Dyeing fabrics in a washing machine

[PinkCamelias]

What’s your experience with dyeing fabrics in a washing machine with Dylon and the likes? Can the machine get permanently stained if you use dark colours? I have an old IKEA PS daybed which is great as a guest bed. The mattress and cushions are black, made of denim- like canvas. The cushions are very faded now and the only way to save them is to dye them black again. But is it worth risking my washing machine?!

I think black would work. I've never had any success with decent coverage with lighter colours though.

I regularly dye stuff in my washing machine (mainly blacks), never had an issue. Always run a full empty cycle after.

I've done it lots of times without a problem.
Follow the instructions on the dye packet for cleaning the machine afterwards ( usually to run an empty wash with detergent) . If you are worried still you could do a second empty wash with a cup of bleach in.

Yep as pp said, just run a hot cycle after or (as happened when I did one last week) a squirt of bleach if there’s still some discolouration on the rubber seals.
In my experience, as long as what you are dyeing is 100% cotton or other natural fabric, the machine Dylon is excellent. Make sure you buy enough for the weight of fabric though - presumably a denim fabric will be relatively heavy - or else you will get a paler outcome.

I do loads of washing machine dying with great success.

The times it works best is when it is a colour refresh, so faded black being redyed black. That is usually extremely successful. And in my experience the colour doesn't fade as quickly afterwards.

Follow the instructions to the letter, especially the weight of fabric. That can make it expensive to dye, because you need a lot of dye packs and you need to dye smaller amounts than a normal load.
But I do have a 3 seater soafa cover that is thick and heavy, and I have stuffed that in my machine and added the dye and it has come up pretty well (again, it was a refresh colour, not a new colour)
Dye is cheaper online than in the shops.

It does stain the machine a bit, after you dye you do an empty wash to clean the machine. After a blakc dye I would not then do a white wash, just in case. But after 2 or 3 normal loads the staining has usually gone.

Never an issue once follow instructions and wash it after. it's great for a refresh like black jeans. but if your dying something a completely different colour. like a white shirt to red it might not work successfully as the thread doesn't dye - so you can see white thread showing on a red shirt

As well as what others have said if I’m doing a black dye I do a wash of black clothes after, cleans the machine better and freshens up the colour on the clothes ever so slightly

I’m always dying stuff in ours.
i do a 90 wash after with white vinegar to make sure there is no residue.
I do prefer a Vamoosh dye packs over Dylon, they colour and hold better.

Same as others, never an issue with the machine, as long as you run a quick, empty cycle afterwards. But when you are dyeing stuff, be aware that most of the time the thread won't dye, which is one reason refreshing the same/similar colour is fine, but a complete change isn't. I do however have some summer trousers that were hot pink, but are now purple with distinctive hot pink thread. I wish I could say it was intentional! 😆

Thank you all very much! Very useful info. Perhaps after the dye I’ll run a wash with a washing machine cleaner detergent.

I know about synthetic thread not catching colour, but luckily my cushions have a black thread already. I’ll check if they’re really cotton before I start though.

If the dying does go awry you could look at Bemz who do replacement covers for IKEA stuff, including discontinued models. I just got a new linen/cotton cover for my 25 year old long footstool and am thrilled with it, will do another 25 years now…

I remember reading that if you put a small amount of navy blue dye in with the black dye, it deepens the colour.

I do it all the time (I wear a lot of black), and as long as you follow the instructions on weight of fabric and amount of dye it works beautifully. I don't do an additional cleaning cycle after, I just do a black/darks wash and everything is fine