How do you dye in a HE washer?

[Mickey527]

I bought some white curtains way back when I was planning on using a quilt set that I had with a white background.
I just did my room over and the new bed set has no white on it.
I want to dye the curtains but not sure if they will come out splotchy with the HE and the reduced water.
I can't do them in a bucket, the curtains are 45 wide X 72 long, too big to put in a bucket or sink and they will definately come out spotty.
The laundromats around here all have signs that say no dyeing in their machines.
Has anyone with an HE machine ever dyed fabric?

 

[tinytink]

I don't know anything about dying stuff but how about putting it in the bathtub?

 

[RobinFabulous]

I bought some white curtains way back when I was planning on using a quilt set that I had with a white background.
I just did my room over and the new bed set has no white on it.
I want to dye the curtains but not sure if they will come out splotchy with the HE and the reduced water.
I can't do them in a bucket, the curtains are 45 wide X 72 long, too big to put in a bucket or sink and they will definately come out spotty.
The laundromats around here all have signs that say no dyeing in their machines.
Has anyone with an HE machine ever dyed fabric?

I don't think I'd try it. Use a large rubbermaid container and the hot water in your bathtub. Or just use the bathtub. I've seen lots of brides dye their crinolines this way

 

[Evi]

I wouldn't try it but then again I guess it depends on how much you paid for or love your washer. If you have a friend who does this on a regular you can ask you use hers or see if an arts crafts school has a machine they use to this purpose maybe you can pay them to use it just once.

Just a thought good luck

 

[midwestdee]

Trust me - do not even think about doing this. Some friend or relative must have a top load machine they would let you use. Don't forget to also bring a jug of bleach to wash out their machine. Also, the odds are high that you will have some splotching on something as big as a curtain panel. You definately would have to do each one in a separate dye wash for best results. Although it has been a while, I've dyed a number of items with varying results. Personally, I've have had better results using the liquid dye as opposed to the powder. Good luck.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Although it has been a while, I've dyed a number of items with varying results. Personally, I've have had better results using the liquid dye as opposed to the powder. Good luck.

You will get significantly better results using a dye from a craft store (Procion is a brand AC Moore carries) vs either powder or liquid Rit. Cotton also dyes better than synthetics (which in some cases may not dye at all.)

 

[lamblisa]

I wouldn't use the washer- you could potentially ruin not only the washer, but the other clothes you put into it if you don't clean it properly. Depending on how dark you want to dye the curtains, using the bathtub might not be a good idea either.

You can go to Home Depot and get a garbage can, or oversized tupperware container (like the kind you use for outdoor storage) to use. That way, if you ruin the container, you're only out $20 or so.

I would suggest using liquid dye, like MichelleinMaine and midwestdee said. Also, if possible, I would go to a fabric store and buy a small piece of fabric made of similar content to the curtains and test out the dye before using it on the curtains to see how the color takes.

Good luck!

 

[Janet Hill]

You could wait until your next trip to a vacation condo and dye them in the washer there. That's what I did in a DVC resort washer. Cleaned the washer with clorox afterwards and washed a few loads of my own clothes after and left no trace.

 

[twooley2]

I died in my front loader. It does not work. Save your time. I was trying to remove color from a top my daughter washed with dark clothes and it made it worse. It also leaves dye in the washer and had to run it a few times on the rinse cycle. I also refused to wash lighter colors for the first few loads as I was afraid it would still be in the washer. I ended up doing it in a stove top pan filled with bleach and water and this worked.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I would suggest using liquid dye, like MichelleinMaine and midwestdee said.

Actually the Procion dye is a powder, just light years better than the Rit garbage.

http://www.jacquardproducts.com/products/dyes/procionmx/

 

[Mickey527]

thanks for all the replies. I nixed the bucket or large tub mainly because I have 4 windows and that would mean 8 curtain panels. I know that I would never get them to match in a bucket.
I have to babysit for my neice and nephew this week and I asked my SIL if she would mind and she said as long as I clean it all out when I am done. So I am packing the bleach tonight.
The curtains are white and I just want them a light beige, like tea stain so I bought liquid rit dye in tan and will add about 1/2 bottle to each load of 4 curtains.
I paid way too much to ruin my nice machine with dye. It drives me crazy when I have to wash the dog bed and get all the hair in the filter, dye would be worse.

 

[zumbergc]

Question for all your bucket dying people. So, I attempted to dye something from white to red. Well, I dyed it, it looked red. So after your done dying the stuff, i was rinsing it with cold water to get the extra color out.

Well, then I stuck it into the washer, dryer, and now its a dark peach color. Pretty color, but it insn't red.

So, was I rinsing it too much, did i not stick enough color in there, i used like 3/4 of a bottle.

What did i do wrong. I used the rit liquid.

Thanks