My 45 Cent Bath Towels

Nice towels are expensive.  My husband & I received some really nice light blueish gray towels as a wedding present.  Now, 6 1/2 years later, those towels are no longer quite as nice.  Structurally, they are great, but they have dried many surfaces and picked up some unknown stains.  We don't mind using stained or frayed towels, but we don't want to put them on display or give them to guests.

A few months ago, without a specific task in mind, I picked up some RIT (denim) dye from a thrift store.  Normally only around $2, but only .45 at the thrift store.  Can't beat that!  

I have used RIT to dye stained baby clothes before with decent results.  

So, before giving up on these towels, 

I decided to try to dye them.  I also had a stained white hand towel that I threw in. 

First, I pre-washed the towels and left them wet & set them aside.  I followed the machine dye instructions on the inside of the package.  I dissolved the dye in a separate container  of water and poured it into my washing machine as the water was filling.  I also added a little bit of detergent, as instructed.  When the water was done running, I unfolded the wet 

towels, wash cloths, etc. and added them to the washing machine dye bath.

After the first cycle was done, I ran them through again.  Keep rinsing until water runs completely clear and you will want to wash them, at least the first few times, with only dark items, in case some small amounts of dye still need to be released.  I was anxious to dry them 

& see how the stains looked.

What stains?  I was so excited!  They came out like a brand new set of towels! 

 In one batch, I dyed 3-4 large towels, 4 hand towels & 3 wash cloths, all for .45!

I cannot guarantee that this will work for every stain, but it is not that expensive to try.

I also only recommend dying to a darker color, unless you are starting with something white.

The one white hand towel I dyed was a brighter blue than the others, but it still 

covered the stain and is now useable again.  

Have you used RIT before?  What did you dye?  How did it turn out?