Have you ever wondered how to remove colour run off white clothing? Perhaps you were dying them or running out of bleach for the laundry. In any case, it has occurred to many individuals and will very certainly happen again.
Don’t worry, a colour run is something that many people have experienced. There are various methods to remove those annoying stains, whether they are the consequence of a toddler spilling paint or a clever dye job gone bad! There’s no need to get rid of your whites just yet.
Here are some approaches that we’ve discovered to be effective in removing colour run stains from white clothing, but first, let’s understand how it occurs.
How colour run happens
Well, the Colour Run happens very simply because people want to take part in marathons and they love throwing coloured powder at each other…oh, wait…we’re talking about a different type of colour run now, aren’t we.
Colour runs are stains on garments caused by coloured materials or fluids (paint, food colouring, etc.) coming into contact with the fabric. When bleach is not completely removed from fibres before they come into touch with different colours of coloured fabrics, colour run can occur.
Because these stains make white goods a different hue, white garments cannot be worn until they have been properly laundered or cleaned. I’ll show you three simple methods for removing colour run from white clothing that we’re aware of:
Vinegar
Vinegar is great for eliminating stains from clothing.
The best approach to accomplish this is to soak the discoloured garments in a cup of distilled vinegar followed by about a quarter cup (60 mL) of non-chlorine bleach. The bleach may be an additional and optional…well…option. You may now go off to play a round of CODM or DOTA or what have you. Basically, just keep them there for approximately 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes of soaking, rinse the white garments with lukewarm water. The laundry should then be washed in cold water with detergent before being air-dried.
Nail Polish Remover
Apply acetone nail polish remover to the stain using a cotton ball. Repeat as needed, but be sure to wash the clothing as soon as possible after using acetone to avoid fabric damage.
Colour Remover
If the clothes do not come out with the vinegar or bleach, try a colour remover. Soak, rinse, and dry the item after combining the product with water as instructed on the container. Note to only use colour remover on all-white garments.
Now, if you don’t want to have to go through all these hassles again, here are some tips to prevent and avoid colour run:
Prevention & avoiding colour run
You’ve (hopefully) lifted the stains with your colour run remover or home remedy treatment, but you’re probably not in the mood to repeat the process after your next load of washing. Here’s how to avoid colour bleeding in the future!
Washing Colours & Whites Separately
What is the simplest way to prevent colour leakage from garments onto the remainder of the washing load? Before washing laundry, separate your whites from your dark or vividly coloured things, and wash like colours together as much as possible.
Care When Washing New Clothes
It’s more difficult to learn how to stop colour bleeding from new garments since the dye may not be fully set before the first wash. If you have any new items in bright colours, you should wash them with comparable colours exclusively or hand-wash them the first time.
Double-Check Before Drying

Yes, we’ve mentioned it before, but following this guideline will save you and your clothing a lot of grief. A spin in a heated tumble dryer may permanently embed stains on clothing. Instead of tossing your freshly cleaned clothing into the dryer, inspect each item for leftover stains or colour run to determine whether they require another wash.
This is because any colour run stains from the laundry cycle will be set by the high heat of a tumble dryer. It will be much easier to find out how to get colour out of garments if you can identify it before putting them in the dryer.
If you happen to spot the colour run right off the bat, remove the offending article of clothing, lay it aside, and toss the affected garments back into the washing machine – if you haven’t dried your laundry, the colours aren’t set yet, and a repeat wash will be your easy solution to how to get rid of colour run, ASAP.
Then proceed to put the clothing back in the washing machine after you’re pleased with the outcomes of your colour run treatment. Check to see if the stains have totally disappeared before hanging or putting them in the dryer.
Bonus tips
- Always read clothing labels. Some materials cannot be bleached or cleaned with additives, so check the label carefully before washing your garments!
- When using bleach to remove stains from clothing, make sure you have enough bleach. If the white clothing is already bright yellow from colour transfer caused by inadequate bleach in the wash water, then extra bleach will not remove the spots.
- Before bleaching or laundering clothing, always check for colorfastness.
- If an item is marked “dry clean only,” do not attempt to launder it at home. Dry washing may be quite costly!
- Wash your white garments in cold water and dry them on a low heat setting. This will assist in preventing colour runs.
- When washing coloured articles or apparel marked “dry clean only,” avoid using chlorine bleach.
Closing words
We hope you have now got a better idea of how to remove colour run from clothes. Whether it is from that brand spanking new Polo T or your awesome custom printed articles of clothing that you got from us!
What’s that? You didn’t know we did custom printed clothing? Well, no time like the present. We’re the ones that you see whenever you search online for “Custom printing Singapore”. As long as you wear it, we’ll print on it. From masks to t-shirts, and even aprons. However, the catch is that we work in batches, but we see that as a good thing; sharing is caring and wouldn’t a uniform unite the whole company?
So, feel free to swing by our homepage to browse all our different offerings like we’ve mentioned earlier as well as jackets, sweaters, and other clothes that you can use to show off your brand today!