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Dying towels with dylon

(30 Posts)
jeanie99 Sat 13-Jul-24 19:59:00

I was wondering if anyone had dyed towels.
My white and cream towels are still in good condition but have gone off colour.
I have read that a product called dylon dyes fabric but my thought is what happens when you machine wash the towels.
Does any of the dye come off in the wash?

JamesandJon33 Sat 13-Jul-24 20:27:43

I have never dyed towels, but often faded jeans and last year a dress. I have had complete success. Dress especially which I dyed a deep blue has not lost the colour. I should think you would have good success with cotton towels .

FlexibleFriend Sat 13-Jul-24 20:27:51

I've never dyed towels but did dye my white jeans in 3 different colours and they all came out fine. I dyed them in the machine one at a time following the instructions and was really happy with the results. They haven't faded and have been washed multiple times.

jeanie99 Sat 13-Jul-24 20:31:38

Thank you for your comments, could you tell me which product you used to dye your clothes.

Theexwife Sat 13-Jul-24 20:41:56

I often dye clothing, from refreshing black items to changing the colour of things I like the style of but not the clolour.

I use dylon machine dye, I have never had good results with the hand dyes. I buy them from Amazon.

DamaskRose Sat 13-Jul-24 20:45:12

I have dyed clothes and towels (which had gone “off”!) in the machine with Dylon Machine Dye. Never had any problems afterwards.

Fleur20 Sat 13-Jul-24 20:53:38

I have had some Dylon black jeans dye in the cupboard for a while but scared to try it in case it sticks to my machine!!
Do you have to clean the machine afterwards?
My jeans are decidely washed out looking now!!

Fleur20 Sat 13-Jul-24 20:54:43

.. decidedly!!

Theexwife Sat 13-Jul-24 21:09:17

After dying you just run the machine empty to clean it, I have never had problems.

NotAGran55 Sat 13-Jul-24 21:39:21

I’ve used Dylon machine dye numerous times with great success.
Follow the instructions carefully, clean the rubber door seal, and run an empty wash to clean through.

You can add extra items on the ‘empty’ cycle if you want a very faint dye on some items.

BigMamma Sat 13-Jul-24 21:48:05

I have dyed lots of bath sheets in my washing machine and they were perfect. As long as you follow the instructions there is no problem. I dyed mine Turquoise, Deep Pink and Mauve and they looked like new. I did ensure that when they were washed again after use, I washed them with darker colours and there wasn't a problem. The dyes I used had salt in them to set the dye. I have also dyed pale blue jeans black and navy without a problem.

Fleur20 Sat 13-Jul-24 22:18:14

On the pack it says that different fibres may react differently to the dye.. I am presuming thread here.. has anyone noticed that at all?
This is the main reason the pack is still in the cupboard!
Also how many pairs of jeans, say, would I dye in a load?

Thank you in advance!!

Primrose53 Sat 13-Jul-24 22:27:46

To be honest you can buy really good quality towels very cheaply now. Cancer Research charityshop do a brand new range. I bought a couple of sets for our holiday let and they are still thick and kept their colour after hundreds of washes.

I dyed a linen dress last summer and was shocked at how expensive the dye was.

I would give the towels to an animal charity and buy new ones.

Granmarderby10 Sat 13-Jul-24 23:01:47

Dylon dyes “will not” penetrate 100 percent polyester.
A lot of sewing thread is polyester so that is a consideration.- however it can be an interesting feature.
In 50/50 poly cotton think of the fabric as like orange squash in that it will be diluted by 50% so therefore less strong.

Viscose will dye because it isn’t a true synthetic, but best of all is pure cotton.
It soaks up the colour like a sponge and I have used it many many times on towels and pure white sheets.

White is best because you will get shade on the boxs, whereas cream for instance will be more muted. I have mixed 2 shades 50/50 by weight to get another shade. Test a bit of the dye in a bowl on an old white rag.

Before dying coloured items try experimenting with mixable crayons on paper because the old colour will mix with the dye to give a third shade.
Always read the instructions thoroughly Dylon has a website.

I dyed a beige corduroy cotton duffle coat with the darkest Navy ( I removed all the toggles first) then replaced them with navy ones and to get a really rich deep colour I double dyed it.

That’s more than one pack Or more than required for the weight of the garment. Just weigh on normal scales by tying into a tight bundle

Complete success and washed and wore for ages.
Dylon used to say the hottest wash at least 60 degrees,
but now apparently they say it works on 40 but me I think the hotter is better.

You do a complete wash with detergent straight away and dry preferably on the line.
If concerned about the machine then wipe rubber parts with some bleach and run on empty.

Marydoll Sat 13-Jul-24 23:17:34

I have on occasions used Dylan to refresh DH's black chinos. They looked like new again.
If you follow the instructions your machine will be fine.

Many years ago, I refreshed the colours on my sofas with Dylan. The sofas were still in good condition, but the covers had faded. It was an onerous task, but saved me a fortune.

Marydoll Sun 14-Jul-24 07:50:22

For Dylan, read Dylon!

MissAdventure Sun 14-Jul-24 11:06:53

Yes, I dyed all of my towels with dylon.
The ones that had been a pretty turquoise i did moss green, and the faded pink ones, I did a cherry red.

It cost £15 to buy two lots of dye, but every towel came out fine, and that includes 4 or 5 bath sheets.

Oreo Sun 14-Jul-24 13:20:08

Theexwife

After dying you just run the machine empty to clean it, I have never had problems.

After dying I hope I will have more interesting things to do.🤪

Oreo Sun 14-Jul-24 13:22:35

MissAdventure

Yes, I dyed all of my towels with dylon.
The ones that had been a pretty turquoise i did moss green, and the faded pink ones, I did a cherry red.

It cost £15 to buy two lots of dye, but every towel came out fine, and that includes 4 or 5 bath sheets.

I may give this towel dyeing thing a go, I have lots of pale washed out cream coloured ones.Turquoise sounds good.
Do they come out with the colour evenly distributed?

MissAdventure Sun 14-Jul-24 13:53:11

After the second dye, all but one are even.

Just one is a bit "wavy" in colour, but that's only on close inspection.
The whole dyeing process seems much easier than it was years ago.

Fleur20 Sun 14-Jul-24 13:56:48

Thank you for all the information.
I will take a deep breath and go for it...after the final this afternoon.... just too much excitement otherwise!!
😀😀

MissAdventure Sun 14-Jul-24 14:00:14

My grandson has just had a bath so excuse the mess in the cupboard.

MissAdventure Sun 14-Jul-24 14:02:30

The top one of the reds is the wavy one.
The reds were faded hot pink.

annodomini Sun 14-Jul-24 14:07:40

About 50 years ago, the pristine white baby towels my mum had bought for my sons looked a bit dingy so I decided to dye them. In the 1970s, orange was very popular, so I used Dylon in my big jam pan. It proved very successful. The colour stayed fast and never affected other items in the washing machine.

MissAdventure Sun 14-Jul-24 14:11:58

Mine have been done a good while now, too, and they are used a LOT.
You can see I still hold onto one white pristine one.
I can dream
smile