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Dylon Hand Dye

31 Posts
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?
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?
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Replies
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.
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.
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).
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
Thank you all again for your help