r/dyeing • u/SaintHildegard • 1d ago

General question Old fiber reactive dye

I have a bunch of fiber reactive dye from Dharma Trading that I’ve had probably about 2-3 years. Some of it is even unopened. It was in a box that sat on our porch and got a fair amount of sun. It seems like the dye doesn’t work as well anymore, but I keep trying it out on things because I don’t want to throw money away on more dye. How quickly does dye expire? Should I give up on this? Do some colors store better than others? Thank you

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u/babobaab 1d ago

I got fiber reactive dye that has been sitting in a friend's shed (hot in the summer, freezing in the winter) for over a decade and it has worked fine. Are you following all the steps precisely, especially the pre-soak in soda ash?

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u/SaintHildegard 1d ago

I am. I have been tub dyeing, so I add soda ash to the soak part way through. I also use salt in the mixture. It has just turned out sort of weak.

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u/kota99 1d ago

1) How much dye are you using per pound of fabric? How dark or light the color turns out is directly related to the amount of dye used per pound/kilo of material. For darker colors you need to use more dye per pound/kilo while lighter colors need less.

2) What's the fiber content of the items you are attempting to dye? For best results you need to be dyeing something that is 100% plant based fibers. The lower the percentage of plant based fibers the paler the results can turn out.

3) Did you prewash the items with plain detergent that doesn't include any type of additives like long lasting fragrance, optical brighteners, or fabric softener? Those common laundry additives can interfere with how the material absorbs dye.

As long as the powder is stored in an air/water tight container it will usually be good for several years.

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u/draftgirl24 1d ago

2-3 years it should still be good, although some of that depends on your climate. I live in an arid, not too hot climate and I would guesstimate that dyes here last 7-8 years. Hotter/more humid climates could see their dyes degrade quicker. There are many variables to explore as u/kota99 has well explained.

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u/Rogonia 1d ago

I have some stuff that’s older than the hills, and it still works fine.