Does Washing Machine Fade Clothes? (Explained)

When someone’s clothes fade after washing, they probably want to know if washing machines fade clothes or another thing caused this issue. If you recently see a fade on your clothes after washing them in your washer, you need to know the actual reason behind it so you can prevent this problem.

Washing machines don’t cause fading on clothes. However, the direction you wash your clothes and the detergent you use for washing can cause this issue. Run the washer on a gentle and standard cycle and use suitable cleaner and fiber softener according to fabric type to prevent fade after wash.

Some people make mistakes and those mistakes change the condition of their fabric while washing in the washer. Since they don’t know the real reason, they blame their washer.

Let’s dive into the guide so you would know if your washing machine has faded your clothes or not.

does washing machine fade clothes?

Why Clothes Fade In The Washer?

When people put their clothes in the wrong way into their washer leads them to make washing mistakes. Let’s see how clothes vibrant get affected in the washer.

Hot water wash cycles, overdrying, unsuitable harsh detergent, and following wrong washing instructions can fade clothes in the washer. 

Moreover, the user requires to follow their fabric washing tag to know the suitable cleaning way as machine washing is not suitable for some types of fabric. Rubbing or Friction between overloaded articles might cause fading between two or more textiles.

If an individual has learned how to wash their dark, vibrant and black clothes in the right way, it forever helps him to protect their jeans, suits, and out, etc from fading. Use suitable and best detergent according to your stuff so they stay vibrant and new forever. Most gift goods lose vibrant colors during frequent hot washer washes as the ability is less to handle the bond of color with fabric is mostly less in soft clothes.

Even if you need to wear your suit right away, don’t leave the garment in the dryer for too long as over-drying will cause the color to lose its luster. Some fabric color types are inappropriate for over-drying such as red, yellow, and orange.

How To Keep Clothes From Fading In The Washer?

Learning how to wash your garment in the right direction must help keep your clothes from fading in the washing machine. You need tools and supplies to complete the process; a washer, dryer, fabric softener, and detergent.

Here‘s an 8-step guide to prevent fading your clothes in the washer:

  1. Observe washing and drying instructions from garment tags:

Most t-shirts, jeans, suits, etc clothes come with washing and drying instructions written on a label that can be found inside the garments. It includes suitable wash and dry directions to teach the user which way will keep cloth vibrant and new since some fabric types are washer restricted.  

It looks like a small polyester-made cloth piece attached to the sewing which contains symbols to show a suitable wash cycle and requirements for washing and drying. 

When you correctly follow those instructions, you will secure your clothes not only from fading but also prevent color transformation, pilling, and stretches on the existing fabric.

  1. Set the wash cycle according to the fabric and use cold water

Hot water is not suitable for lighter goods, most garments lose their vibrant after some hot water washes. Whenever you wash your dark and vibrant clothes, use cold water. Dark clothes typically wash on a delicate cycle as they might change the state of their color in the fastest cycle loaded with many clothes. 

There is no doubt that hot water is food to lessen the amount of dust in clothes faster than cold water but can also affect the state of soft fabrics. Washing every type of cloth on a similar cycle leads to an unusual color appearance.

Moreover, before putting your garment into the washer drum, ensure that they are turned inside. If you will put the clothes directly as they are positioned, it may lead to a fade on them. So don’t forget to turn the garments inside before washing them.

  1. Pick a suitable laundry detergent to hold dark colors:

If you’re not using a quality detergent in your washing machine, you’re making a mistake. Sometimes garment brands include a suitable cleaning solution instruction on the tag, don’t forget to check it. Moreover, if the detergent is harsh then it must fade your garments over a few washes.

Most washing machine brands recommend the suitable and best detergents listed on their websites and in their stores. Clothes cannot lose their shine and vibrant fabric when they get washed with a suitable laundry detergent. So always go for quality cleansers whether they come in powder or liquid form.

  1. Don’t overuse cloth cleaner solutions:

It seems in many cloth fading cases that people overuse laundry detergent on some clothes resulting in loss of fabric shine and vibrant red, orange and yellow colors. First, analyze the detergent quantity needed for your every laundry cycle, next run the gentle or delicate cycle.

If your machine doesn’t have an automatic dispenser, try to add a small and needed amount of concentrated detergent into the washer. If you feel like you don’t know the correct amount of detergent for your laundry load size, take a look at the manufacturer’s instructions.

  1. Use fabric softener to prevent fading:

Fabric softener helps to keep color bright and prevent it from fading. It takes down the friction in the wash to protect dark clothes from losing darkness. Don’t overpour it into the wash, use a small amount.

Fabric softeners not only hold the darkness of fabric it also adds up the scent and a fresh soft feel to clothes which make garments renew. Most experts and washing machine manufacturers recommend it since it’s a great supplier.

  1. Set the heat setting to lower, such as air dry:

After washing the clothes, we usually dry them. When it comes to preventing fade, not washing instructions have to follow even proper drying is equally responsible. Set the dryer’s heat setting to a lower number. For example Air Dry. 

Outdoor Clotheslines can also affect the darkness, so if possible dry clothes are indoors. If outdoor clotheslines are the only available way to dry clothes for you, then always take the garment inside before setting it on a clothesline.

If you are drying garments in a washing machine dryer, always set the setting to low even if the clothes take longer to dry. 

Does The Washer Fade Black Clothes?

A washer is not responsible for fading on black and dark clothes. Supplies and washing techniques in the washer are the main causes of fading in the past, which means that a user has to learn how to wash and dry dark clothes if their washing machine keeps fading their clothes.

Some cloth wash tests show that when we wash black clothes with other colored clothes and harsh detergent, the chances of their color increase. 

Drying black clothes in high temperatures can also affect the state of color. When a user puts their black garb to dry on a high-level heat setting, then the brightness of the dye goes down.

Conclusion:

The way you wash clothes in the washer affects the quality of the color of fabric, the machine is not responsible for fading on your garments. Follow the instructions on the garment label tag, and start washing them to prevent loss of apparel brightness.

If you recently noticed fading on your clothes after washing, check your laundry detergent, and the direction of washing, and read the tag instructions.