Prism99

One of the reasons you got so much dye transfer was probably because you used a front loader. They do not use enough water to adequately dilute dye bleeds unless the bleeds are very small. For the first wash of my quilts, I go to the laundromat and use their largest front loader, hot water, and Synthrapol. That way I know that even if there is a big bleed, the water will dilute the bleed and Synthrapol will keep those loose dye particles suspended in the water so they do not settle back into fabrics.

Although low-sudsing Synthrapol will protect a front loader, it is not going to be as effective when there is very little water compared to a load that uses a lot of water. It is better to have loose dye particles very dilute in the water rather than concentrated. It may not make a lot of difference when a dye bleed is mild, but there would be a huge difference in effectiveness if a dye bleed is massive.

According to its directions, Synthrapol requires hot water to be effective. It probably is partially effective at lower water temperatures, but I haven't tried it that way.

Anyway, my advice is to take the quilt to the laundromat and wash it in Synthrapol in a large front loader there. It will use a lot more water than a domestic front loader. It may require several washings with Synthrapol, but Synthrapol will eventually remove all unset dye particles in the fabrics. (Most dyes these days require chemicals and very high heat to set, so your dryer did not set the dyes. I think there is some confusion because dryer heat*can* set stains. Dyes are different.) If the fading/dulling of some of the fabrics is due to black dye bleeds, Synthrapol should be able to reverse that.

I have hesitated to use OxyClean myself, but I think it can be quite effective too. The thing with OxyClean is that you want to use it in its liquid form rather than dry. I have had it stain certain clothing fabrics when added as a dry component to washes at home (although the stains did come out in subsequent washes). The liquid version of OxyClean has never done that to my clothing. I have thought that OxyClean might be harder on a quilt than Synthrapol, although I have no evidence to support that worry.

Edit: In future, you may want to test small scraps of your fabrics before a quilt's first wash. Testing would probably have warned you to use a machine with lots of water and Synthrapol for the first wash. To test, you can just take a scrap of fabric, drop in hot water, remove and lay on a wad of paper towels to dry. Bleeding fabric will leave dye on the paper towel.

Pennyhal

[QUOTE=Bree123;7726481]Here's the instructions for Synthropol LF (that's the low

Thank you for the link! That was exactly the information I needed!

Jeanette Frantz

I always TEST my fabric before I cut or sew. If the fabric bleeds, I treat it with a product manufactured by Rit Dye (I have no financial interest or ownership interest in Rit Dye, but I use the product, and have had very good results. It is a dye setting product and has worked on Red, one of the worst offenders. Discretion is the better part of valor, so I will always use Color Catchers when I'm washing a quilt! Please note that the underlining and bold is intended to emphasize the text and is not intended to be rude to anyone!

caspharm

I always use a recipe I found here on the board. It is in a thread called "recipe to keep colors from running." I have had great success with it while using tessagin's additional tip from the second page of the thread.

I have used 1 or 2 additional Color Catchers on occasion, if I was really worried.

Bjbaxter

I have used synthrapol successfully on a couple of completed quilts, you can put the quilt in a bathtub to use it, but I have also used it in a front loader with extra water.

KellieRiley

Thank you guys. So I ordered some synthrapol and will use that in the washer with extra water along with 4 color catchers! Crossing fingers. Can the color catchers go on the wash with the synthrapol?