When I mix the custom colors for our bag painting kits I inevitably end up getting it on my clothes. We use Jacquard Textile Paints in our kits, so I was curious to see how well they lift out with a bit of washing. The only way to know for sure is to test it out! So I grabbed a misprinted t-shirt and went to town.
The experiment:
I tried to think of different types of paint stains that you might want to remove. This includes paints that have dried fully on your clothes and paint that is still wet. For better comparisons I also tested every base color used in the painting kits.
What you need:
The paint manufacturers do not provide much information about removing accidental marks. The only instructions provided are to “use soap and water”. So that’s exactly what I did!
Your stained shirt
cold water
laundry detergent and optionally dish soap
A scrubbing brush
For this experiment I used a permanent marker to create three test sections.
1. Heat treated paints
The Jacquard Textile paints we use are supposed to be permanent once heat set. I thought this would be a good test of how well the colors stand up to vigorous cleaning. To heat set the colors, I used a cheap iron set to ~360 degrees F. This is safe for use on cotton. I also used a piece of paper in between the iron and shirt to make sure nothing would stick. I ironed over the colors for a minute to make sure they were fully set.
* I will be writing a more in depth blog about heat setting fabric paints in the future.
2. Dried paint
Realistically, you might not notice you got paint on your clothes until well after the paint has dried. As long as you haven’t heat set the colors they should lift out some. It does take a bit of scrubbing and time so don’t panic if you don’t see results right away.
Before starting, I let the fabric paints dry completely for 2-3 hours. I started the cleaning process by letting the paints sit in cool water for a few minutes before scrubbing. For soap, I used a splash of laundry detergent and a drop of Dawn dish soap. While rinsing, the toothbrush was really handy for lifting the paint out of the shirt. If I noticed the sink water getting really dark, I would simply drain it and use fresh water.
I rinsed and scrubbed until I didn’t notice any of the color lifting out any more. To make sure it was cleaned well, I ran it through a regular wash cycle in the laundry machine and dried it like usual. The second wash in the machine was able to lift out more color. If you plan to wash it with your other clothes be mindful of that. This paint sample actually got washed a second time while I was cleaning the wet paint sample. I did notice the colors lifted even more after that process. I think this means as you continue to wash your clothes the stain will get lighter and lighter.
* Note: the colors do appear darker while still wet.
3. Wet paint
Catching the paint stain before it dries is the ideal situation! The colors should be able to lift out almost completely. I did notice that some of the darker colors stain more, so that is something to keep in mind.
For this test I started rinsing it immediately which caused some of the fabric paint to travel to other parts of the shirt. If you do this, I would recommend using a paper towel to remove the excess paints before you rinse the entire shirt. I have to admit it was pretty satisfying though!
I followed basically the same cleaning steps as I did with the dry paints. The only difference I noticed was how quickly the colors lifted out. Which is good news for your favorite pair of pants! I did put the shirt in the laundry machine again for a final clean before the big reveal.
Results:
The results are kind of surprising! I have to admit, I did not have high hopes for the dry sample. After the first rinse through I didn’t expect it to lighten anymore. However, it has lifted out quite a bit more since then. I think as long as long as the remaining stain isn’t heat set it will continue to lighten with each new wash. I’m super pleased with how well the black color was able to lift out of both the dry and wet samples. However, I was a bit disappointed the wet paints didn’t lift out more. It seems like the three lightest colors washed out almost completely. This is what I expected for all of the colors in the wet paint sample.
Other guides recommend using rubbing alcohol to further break down the paints. I did not test that for this guide but it might be something to consider if you need to remove a stain. I also want to point out that this guide should work for most brands of fabric paint that are water soluble. I do recommend referring to the manufacturers guidelines before you try anything else.
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