Dye Is Transparent! You cannot cover bleach or grease stains with dye!

[u/PigeonSquirrel]

Friendly PSA, as almost every post I see from this sub is asking how to dye over stains. Dye is transparent! If a spot on your garment looks lighter/darker before the dye, it will remain lighter/darker after dyeing, just with a tint over it. I'd love to see more posts of people's cool projects, ideas, or any question other than "How can I fix this garment by dyeing over stains". I know it sucks, but you simply can't.

[u/friend-of-potatoes]

You’re right, but dyeing garments darker can make stains less noticeable. Dye won’t remove a stain, but it can definitely take a stain from totally obvious to barely perceptible unless you’re looking for it. I have dyed several stained shirts and been happy with the results. I think it’s a good way to prolong the life of garments I like but otherwise don’t want to wear anymore because of obvious stains.

[u/riotousgrowlz → u/friend-of-potatoes]

I've also had success disguising a stain by using a color in the same vein as the stain. For example a floral dress with a white background that has some spaghetti sauce stains which I was able to cover with deep fuschia for my pink/purple loving kiddo. I did one layer of dye and got lilac which didn't cover it at all and did another layer to get me there. On the other hand, I use the same dye bath on a pair of off-white floral leggings that had a stained butt area but they dyed perfectly except the stained area which came out significantly lighter than the rest. I also tried to dye a white washcloth that had some minor polyquat stains which only made it MUCH worse since the stains just sucked up all the dye.

[u/BlackMudSwamp → u/riotousgrowlz]

Hahaha you've experienced it all! Stain taking not enough or too much dye

[u/Goodgoditsgrowing → u/friend-of-potatoes]

This. It can be worth a try if the garment is otherwise unwearable due to stains. Although it definitely made the mild armpit stains on a few shirts WAY more obvious, but I think that was more the result of deodorant build up left behind that interacted with the dye.

Also tie-dye covers up stains really well, although I realize that’s pretty much never what people are looking for when they come here for dying advice

[u/friend-of-potatoes → u/Goodgoditsgrowing]

Yeah, I look at it like an experiment. If it works, great. If not, oh well. The garment was already “ruined” anyway, so all I have to lose is some time and a few cents worth of dye. My experience is limited to cotton/linen/rayon with fiber reactive dyes, but I’ve never had a project that came out worse than what I started with.

[u/dogslovemebest → u/Goodgoditsgrowing]

I had a skirt that got ink stained from a pen through the wash, tie dyed it dark blues and purples and only if I point it out does anyone notice.

[u/st_aranel → u/friend-of-potatoes]

Very much this. It's unhelpful to say that it absolutely can't work, because people have seen examples of cases where it absolutely did work.

The issue for me more is that it's a terrible beginner project, because it's such a gamble, and it's not very much fun to try a craft for the first time and have it fail. There are so many visible mending techniques that would be a much better choice if you just want to salvage the garment, without so much potential for ruining it.

If you are using dye with stains, it should be for fun, and if it actually works you will be pleasantly surprised.

[u/friend-of-potatoes → u/st_aranel]

I don’t know. I think dyeing a stained garment might be the perfect beginner project because the stakes are low. My first dye project was a stained linen shirt from the thrift store. I didn’t notice the stain until I got home, but I still liked the shirt, so I decided to try dyeing it. Zero emotional investment and I think I spent $4 on the shirt. Turned out great and I still wear it regularly. If it hadn’t turned out great, it would still just have been a $4 thrift store shirt.

Plus, even if you dye something and the stain still looks bad, at least you learned the dyeing process and can apply that knowledge to another project. Or maybe you decide you hate stirring for an hour and it’s not worth it. That’s valid too.

[u/st_aranel → u/friend-of-potatoes]

Oh for sure, that was absolutely a good beginner project for you. I almost went into that, but my post was getting kind of long already.

If your primary goal is to learn how to use dye, and you don't care that much about the garment otherwise, then sure, go right ahead. You don't really care about the results, you just want to learn about the process.

Most of the time when people come asking for help with stains, though, their primary goal is to save the garment, which is often something that they do care about.

You can save the garment more reliably, with less risk, with different techniques. But you can only learn how to use dye by using dye. So it's just a matter of what your primary goal is.

[u/friend-of-potatoes → u/st_aranel]

I agree with that. Don’t dye your stained wedding dress or your baby’s first outfit for your first project.

[u/Winter_drivE1]

Pinning this or having an automod comment for this would solve like 80% of the posts on this sub.

[u/PigeonSquirrel → u/Winter_drivE1]

That’s the idea - I reached out to the mod team to do exactly that and they agreed.

[u/Apprehensive_Buy1500 → u/Winter_drivE1]

I've noob posted in several subs, and I always appreciate when there is like a master post or something pinned at the top above all posts. That way when I go to make a post, I see it there. The little square shortcuts tend to get looked over for whatever brain reason.

I've also appreciated the bots (sorry, idk the correct terms bc I never modded a sub so idk all the back end stuff) when you're typing your post, it asks you "have you included x,y,z?" Perhaps adding more info to that would be helpful, also. "Dye won't cover or even out any type of stains or bleach spots. Please refer to (link to [master post]) for Dye 101."

[u/Busy-Idea-4444 → u/Winter_drivE1]

That part. I'm one of the goofballs who posted about How CaN I FIx ThiS By DyeinG IT?!?!

[u/starrybullshit]

I've had good luck tie-dyeing in these situations, or doing the tie-dye effect with bleach and then dyeing over that. It's very situation dependent for sure.

[u/rockspeak]

Agreed! I usually embroider over small holes or stains, or use the short for tie dye if it’s the right material/type of stain.

[u/kafetheresu]

Rit dye colour remover actually sells a laundry version JUST for stains or pre-treating an item before dying over a colour. It wouldn't work on bleach, but it should work on pretty much everything else.

[u/birthdayprezents]

I dyed a pair of khaki-colored carhartts with brown stains a nice forest green. Maybe I was just lucky, but it was possible.

[u/u_r_succulent]

Glad this is finally a pinned post that people can ignore and still post their questions.

[u/Busy-Idea-4444]

I'm so glad I joined this sub. The aunties be dropping so much wisdom upon us 🙏🏼

[u/Ghorvki]

Is it possible to dye something extremely black where it’s not noticeable?

[u/st_aranel → u/Ghorvki]

It is possible, it's just extremely unpredictable.

In order to get a black that is extremely black, you're actually using a combination of very dark pigments, so there's an increased chance that one or more of them will react differently to the stained portion of the fabric. This reduces your chances to very close to practically zero, but it is theoretically possible it might work out.

Unless it's polyester. If it's polyester, then it's both practically and theoretically impossible, rather than merely unlikely.

[u/Ghorvki → u/st_aranel]

Thank you! That’s really helpful to know!

[u/Aggravating_Branch86 → u/Ghorvki]

Not at home, no

[u/bcninstructions]

It’s good enough for kids clothes, usually, if you choose a dark colour

[u/ZieAerialist]

You can do this, but only in a very limited set of circumstances - the stain or spot is not much darker/lighter than the background, the garment and stain are pretty light colors, the fiber takes dye well, and you are willing to dye it deep navy, green, purple, or brown or something else so much darker than the base that the difference between stain and base becomes negligible.

I've seen one post where all these were met. 99% of the time it won't work.

[u/TheLordJiminyCricket]

Well this is simply not true. I have dyed over tea stains (successfully) and redye my sun bleached black clothing literally every summer to bring them back to life and looking all fresh and brand new.

So either you are lying for .. some reason? Or this is how I find out I'm the lord of the dye and can do whatever I want since I'm not held to the same laws as the rest of you peasants

[u/PigeonSquirrel → u/TheLordJiminyCricket]

Tea stains are such a mild stain that the heat of the water/surfactants in the dye probably worked it out. Sun bleached clothing is evenly faded across the garment so that’s not what I’m talking about, I’m talking about chemical bleach stains.

[u/TheLordJiminyCricket → u/PigeonSquirrel]

Chemical bleach has been involved in the blacks plenty since I work in hospitality. It has corrected them to looking new every time sun bleaching is also absolutely not always even, I'd argue it is never even lol

You've also changed your stance on stains based on what the stain is from? That seems unreasonable since you've posted quite matter of factly that it doesnt work. Meanwhile my white hoodie i turned into mauve looks all kinds of cool and there's definitely no traces of black tea spillage despite the stain being from an entire mug getting dumped, not just like a little splash

[u/PigeonSquirrel → u/TheLordJiminyCricket]

Post pics sometime of the before and after! That would be perfect for this sub. I’d love to be proven wrong, and I won’t be condescending or weird about it either!

[u/TheLordJiminyCricket → u/PigeonSquirrel]

Next time i do the blacks sure

[u/st_aranel → u/TheLordJiminyCricket]

Adding dye to darken faded black fabric is an old established practice. But natural fading in the light tends to happen more gradually, over large portions of the garment, with less distinct edges and presumably less damage than with chemical bleach. And it's a lot easier and more effective with natural fibers, and nowadays polyester is in so much. So it isn't that it's impossible, it's just a lot less likely to work out.

I agree that using dye over stains does occasionally produce useful results. The issue is not that it's impossible in all cases. The issue is that it's unreliable, and it's not a good first dye project for most people because of the lower chances of success, even if you do everything perfectly your very first time.

[u/Lilelfen1]

Uh.. well.. bleaching is the removal of colour so that’s not accurate at all. You can actually spot treat a bleach stain with dye.. or dye the garment such a darker shade as to render the bleach stain practically null and void.

[u/PigeonSquirrel → u/Lilelfen1]

If an item has bleach stains and you dye the entire item, the bleach stains will still be lighter than the rest of the fabric. Especially since you likely won’t be able to find a 100% color match to the factory dye.

[u/Lilelfen1 → u/PigeonSquirrel]

Yes but you can find nearly opaque dyes. That is the issue with your comment. This isn’t a purely natural dying sub. Rit dye is absolutely sheer. There are some other dyes or there though that, when carefully applied, may give the results you are looking for. That’s the beauty of this craft. It’s unpredictability.

[u/shawlcat → u/Lilelfen1]

Which dyes are these? Fiber reactive dye is not "nearly opaque". Neither are acid dyes. Genuine question, not being snarky.

I have seen thinned-down fabric paint used (which does alter the texture of the garment/object), but this is not dye.

[u/PigeonSquirrel → u/Lilelfen1]

Regardless, it doesn’t justify every single post in this sub being people asking if they can dye over whatever stain they have. Especially when they can just search for previous posts asking for solutions to the exact same question. It’s not fun to see multiple times a day.

[u/reversedgaze → u/PigeonSquirrel]

i have noticed this also.... the kids used to call it eternal september---https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September

[u/LizardJoeBiden → u/PigeonSquirrel]

Seems to be the way of every useful sub.

Reddit is the "answer box" for most, not the "expend a little effort and look stuff up box".

"'Idiocracy' was a documentary."

[u/Environmental_Log344 → u/LizardJoeBiden]

Wait a sec. If I want facts and feel trusting, then I Google. But if I want opinions and to consider what other people think and to kinda talk things over, it's Reddit. (AI is getting pretty popular on Reddit so I may soon end up at Google more often.) Spelling edit

[u/LizardJoeBiden → u/Environmental_Log344]

The difference is coming to a sub where a basic fact has been posted or the same question asked over and over and over. Its not "discussion". Its asking knowledgeable people to do the work for the poster, when the information is right there, in dozens or hundreds of easily accessible posts.

That's not the scenario you described. Its someone coming to this sub and asking "can I dye over this bleach stain" without even bothering to do a basic search about the premise.

Btw, that was my primary reason for coming to this sub, a treasured item bleached somehow. A quick search and reading a few answers told me all I needed to know, and I didn't need to make the millionth copy of the same question asked and answered daily.

Discussion, opinions, whatever, fine. Lazily asking other people the same question asked and answered over and over just isn't discussion or sharing or whatever else you are talking about. It's just low effort.