Dylon Hand Dye 5 January 2017 at 3:18PM in Old style MoneySaving 11 replies 5.8K views

Lilys-Games

Hi everyone, I was just wondering if anyone has any experience using Dylon hand dyes?

I want to use a couple of sachets of the deep black colour on a pair of jeans that have faded and are starting to look scruffy, but I use a communal laundry room and can't afford to risk damaging the washers or other people's clothes if the dye stains the drum. I know with the hand version you rinse the dye out yourself, but I know the dye can still run afterwards and I'm worried about leaving traces of it behind in the washer when I come to wash them.

The reviews I've read have been really mixed - some people have even mentioned having to scrub the drum of their washer to get all the dye traces out, although more people have said good things about it.

It also costs me at least £4.50 for a wash and dry cycle, so if I can't rinse the dye out by hand easily and have to do a few washes with the jeans on their own to prevent them staining my other clothes, It'd quickly get to the point where it would be more economical to buy a new pair, even though I'd rather make the best of the ones I have.

So, do you think if I dye my jeans by hand and then rinse them, it will be safe to put them in a communal washer afterwards, or should I just think about getting some new ones?

Gleeful

I never had that much success with the hand dyes creating darker colours, all looked a bit wishy washy, so probably not appropriate for what you're wanting to do. You're probably correct that buying new ones would be cheaper. Or see if a friend will let you use their washer.

Lilys-Games

Thanks for the reply Gleeful yep my other option was asking my sister if I could use some of the machine dye in her washer, but I'd be paying for the dye, and I would also top up her electric to do it too cause she doesn't have loads of money, so given these are a £15 pair of jeans it's almost not worth it financially. Then there's still the risk of staining her washer...

The only reason I want to do it is because they are still perfectly decent in every other sense, and I don't like to get rid of clothes without trying to mend them first, I feel really guilty about the waste.

Larumbelle

Lilys-Games wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Gleeful yep my other option was asking my sister if I could use some of the machine dye in her washer, but I'd be paying for the dye, and I would also top up her electric to do it too cause she doesn't have loads of money, so given these are a £15 pair of jeans it's almost not worth it financially. Then there's still the risk of staining her washer...

Maybe ask your sister if she also has some jeans that would benefit? Then you would both get something out of it. As you are just darkening the shade the dye would do a couple of pairs easily.

I have never had a problem using the machine dye as instructed - you do have to wash the garments separately for a few washes, but I would wash jeans separately from other washes anyway as the dye never seems as fixed as other fabrics and garments for some reason. I do run an empty wash on the highest setting afterwards just to be on the safe side, I also inspect the seal area just to make sure no dye has got trapped in there.

IMO the hand dye is not as good at all.

esmy

I've used black dye in the washing machine several times. I run a hot wash with a splash of bleach afterwards which seems to remove all traces, and make sure the next wash is whites.

bellaboo86

I've used black machine dye a few times and never had a problem. In fact, I don't even think I've put the machine on a rinse afterwards.

Dclutterchique

Yes, I have used Dylon Hand Dye without any problems. Both times I used it on tops that were made from cotton jersey (a sort of good quality T-shirt material). Once on a cream top that I dyed beige to disguise some semi-permanent brown hair dye that I got on it and once on a mid-blue top that I re-did in its same colour as it was beginning to look a bit faded. In both cases I used a plastic bucket to do the dying and made sure that after they were rinsed out in clean water until the water was completely clear with not even the merest 'hint of a tint'. The first time I washed the beige top I did it by hand to make sure that if any further dye came out it didn't damaged the machine (none did). When I did the blue top I was brave enough to give it its 'first' wash straight in the machine and had no problems. I think if you use the correct number of sachets (weigh the jeans before buying the dye to make sure), rinse thoroughly after dying (do one or two extra rinses if you want to be safe) and make the first wash a hand wash you should be ok.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Jeans require quite a lot of dye. If the formulation is the same as it used to be, you'll also need to buy salt as a fixative. After that, there's still no guarantee the dye will take perfectly - so I'd be inclined to point out that, whilst somebody might be delighted with those jeans if they found them in a charity shop, you'd probably be better off in the long run buying a replacement pair(s) from Primark/Tesco/Other low price clothing company.

Tiddlywinks

I've tried reviving black clothes with the Dylon machine packs and had mixed results.

It worked really well on 100% cotton t-shirts but didn't really make much difference to some jeans (had about 3% Lycra).

The seals did stain and even a bleach rinse didn't remove all of the discolouration. So, I think you're right to avoid the communal machines.

In the olden days my mum would use Dylon and we'd have things soaking in buckets overnight to let the dye really work in and then a couple of bucket soaks to remove the excess. This has brought back all those memories... .

Here's what I'd do - don't dye them - replace them as there are still some bargains in the sales.

BUT, here's the fun bit - customise the old pair and make them wearable again.

I've experimented with 'distressing' jeans with a cheese grater - to get a worn, almost ripped effect. Plus you can buy bleach pens to write or draw on the denim to create a design or fake creases.

Making faded jeans look more tatty can actually make them look newer - if that makes sense.

Anyway, if you're going to get rid of them anyway then it's worth a try.

P.S. There's loads of videos on YouTube to shown how to distress jeans (or embellish them if you like a bit of bling).

Tiddlywinks

I love the Asda 'Wonder..' ranges - they have so much stretch that makes them extra comfie.

Here's the full range of George jeans:

http://direct.asda.com/george/womens-jeans/D1M1G20C7,default,sc.html#http://direct.asda.com/george/womens-jeans/D1M1G20C7,default,sc.html?start=40&sz=20

Lilys-Games

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions I think I'm going to leave them as they are - I know I'm probably being overly cautious but if something does go wrong, it's not my machine to ruin. The jeans have a stain as well as fading so they are un-donatable unfortunately, but they'll do for me when I'm cleaning and doing jobs around the house

Thank you all again for your help