilts. I will continue to use it.

I think I remember reading somewhere that a quilter just uses white pieces of fabric in her washes instead of a commercial color catcher. Not sure of the reliability.

How many of us are actually going to do like the commercials and wash red and whites together; come on now. No matter what the product there are always things that don't work; very rarely do you find something that is 100%. I hide my color watchers from my daughter because I don't want her testing them. It's taking me years to get her to sort her clothes and she's not allowed to do mine.

I just started using them myself, but with the
first load of purple flannel (for University Rag
Quilt for my daughter)the catchers worked great.

Me, too. Used them for the first time this last week and am very satisfied; removed a lot of pinks from fabric I pre washed for quilting purposes. :thumbup:

I use them with great results. But I do use 3 for a big quilt. I've not had any problems with colors bleeding into others on the quilts, but the color catchers get quite grungy, which to me says they are working. At least they have worked for me so far.

I've used and them and I have to say I'm not impressed. I wont be buing any more. I find that color safe bleach works better.

Consumer IS funded by many companies. They want you to do more washes and use more of their detergents, softeners, etc. I used to do about 9 loads a week, now I do 4. Thats a big savings over a period of 1 year.

I use Synthrapol and Retayne on fabrics that bleed. I had a Texas quilt with pink on the white in Texas from the red/burgundy fabric bleed. I washed with Synthrapol and all the pink came out.

From my experience with these sheets I have found that you may need to add more than one sheet. The box also states this. I have also noticed that if I use them it draws the dye out and fades my fabric. So I will stick to washing colors separate. Just my opinion.

I had a bad experience with a bleeding quilt a few years ago(I didn't pre-wash my fabrics then) and that's when I started using Retayne and colorcatchers and now I prewash everything.

I use them and no problems! I am not going to fix something that is not broke!

I will continue to use my common sense when washing something that is questionable. I will also continue to use color catchers!

I use them. I do use more than one when I think something might bleed. But, you can use them more than once. I will continue to use them.

I have some color catchers from Woolite called Dye Magnets. I have used them very successfully for several years. I just started looking for more and can't find them in the store anymore. Anyone know if they are still available?

Many of you use Retayne, I have never seen in my grocery store or fabric store. Where do you find it? I use color catchers and like someone else said, you have to use common sense. I don't put a load of new red towels in with my husbands underware.

I wondered about these. Now I know - Mom said, sort. I will continue to sort.

A solution for which there is no problem.

Me too! I do use and like color catchers.

I use them every day...I am shocked when I take them out and see how grey they get with just regular laundry. For new stuff I throw two in.

I read the article. One needs to use common sense when washing colors. New garments in red, black and deep blue seem to bleed so wash them separately.

Keep white together as one load.

I've used color catcher and it works for me.

I just used a Shout color catcher yesterday on a new red top that had a white vee in front. I was really afraid to wash it, but the white vee came out white and the catcher was med pink/red.

SEW I will continue to use them on anything that might bleed color.

Agree, but I do wash new items separately and then the shout sheet seems to handle subsequent minor dye leakage. I am concerned by what seems to me the increased use of non-fast dyes even in brands I thought I could rely on. I don't see paying increased prices for poor quality dyes. Is it that fabric-manufacturing countries can't afford the fast dyes? Are they polluting in nature? I've always thought that India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh and China could vastly increase their exports if only their dyes were reliable, as for instance, most of Japan's seem to be.

I use them too!

I had never heard of color catchers until I came on this board.

I was thought to always sort clothes out by white, light, medium and darks and wash them accordingly so that's what I do with my fabric and have had no problems with anything bleeding over into another piece.

IMHO if you follow the rule of thumb mum thought me you can't go wrong. Wash whites by themself, lights by themself, mediums by themself and darks by themself.

Ever since reading about color catchers in your laundry I've not been able to wrap around my mind how can it do that and still not spill over into the fabrics already in there. If it gets caught by this color catcher surely some of it still goes into the other pieces in there.

I had never heard of color catchers until I came on this board.

I was thought to always sort clothes out by white, light, medium and darks and wash them accordingly so that's what I do with my fabric and have had no problems with anything bleeding over into another piece.

IMHO if you follow the rule of thumb mum thought me you can't go wrong. Wash whites by themself, lights by themself, mediums by themself and darks by themself.

Ever since reading about color catchers in your laundry I've not been able to wrap around my mind how can it do that and still not spill over into the fabrics already in there. If it gets caught by this color catcher surely some of it still goes into the other pieces in there.

Here's another Judi that totally agrees with that. I use color catchers, but never just one. A quilt is a lot of fabric. I'm going to try unbleached muslin - that's the fabric thjey say will suck up dyes. But I depend on my color catchers and disagree with their testing at CR.
Judi

I have one quilt that, after many, many washes, still bleeds red, and I have noticed that even the red thread has bled. I doubt if a color catcher would have helped, but I am ever optimistic so I keep pre-washing batiks and reds with them.

The statement: they did catch color. But they didn't catch all of it.
That means to me to use enough to catch all the color. So they do work. What's the problem?

I used them with a navy flannel backed quilt when I washed it. Colors didn't bleed onto the other fabrics and the sheet seemed to pick up everything that was expected. Use them if you feel confident in the product or take a chance and don't use them. At least something is available now that wasn't available several years ago.

I think they are great. If I have a quily with a lt of deep colors I just use two instead of one.

I agree with you. i will still use them. They have not fail me yet. Yesterday I washed Gold bedsheets with Burgundy pillowcases together. The sheets were pink and no red spots on my gold sheets!!

I have been using them for years. I brought them back from Italy every summer, they work great for me!

My grandmother taught me to add vinegar to the wash to set the color. I have always done this with new fabric individually by color if I think the color might run. It seems to work. I have tried the Shout cloth which did absorb color, but I think the vinegar works best. If I have a small piece I put it in a small tub with vinegar water instead of the washing machine. That way I can rinse it several times without using so much water.

I'm still using it. I just washed a quilt that I knew had to bleed because I actually had the color on my hands from working with it so much. So I threw in 2 color catchers and they were both stained. But my white on the quilt was fine.