The Curious Case of The Fugitive Dye

When dye goes on the lam like it's Jen Shah

I promised I'd talk about fugitive dye, and there's no time like the present so let's get into it, because fugitive dye is such fun! Well. The term fugitive dye is fun, but fugitive dye situations aren't an especially great time.

So what even is fugitive dye??

Fugitive dye is the technical term used by fabric care experts to describe what most of us call "bleeding" or "running." You know the old cleaning trope about washing a red sock with a load of white clothes, turning everything pink? That's a fugitive dye sitch.

The first thing we have to say about fugitive dye is that it's an objectively fabulous term. Fugitive dye! It evokes criminal pigments on the lam, running from the Feds like they're Jen Shah, and I just love it.

In addition to enjoying its dramatic flair, fugitive dye is also helpful term to know because it describes more than just dye running in the wash — fugitive dye also describes dye transfer from clothing to other fabrics, upholstery, and carpet. The transfer of dye via mechanical action, i.e. rubbing, is called “crocking” btw. Crocking! The people who wrote the fabric care dictionary must have been wild.

As a refresher, fugitive dye in the form of indigo stains on carpet was the subject of last week's archival footage, which is why we're talking about it now.

Products to prevent+treat fugitive dye

One of the most frustrating things about fugitive dyes is that you typically don't know you're dealing with them until they've gone on the run. The good news here is that fugitive dye stains are pretty easy to treat, and there are also a bunch of products that exist to keep them in their place.

Dye setting agents

Dye setting agents are the prophylactics of fabric care: You'll use them to set loose dyes in fabrics that are not colorfast.

Our old friend white vinegar works as a dye setting agent, but there are plenty of commercial fixatives if you want something more formal or if you hate the smell of vinegar. Here are a few brands to look for — you can find these online at retailers like Amazon, and they're also typically sold at fabric and notions stores. 

• Retayne

• Jacquard Reactive Dye Fixative

• Rit Dye Fixative Liquid

Dye catchers

In the wash, you can use a dye-catching sheet to trap loose dyes, which will prevent them from transferring from one garment to another. Dye catchers work so, so well — there is a specific pair of lounge pants I like that are the most perfect work-from-home pant, or would be if they didn't leave a shadow from black dye all over everything, and washing them with a dye catching sheet took care of the problem. Two brands to look out for are:

• Carbona Color Grabber

• Shout Color Catcher

To use them, simply put the sheet inside the drum of the washing machine before you add the clothes (or sheets, or towels). When the load is done, you can remove the sheet — which will have turned from white to the color of whatever dye or dyes it trapped — and throw it away. If it makes its way into the dryer, that's A-OK, just dispose of it after the drying cycle is complete the way you would toss a used dryer sheet.

Dye stain removers and tools 

Rubbing alcohol is The Thing for dye stains, but there are plenty of other good options when it comes to addressing a fugitive dye stain. Motsenbocker's Lift Off Formula #3 for pen, ink, and marker (those are all in the dye family, you see …) is a great commercial alternative to rubbing alcohol.

If the dye has stained a large swath of washable fabric — my lounge pants did a number on a white duvet cover, so I have been there! — the best and easiest way to treat it is with an oxygen bleach soak: Soak the dye-stained item in a solution of hot water* and an oxygen bleach for an hour up to overnight, then launder as usual. *You need hot water to activate the oxygen bleach; it will cool down as the item soaks, and that's fine — the important thing is to use hot water at the start to activate the powder.

When dye transfer happens to something that cannot be washed, like a couch or rug, use a carpet cleaning machine for the best results. Manual-cleaning with a carpet and upholstery cleaning foam or spray is also fine, but you're going to have a much better outcome with machine-cleaning.

A note on denim and indigo dyes

There is one type of dye that does not behave like other dyes, and unfortunately for all of us that dye is indigo. The one used on our dark jeans? Yep! That guy.

I had known (or rather, I'd suspected) for a long time that the advice I was dishing out about dye setting and stain removal was incomplete, and finally in 2017 I faced my fears and started digging into the question of whether indigo dye can be set the way other dyes are. Enter: That minor Bravolebrity I mentioned in the preamble to last week's flashback. 

To get to the root of indigo dye's peculiar behavior, I reached out to John Mahdessian, the (now former) boyfriend of (now former) Real Housewife of New York Dorinda Medley, as well as Liz Eggert, a fabric care expert at Procter & Gamble, to ask about this tricky dye. Here's what they had to say, excepted from a February 2017 column I wrote for Racked:

Liz Eggert, a textile expert for Tide and Downy, confirmed that there is indeed a problem that's specific to indigo dyes. "Indigo is notorious for losing its color, and it can be severe enough to transfer color onto other items in the wash or onto other items like sofas,” she says. “There is no way to prevent indigo from bleeding onto other clothes or to prevent transfer (crocking) to sofas or bags."

Devastated by the confirmation of my worst fears, I turned to John Mahdessian, owner of the specialty dry cleaning concern Madame Paulette, who offered his take on the problem of indigo dyes: "All indigos are inherently fugitive dyes by nature. The internet is littered with home remedies, like salt baths and vinegar baths, but none of these truly work."

The experts at Madame Paulette suggest that the use of a fixative may help to improve the fastness of indigo dyes, but add that "nothing is guaranteed. Good luck."

Savage.

While you may be tempted to despair, all is not lost when it comes to indigo dye transfer. In a follow up column, "How to Get Indigo Dye Out of Anything," I wrote, "In an odd way, the fact that indigo dye behaves so monstrously in terms of its tendency to transfer onto everything it touches makes for good news when it comes time to remove it. Here's why: Indigo dye doesn't like to stay put, making it an easier stain to remove than, say, pomegranate juice." 

At this particular moment in fashion history, indigo dye transfer isn't a major problem I’m hearing about — dark jeans aren't the style of the day, and jeans in general are less popular. But trends come and go, making a dark jeans comeback all but inevitable, and when they do come back, we'll be ready for them.