Colour catcher sheets: protect your clothes and prevent the colours from running

What are colour catcher sheets, and how do they work?

Colour catcher sheets are small fibre cloths that are treated to absorb any colours that run from your clothes in the wash. 

Using these sheets allows washing coloured clothing with more peace of mind, since they absorb any colours that run during the wash. They work like a magnet that attracts and traps dye particles that are released from clothing when it is wet and when spinning in the washing machine.

Using one or two sheets is ideal depending on the amount of clothing in the washing machine and how bright the colours are.

If we really want to make the most of our colour catcher sheets, we should take note of the following tips: 

• Unfold the sheet and place it in the washing machine drum. Add the dirty clothes.
• Prepare the wash as usual. We should use the usual amount of detergent and the wash programme suitable for the clothes.
• When the wash finishes, we should take the clothes out and dry them as soon as possible. We then dispose of the colour catcher sheet.

Tips to avoid colours running in the washing machine: useful tips

To avoid colours running in the washing machine, the following tips are particularly useful:

• Wash dark colours separately the first few times.
• Do not mix different bright colours.
• Do not overload the washing machine so that the colour catchers can do their job properly and absorb the dye.
• Wash large items, such as sheets and towels separately.
• Another tip to avoid new clothes from running is to set the colour with salt. New clothes can be soaked in salt water before washing them for about 20 minutes. Not much longer though.