Dina

Do you use warm or cold water when prewashing fabric with Color Catchers?

I don't normally prewash and am trying to learn all I possible can. I know you use hot water with Retayne...but what if I am using a Color Catcher? I washed some red with Color Catchers four times, and each time they came out red....but I used warm water. Should I have used cold water?

Thanks for any info.

Dina

Onebyone

I use one or two Shout color catchers in every laundry load. I don't care what laundry detergent I use as they all work fine with the color catchers. I don't have to separate laundry so it is a time saver and my clothes look brighter. I use cold, warm or hot temps whatever the items need. If you wash a load of reds the color catchers will always come out red to pink. When they come out gray then you know all the colors mixed together in the water. This gray color is what makes clothes dingy.

QuiltingHaven

I use 2 or 3 of the Shout Color Catchers when I bring in the fabric to get them without any colors at all. They are wonderful. If it is blue/red/or black - I will run another of the warm water with the 2 or 3 Shout Color Catchers if the water is really really colorful. Hope this helps - all my quilts are great.

Sharonquilts

I don't typically prewash my quilting fabrics. However, I do use Color Catchers with all my regular laundry and my finished quilts ... with either cold or warm water. I just go by the clothig labels re: water temperature. They are wonderful.

DawnV

I use 2 color catchers in the first wash after I make a quilt, and I use warm water. After that, I don't use color catchers, and I only wash in cold.

I used to prewash fabric all the time, before color catchers. I still will prewash backing fabric if it is a darker color.

betthequilter

I use cold water with color catchers.

Dina, I recently purchased a red fabric and I can't even remember how many times I washed it. The water was red every time. I finally decided not to use the fabric.

Jingle

I always use three or four color catchers with fabric or finished quilts. When they start shredding I throw in another. I wash in Coldwater Tide and dry on regular. Never had a problem.

Gay

I pre-wash in hot water to bring out excess color, as cold water doesn't always do the job and mainly use the color catches when washing the finished quilt. Had some blue fabric that I had to throw out after several washes.

cindi

I prewash with warm water and color catchers, because warm is what most people use when doing laundry. If the fabric still transfers color to the catchers after 2 washes, it doesn’t get used.

Dina

Thanks, folks, for the good information. I am working on quilts of valor and do not want to pass on any bleeding problems to anyone.

Dina