When you’re going to attend a party or meeting, you need to look stunning. So you might iron your beautiful gown for longer durations. However, can ironing fade garments?
Does ironing fade garments? At correct heat settings, ironing never damages your dresses. However, when you iron clothes at high temperature settings regularly, fading may develop on garments. Apart from that, incorrect wash settings, frequent wear, poor quality dye, UV rays of sunlight can fade clothes.
Are you interested in knowing more? In this article, I’m going to cover the probable causes of fading in clothes.
Let’s go!
Does ironing fade clothes?
Clothes iron was first invented in China in the year 1882. Since then, people have used it to get perfectly polished dresses. Ironing clothes can be beneficial for you in numerous ways. When you iron clothes properly,-
- It may save your clothes from shrinkage.
- Your clothes will look stunning overages.
- Garments will be free from fleas, moth eggs, bed bugs, fungus, and dust mites.
- Save your garments from wrinkles.
- Protect items from fading.
So, ironing never fades your clothes. However, when you wash or iron garments in wrong ways, they may be faded.
That’s why you should learn how to iron clothes properly. When you press clothes with iron, read the instruction manual first to grasp the temperature settings. Understanding the perfect heat settings is quite easy. Most irons nowadays use thermostat that controls temperature effectively.
Therefore, don’t worry at all. Just buy a standard iron.
Reasons behind fading in clothes
Frequent machine washing
The moment you observe stains on your clothes, what do you do? You might wash the whole garment. However, frequent washing can fade clothes in the long run. So, use washer as little as possible.
In addition,
- Never forget to read the garment care label. It’ll offer you the best way of washing clothes.
- Before washing, sort clothes based on their colors. You can separate garments into four groups like “darks,” “white,” “lights,” and “dark denims.”
- Toss heavier fabrics in separate loads. Otherwise, heavy ones might distort the lighter fabrics.
- Use laundry mesh bags to protect delicate garments from rough movements.
- When you observe stains on garments, treat them as soon as possible.
- If possible, hand wash garments.
Incorrect wash settings
Choose the wash cycle that matches your dresses perfectly. Generally, wash cycle of washer can be-
- Normal cycle
- Delicate cycle
- Permanent press cycle
- Special cycle
Normal cycle: This cycle uses fast tumble and fast spin. It isn’t the perfect cycle for delicate fabrics. Instead, robust fabrics denim, bedsheet and linen can be cleaned properly using this cycle. It removes sweat and dirt from garments quickly.
Delicate cycle: Delicate cycle spin and tumble slowly to protect delicate from rough movements inside washer. You have to wash cotton, wool, silk, and cashmere fabrics with this cycle.
As delicate cycle spins garments slowly, items aren’t always cleaned properly. It’s approximately an alternative to hand wash fabrics. To protect smoothness, it uses either cold or warm water to wash.
Permanent press cycle: It’s a combination of a fast and slow method. Although it tumbles fast, it spins slowly to protect clothes from growing more wrinkles. If you prefer to wear synthetic fabrics like polyester, acrylic, acetate, and rayon, permanent press would be the best choice.
Steam cycle: some modern-day washers may have this special cycle. It utilizes steam to remove wrinkles fast. It never washes clothes.
Lastly, you probably think that hot water keeps your clothes germ-free. It may be true. But, hot water is the main reason behind fading in your garments.
Therefore,
- Wash your delicate and dark-colored fabrics with cold water.
- Use warm water for washing synthetic and permanent press fabrics.
- You should only use hot water to wash bedsheets, socks, and underwear. Use hot water when ensuring cleanliness is your main priority.
Use strong detergent
If you want to save your garments from fading, use liquid detergent. Most importantly, this detergent is just great for delicate fabrics like wool, silk, and cashmere. Just check the pros of liquid detergent–
- It dissolves quickly in water. Therefore, it never leaves residue on garments.
- It is super easy to use.
- It works better with less amount of water. However, powered detergent demands more water to work appropriately.
- You can use it as a stain removal solution. Just apply some drops of it on stains and rub gently. After that, wash with plain water.
- This detergent is the best choice for washing machines. It never harms the lifespan of your washer.
Air drying clothes for longer
Air drying is more congenial to your garments compared to dryers. However, every object has its pitfalls.
You might know that sunlight contains harmful Ultra Violet rays that can be harmful to your body. Similarly, it can fade clothes by breaking down chemicals bonds and fade colors of garments. So, be careful while air-drying clothes.
Therefore, ensure the following to protect your beautiful dresses-
- Never leave clothes in the sun for longer periods.
- Try to air-drying dark and colored fabrics in warm shaded areas to save them from direct sunlight.
- Turn clothes inside out while drying.
- Use indoor drying racks to dry clothes inside your house.
Wrong dye type
You might buy a pair of jeans from Walmart and loves to wear them while hanging with friends. That’s great in your busy life.
However, you may observe fading in your jeans after a couple of months. This is because your garments can fade when dyes disappear. Maybe the manufacturer used the wrong dye type.
Therefore, you should be careful while visiting your favorite superstore next time. First, check care label of your clothes. If you see “do not use strong detergent,” “colors may wash off,” “wash with cold water,” garments may fade in the future. However, if you don’t observe any warning, clothes may not fade.
To preserve dyes on your clothes for a longer time,-
- Wash clothes with cold water.
- Use permanent press cycle or delicate cycle to protect clothes.
- Turn clothes inside out during washing.
- Never throw strong detergent on your clothes. Instead, use liquid detergent.
- Air dry clothes instead of using dryers.
Excess use of dryer
You might be a big fan of dryer as it saves time. However, dryer can fade your garments if you run it regularly at high heat.
First of all, choose suitable dry settings that put less pressure on clothes. Most importantly, stick with lower heat setting if you are too much worried about fading.
Moreover, toss a damp towel or some ice cubes while drying clothes. These wet items will create steam to ensure properly dried clothes. Moreover-
- Never leave clothes in dryer for longer durations.
- Never overload the dryer with items.
- Don’t use dryer too often.
- Always keep the lint screen clean.
- Check dryer vent once in a while. Otherwise, dryer can be extremely hot and cause terrible accidents.
Regular wear
Of course, you may have your favorite jeans or polo t-shirt. I don’t have any problem. However, you shouldn’t wear any dresses too frequently.
Therefore, buy new garments for yourself. You might think that this spending is nothing but a wastage of money. However, it’ll improve the lifespan of your favorite dress.
More tips to solve fading problem
Add salt to washer
You can wash garments with salt to prevent fading in them. To do this-
- Take a tub full of water. Add one cup of salt to it. Now, stir this mixture properly.
- Soak your clothes in this saltwater solution.
- Remove garments and wash as usual.
- If you want, add ¼ cup of salt during wash cycle.
Add vinegar to washer
Vinegar can solve fading problems as it works as a fabric softener. After washing fabrics, add distilled white vinegar during the rinse cycle. Never mix it with laundry detergent as they have different pH levels. So, they’ll neutralize the effects of each other.
Frequently asked questions
Does ironing fade jeans?
Ironing jeans can remove stubborn wrinkles and creases. So, you can easily iron your denim. However, it would help if you didn’t overdo it.
When you iron jeans at high temperatures, they’ll be damaged very soon. So, if you need to iron jeans, polish them at low temperatures.
In addition, other factors can fade your jeans too. Take a look-
- Cheap detergent
- Frequent wash with hot water.
- UV rays of sunlight.
- Low-quality denim.
- Extravagant use of chemical bleach.
Conclusion
Fading on garments is nothing but a sad story. Solving this problem can be challenging, provided that you don’t know the perfect solution.
In this article, I’ve mentioned some awesome easy tips and tricks to protect your dresses. Hopefully, you’ll benefit from it.
So, which methods do you like the most? Just leave it in the comment section.
That’s it for today.
Happy ironing!
