How to Bleach White Clothes with Embroidery

Accidents happen!

With white clothes, the go-to fix for stains and messes is bleach. While bleach can fix the problem, it gets tricky when there’s an amazing piece of embroidery on the clothing you want to bleach.

Don’t fret! There are still ways to still bleach your clothes without ruining your embroidered piece - you just have to take extra caution. 

Bleaching your embroidered garment could lead to color leaching if the embroidered thread is dyed. Bleaching embroidery can also cause popped threads, among other issues. We don't want you to ruin your custom embroidered clothing - so let's talk about how to properly bleach embroidered clothing!

Test Your Bleach

The first thing you want to do is test your bleach! You want to make sure your bleach isn’t going to ruin your entire garment.

It’s recommended that you add 2 teaspoons of bleach to ¼ cup water and apply a drop of the solution to a hidden part of the item. Wait a minute, then blot dry. If there’s no change, the item is ready to be cleaned.

Spot Removers

Before you dunk the whole item into bleach, try a spot remover for those little spots you want to remove. Clorox has a bleach pen that works great. There are other options that can help, but bleach will limit the amount of time it takes to wash.

Use Tape

This may not protect the white as well as possible, but it can prevent the embroidery from losing its color. Take a piece of clean fabric, and tape it over the embroidered logo before washing the shirt in bleach. This will also help the embroidery from breaking from the bleach.

Use a Cold Setting and Delicate Wash

Color + hot water = Running colors!

We want to prevent this as much as possible. Limit wear and tear on any of your embroidered pieces by washing them in cold water on a delicate cycle. The cold water still gets your clothes clean, but is much less harsh, meaning you can keep your clothes for longer. The delicate cycle helps to reduce pressure on the embroidery, helping it stay for longer.

Find Your Team's Custom Embroidered Apparel with Thread Logic

If you’re spending money on embroidery or have just received an awesome promotional shirt or piece of clothing and want to take great care of it, be sure to follow our tips above!

Ready to build your team's custom-embroidered apparel collection? Our easy upload process allows you to preview your logo on our apparel. Choose a variety of colors and styles with no minimum order requirement!

What are you waiting for? Build out your embroidered collection with  Thread Logic!

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About Jeff Taxdahl

With over 20 years’ experience in embroidery and business ownership, Thread Logic owners Jeff and Wenda Taxdahl, and the Thread Logic team, know what it takes to make custom logo embroidered apparel that people are proud to wear.