Anyone here used RIT dye before?

[Thrift Store Scott]

Dennis S wrote:
I haven't heard of anyone using it since the 50's. I have the bright idea to dye my old dingy, Clorox-spotted, faded dish rags, hand towels, T-shirts, socks, etc. a dark color like navy blue. I have a couple of pretty large stainless pots I guess would be good to use.

• Does it work as advertised?

It does work as advertised.

Dennis S wrote:
• Is it color-fast, or does it fade?
• Do dyed clothes mess up other lighter-colored clothes that are washed with them?

It is at least as color-fast as any other fabric dye such as those used to color bolts of cloth at the fabric mills. Some fading is normal over time, but "setting" the dye with salt can help control fading and color transfer in the wash. Treat a newly-dyed article as you would a brand new article and wash it with similar colors the first few times and there should be no problem.

Dennis S wrote:
• Does it do a good job, or do the old stains and discolored areas show through?

It does a good job, but it can't perform miracles. How much the stains and discolored areas show through depends on how much contrast there is between them and the base color of the article being dyed as well as the nature of the stain. For heavily stained and/or discolored articles, a tie-dye approach to camouflage the problem areas might be the only effective solution.