What are the types of colour loss of clothes?

Once manufactured, fabric or clothes can lose their colour(dye) by: 

• When the fabric gets wet, the colour(dye) leaches out into the water, called Colour bleeding. This is what happens when a green dupatta or T-shirt makes your white clothes light green!
• When the fabric loses colour(dye) due to bleeding, exposure to bleaching products, or intense ultraviolet rays (sunlight), it is called Colour fading.
• When colour is transferred as the fabric rubs against another surface, it is called Crocking. If you have ever seen blue streaks on your sofa covers after wearing new blue jeans, it is crocking. It occurs because the dye was not properly adhered to the fabric.

Such colour loss most often happens due to how the fabric was manufactured.

When does colour bleeding occur?

If the colour loss happens due to the following reasons, it is beyond your control:

• When an improper dyeing technique was used or when a poor-quality dye was used during manufacturing.
• When an incorrect dye was used for the type of fabric (not all dyes work on all kinds of fabrics)
• When the dye was not fully rinsed out, thereby leaving an excess of unattached dye in the fabric, which then bleeds when the fabric encounters water.
• The manufacturer did not use a fixative to bind the dye to the fabric.

Ways you can control colour bleeding

You can control some of the colour loss by keeping in mind a few tips:

Exposure to hot water during washing can cause the fixative to be washed out of the fabric. If the fixative is washed out, it will no longer hold the dye to the fibres of the cloth. Use the lowest water temperature possible to wash coloured clothes.

• Take care that the washing machine is not overcrowded, avoid harsh detergents, and avoid washing in hard water that can cause tiny breakages in the fibres and lead to the release of dye.
• Avoid overuse of bleach, excessive exposure to the sun, and high heat that can cause clothes to fade and release the dye.
• If you want to avoid the above hassles, ensure that you treat the coloured garment with Pakka colour fixer before washing the garment.
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