# Bleaching/dyeing towels. How much bleach to use?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleaching-dyeing-towels-how-much-bleach-to-use/204412>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 29, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleaching-dyeing-towels-how-much-bleach-to-use/204412 "2003-09-29T02:41:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![BrianS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c6cbf5/32.png) [@BrianS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianS)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleaching-dyeing-towels-how-much-bleach-to-use/204412/1 "2003-09-29T02:41:46Z")

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I have a bunch of towels that have started to fade a little and that have bleach spots from being used to wipe up toothpaste, etc. (kids, lol.)

I’d like to dye them, but I’d really like to go for a different color. Not a radically different color, but from dark green to dark blue. In order to get the best results, I’d like to bleach them out as much as possible first so I can get a relatively even result from the dyeing.

For about 8 large towles, 4-5 hand towles and 4-5 wash cloths, how much bleach should I use? Should I even use bleach?

What do you think?

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**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bleaching-dyeing-towels-how-much-bleach-to-use/204412/2 "2003-09-29T04:46:35Z")

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I’d try Rit color remover, actually. Chlorine bleach doesn’t remove all dyes… I tried bleaching my lime-green towels, and now they’re lemon-yellow and won’t get any lighter.