Tips and Tricks on How to Wash Coloured Clothes

Colourful garments are fun, but they also need special care, since they can fade and lose color quicker than light or dark clothes. Proper washing and care of those clothes will help colourful clothes last longer. Check out our step-by-step guide and helpful video instructions below, as well as some extra tips on how to wash coloured clothes with Tide’s colour safe detergents for the best results. Here is a quick guide for washing colours:

A pile of colorful clothes
Step 1

Sort

  • Sort according to colour shades.

  • New items may bleed, so wash separately

Step 1

Sort

  • Sort according to colour shades.

  • New items may bleed, so wash separately

Fabric care label
Step 2

Check

Step 2

Check

Select the wash cycle and water temperature on your washing machine
Step 3

Wash

  • Use Tide detergent.

  • Wash on cold setting.

Step 3

Wash

  • Use Tide detergent.

  • Wash on cold setting.

Ready to learn even more about how to wash and protect your coloured clothes? Read on for more in-depth tips and tricks for laundry success:

  1. Read the labels on coloured clothing. They will say whether the item should be washed in a washing machine, by hand or whether it should go to a dry cleaner.

  2. Sort clothes according to colour. Wash dark colours together, and white or lighter colours in a separate load. In the case of a larger load made up of colour groups, then these can be tackled in separate laundry loads, where bright clothes, such as purples, reds, oranges and bright yellows can be washed together and bright blues and greens can also be washed together in a different batch.

  3. Examine coloured clothing for stains and if there are any stains, pre-treat them with a small amount of laundry detergent like Tide Ultra OXI High Efficiency Liquid. Pour Tide on the stain, and rub the fabric together to work the detergent into the fibers.

  4. Turn new coloured clothes inside out, and put them in the washing machine. Do not over stuff the machine, and wash the items on as gentle a cycle as is necessary to clean clothes. A gentle or medium wash cycle should be sufficient, especially if Tide detergent is used.

  5. Wash new coloured clothes in cold water. For best performance, use Tide Plus Coldwater Clean Liquid – it’s made to keep bright coloured clothes radiant, even in a cold water wash.

  6. Use fabric protection. Use Downy Fabric Conditioner to protect against stretching, fading and fuzz.

  7. Remove clothes from the machine as soon as cycle finishes. Allowing coloured clothes to sit in a washing machine may cause the colors to leech onto other items.

  8. Hang your coloured clothes to dry. Avoid using the dryer if possible, since the dryer can cause clothing to fade faster and set any missed stains.