So, you are here to know what fabrics can be bleached? This question is quite tricky and the answer changes depending on the reason you want to use bleach on a particular fabric. If you want to disinfect or sterilize, the fabrics you can use bleach on are nylon, acrylic, polyethylene, and polypropylene for this purpose only.
On the other hand, if you want to dye your garment using bleach without damaging the threads, the best fabric options to do this job are cotton, polyester, and other synthetic fibers. Although you can still use oxygen bleach with some cautions on white linen, wool, and some other animal fibers.
What Fabrics Can Be Bleached? – Need to Know
There are different types of bleaching agents, and not all of them can be used on every type of fabric. Also, for different results, you will need to choose different bleach and fabric. Most of the fabrics can be bleached if you follow the expert’s instructions. Let’s get to know more about it from this section.
Cleaning Purpose
For the purpose of sterilizing or disinfecting the fabric, bleach cleaning is one of the desirable choices. Bleach cleanable fabrics don’t weaken or fade when exposed to bleach, moreover, they have additional stain-resistant, antibacterial finishes, and moisture barriers. That’s why they are best for hospital and busy restaurant uses.
When exposed to bleach, solution-dyed fibers such as acrylic, nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, as well as high-energy polyesters demonstrate strong colorfastness. You can sterilize these fabrics without any tension of losing colors or weakening the fibers.
Dyeing Purpose
Bleach can also be used to add texture and design to a plain fabric. A little bleach can totally change the look, that’s why designers are using it on jeans for a long time. However, bleach can cause damage if you are not careful enough. Also, not every fabric is suited for bleach dyeing.
Cotton
Cotton is a bleach-friendly fiber. If your cotton fabric is thick and heavy, you can use any kind of bleach to dye or whiten it. But in case your cotton fabric is thin and not so strong, it’s better to avoid chlorine bleach since it may weaken the fiber and shorten the lifespan of that cotton product.
Wool
The general rule is not to use bleach on the woolen materials. If you use chlorine bleach, it will turn any wool fabric yellowish. Some oxygen bleach verities can be used on acrylic fibers safely. Nevertheless, using hydrogen peroxide is the only bleaching mechanism you should consider for wool.
Polyester
Like any other synthetic fibers, polyester fabrics can be dyed with bleach without much damage. However, frequent use of chlorine bleach on polyester can break down its fibers too. This is why it is safer to choose oxygen bleach to dye polyester fabrics since it isn’t as harsh as chlorine bleach.
Silk
Fabrics made of animal fibers, such as wool and silk should not be exposed to chlorine bleach. Bleach and silk aren’t the best of friends because bleach will do nothing but weaken and disintegrate the silk fibers. However, following a specific method, you can lighten silk with hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydrosulfite.
Linen
Although linen is a high-quality material, white-colored linen tends to turn yellowish or greyish over time. To freshen up your white linen garments, you can use bleach, but they have to be chlorine-free! Also, keep that in mind that, bleaching is never recommended for colored linen cloths.
Acrylic
Bleaching acrylic fiber is like taking a gamble. This synthetic fiber is not easiest to lighten using chlorine bleach. The colors may lighten a bit, but the color won’t disappear or change to white. You can try sunlight to lighten the fabric or buy a lighter shade than using bleach on acrylic and ruining fibers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What colors change after using bleach?
Bleach lightens all the colors usually. However, in most cases, black turns to orange or red, dark blues turn to red or pink, purple turns to pink, and almost all other colors end up white or a lighter shade.
- How long does bleach take to disinfect?
Usually, it takes a full 10 minutes of contact time to ensure complete disinfection of any product with bleach. When you want to sterilize your fabric, soak it in the bleach solution for at least 10-15 minutes. Don’t let the fabric in the solution for too long or the fibers might start weakening.
- What is Colour safe bleach?
Colour safe bleach is a type of bleach that doesn’t contain chlorine, instead, it contains peroxide. You can use this type of bleach to remove any stain from your garments and brighten the fabric without ruining the fabric color.
Ending Statement
Now you know what fabrics can be bleached and what can’t be. But don’t forget the essential safety terms while working with this product. Try not to inhale bleach odor, since it can raise your anxiety level while making you sick as well. Moreover, the chemical elements of bleach make it unsafe for the environment.
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