Color bleeding
Also: dye run · color run · wash bleeding
Color bleeding is the migration of dye from one area or garment into another during washing, leaving pink-tinged whites or muddied panels. Distinct from crocking's dry rub, it happens wet and often ruins a light section permanently, so it counts against cosmetic appearance and, when severe, fabric-condition.
How to detect it
- Inspect white or light panels next to dark ones for pink or grey tinting
- Check collars, plackets, and colorblocked seams where dye pools
- Look for an overall dulled, muddied cast on a formerly crisp color
Grade impact
Color bleeding is weighed under Cosmetic Appearance (20%). Faint, even tinting keeps an item near Good (6); a clearly bled panel or a ruined white section that can't be restored pulls it to Fair (5) or Poor (3–4).
Fixability
Occasionally rescued if caught fast. Re-washing immediately with a color-run remover can lift fresh bleeding; once the dye has set through a dryer cycle it's usually permanent, and bleaching risks new damage.
How to disclose it
State it plainly ('white stripe has picked up a faint pink cast'). Bleeding onto light areas is obvious to buyers in person, so disclosing it up front keeps a transaction from turning into a return.
Color bleeding — frequently asked
- How is color bleeding different from crocking?
- Color bleeding happens wet — dye runs out during a wash and stains other fabric. Crocking happens dry — dye rubs off through friction onto skin or clothing. Both stem from unstable dye, but they're caused, tested, and disclosed differently.
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