Multi-color cotton clothes often have a large amount of unfixed colors during the dyeing process because the combination of dyes and fibers are not firm enough. The colors of this kind of clothes easily fall off when the clothes come into contact with water, and these colors may be attached to the light fabrics. Among all kinds of fabrics, cotton fibers are more easily have color fading and color bleeding because cotton fibers have a stronger hydrophilicity and they are more likely to accelerate the dissolution and transfer of dyes during the washing process. Especially under high temperatures, mechanical friction, and improper detergents, the risk of color bleeding is even greater.
Test
When laundry shops receive customers’ clothes, they should simply test the colorfastness of the pure cotton clothes.
A damp, pure white cloth can be used to wipe the hidden parts of the clothes to see if there is any color staining. If there is obvious color fading, laundry shops should explain to the customer the possible risk of color bleeding during washing, and record the test results in writing as the basis for determining responsibility afterwards.
Different Types of Clothes
Laundry shops can use different washing methods to wash pure clothes of different conditions.
- Monochromatic and severely faded clothes
This kind of cotton clothes should be washed separately, or clothes of the same colors should be washed together. Laundry staff should add 10g of neutral salt (like sodium chloride) per liter of water when pre-washing and use a special neutral-pH detergent to wash at a low tempeprature for a shorter time.
Kingstar 25kg Wet Cleaning Machine SHS-2025P can use programs to adjust the washing parameters. Before formal washing, staff should pour the required neutral salt into the powder detergent cup on top of the machine, pick the matching detergent cup option when the program runs the pre-wash step. The main wash water temperature should be set at 30℃ for low-temperature cleaning. By adjusting the washing parameters, staff can let the machine’s computer program handle all the complex washing work.
- Multi-color patchwork clothes
The washing programs of multi-color patchwork clothes can be set via the Kingstar 25kg wet cleaning machine SHS-2025P to reduce the risk of color bleeding. Neutral salts can be added in the powder detergent cup on top of the machine, and the pre-wash time is set to 5 minutes. After washing and dehydration, if the water is check to find out obvious color bleeding, staff can repeatedly the pre-wash once. The aim is to remove floating color on the surface and reduce the risk of color bleeding during the main wash.
– Main wash
(a) Water temperature control
The temperature should not be over 45 degrees Celsius because high temperature can accelerate dye migration.
(b) Neutral salt
Neutral salt (10g/L) and color run preventer (2g/L) should be used to match the normal dosage of the neutral detergent.
(c) Gentle Washing
The gentle washing should be about 10 minutes to avoid long-term mechanical friction.
(d) Loading capacity
The washing load should not be too high to ensure that the clothes are fully soaked.
(e) Kingstar equipment
The Kingstar 25kg wet cleaning machine SHS-2025P has the option of cooling. After the staff choose the cooling, the cold water will be added to rise the water level and reduce the temperature once the main washing of the clothes finishes. This helps further reduce the color bleeding rate.
– Rinses and Dehydration Setting
(a) Neutral salt (10g/L) and color run preventer (2g/L) should be added during every rinse to solidify the effect of avoiding color bleeding.
(b) During the last rinse, normal dehydration should be done first. Then, staff should use a dry towel to wrap the clothes for a second dehydration to further absorb the dying particles.
(c) It is suggested to do 2 to 3 times of sufficient rinsing until the water is clear.
- Cotton clothes
(a) Dark clothes and light, pure clothes should be washed separately for a long time.
(b) Flipping over for washing can reduce color fading caused by surface friction.
(c) It is suggested to do separate color fixation treatment before the first cleaning, like soaking clothes in salt water.)
Conclusion
Laundry shops can greatly reduce the risks of color bleeding in multi-color cotton clothes and improve washing safety and customer satisfaction by pre-wash testing, reasonable addition of washing auxiliaries, and intelligent washing equipment.
