Red and black fabrics are arguably the most infamous for leaking dye onto other clothes or items when they are being washed. When you pull them out of the machine and see the damage, it’s already too late to fix. Red fabric might give lighter-colored fabrics a pink tint and black fabric will turn lighter-colored fabrics grey.
Washing clothes in cold water helps to lessen the amount of dye that leaks into the water, but there’s always a chance that dark clothes will ruin lighter-colored clothes or clothes of different tones. When you get new clothes, wash them alone before you wash them with others. That first wash will get rid of any excess dye and chemicals that might still be on them from the manufacturer and will lessen what is left to leak onto other clothes when you wash them together.
Can You Wash Dark Red with Black?
The short answer is yes, you can wash dark red and black together. If both fabrics are very dark, it’s unlikely that any dye that leaks into the water would be enough to change any color or tone of the other fabric. Wash them in cold water to make sure that as little dye leakage as possible happens.
Can You Wash Light Red with Black?
You probably can’t wash light red with black but that depends on how light-colored the red fabric actually is. Black dye in the water will darken the red or make the fabric appear dull.
Chances are that if it’s a highly pigmented or bright red, it can still be washed with black. The red dye in the water won’t have any effect on the black fabric and the black dye won’t leak enough to dull a bright red fabric. If you have to wash a bright red fabric with something else, it should only ever be either other similar red colors or a black-colored fabric.
Can You Wash Red and Blue Together?
Sometimes if the red and the blue fabrics are dark enough, you can wash them together. A navy blue and a dark red should be safe to wash together but you should wash these on a cold temperature to ensure that as little dye leaks out as possible. Try to wash any dark fabrics in cold water, especially if you’re mixing different colors and shades together in the same wash load.
If the red and the blue are both very light, you can wash them together as well. However, red fabric tends to leak dye more than other colors so be careful that any light red you wash with other light colors isn’t highly pigmented. Think of a light red as a grey-toned or dull red, not a bright, vibrant light red. If the light red fabric in question is bright or vibrant, you should not be washing it with other colors as it will probably leak some red coloring onto whatever you wash it with.