My husband has an office job where he is allowed to wear blue jeans, and that is what he wears ALL the time. I can't seem to buy enough dark jeans! I like to have them looking nice for work, of course. I have soaked most of them in vinegar and salt as one of my family suggested....but i still have faded jeans. The die you buy at wal-mart is an ugly color and doesn't last long. His jeans don't have holes or tears, so I hate to throw them out and get new ones! What do you do to keep your denims dark?
Let me add:
I never dry them in the dryer, and I hang them in the shade to dry
Just a thought... Even in the shade the jeans are being exposed to far more sunlight than if they were in the dryer. I always use the dryer for my hubby's dark jeans and they are still just as dark as when we bought them. I've never used a special treatment. If it matters, I use Tide and no softener.
Soak in 50/50 water and vinegar before you wear them the 1st time. That "Sets the color" Like when dying eggs. Then wash inside out in cold water with as little gentle detergent as possible Woolite Black is a good one). Then for subsequesnt washes, add 1 cup of salt to the wash along with your mild detergent. And everytime - Dry just long enough. Don't overdrye
wash inside out, cold water, hang to dry. Dryers really cause fading.
Turn them inside out b4 washing. Also, wash them in cold water and use a color safe bleach.
GL!
I know someone who takes all her jeans to the dry cleaners. She said they last longer.
Don't wash them so often, or buy a really dark pair so that the fading takes less time to occur. The inside out and cold water advice are good and true as well. I have dyed my jeans in the past (when my mother spilled bleach on one leg and not the other), with RIT dye (the name of the color I used is "blue denim"), although I am not sure if that's the one you refer to as the "wal-mart" dye, as I purchased mine at Winn-Dixie and they also carry it in Publix, on occasion. The dye evened out the color of my jeans and made them wearable again. They also have a Royal Blue or Indigo shade, and that may be more in tune with what you want, or you can buy powder dye, which they say stays on better. Just remember to rinse the jeans after dyeing, until the water runs clear, then run them through the wash, alone, with vinegar before wearing them, unless you don't mind having blue legs!
Use "dye free" (Clean and Clear, usuallly the 'sensitive' detergents) for dark colors, and never put them in the dryer. Our dark clothes - jean, tops, shorts etc - hardly have any signs of fading by us doing this.
The hot water take the dye out. Try turning them inside out before wash and on cold water. Tide has coldwater degerent for that. Use less then normal. Or woollight dark should help. Its advertised as a colorshield.
I would take them to the cleaners but if that's not feasible then wash them inside out, in cold water, with woolite. Try washing them on the gentle cycle with only other jeans too. All of this should help prolong the life of his jeans but I've never owned a pair of jeans that didn't gradually fade over time.
