It’s disheartening when you purchase a new pair of jeans, only to find out the color has faded after just a single wash. Like all fabrics, denim will eventually fade from exposure to hot water. It may take a single wash, or it may take dozens, but fading is an all-too-common occurrence with jeans. We’ve discussed several different ways to protect jeans from fading in previous blog posts, but one method that we’ve yet to discuss is vinegar.
Yes vinegar — the same vinegar that’s used on salads — can protect jeans from fading. It’s a cheap and effective way to “seal in” the color, preventing them from fading. It may sound somewhat unusual considering the fact that vinegar is rarely used on clothes, but vinegar can protect your jeans from fading. The same principle holds true with salt, as both salt and vinegar have similar properties in terms of their ability to protect fabrics from fading.
So, how do you use vinegar to protect your jeans from fading? You really have one of two different options: you can soak your jeans in vinegar without dying them, or you can dye them and then soak them in vinegar. I recommend the latter method, as it ensures your jeans will remain a solid color that withstands the hands of time for years to come. The only items you’ll need for this process include a bottle of distilled white vinegar and dye, both of which are sold at most grocery stores.
When you are ready to begin, dye your jeans by soaking them in a combination of cold water and distilled white vinegar. Don’t worry too much about the ratio, as a drum full of cold water and a single bottle of vinegar should suffice. Mix in the dye and allow your jeans to soak for at least 30 minutes, at which point you can start the washing machine to complete the cycle. Once they are finished in the washing machine, remove the jeans and hang them outside to line-dry. Congratulations, you now have a pair of fade-resistant denim jeans!
So yes, the answer, or at least one of them, is to set the dye in your jeans by soaking them in cold water and white vinegar. One cup of white vinegar will do. You can add a few tablespoons of salt, or not; it won’t really make o
