How can I remove leather dye stains from colored clothing?

Question

I managed to forget removing a leather belt from my laundry. That would have been OK if i only washed it, but I put it into a dryer as well.

Not only did this destroy the belt completely, but pretty much all the leather dye from the belt was let loose, wrecking havoc on all my favorite clothes. The clothes are not entirely covered in dye, but the spots where the belt touched them have a good, strong amount of the color printed on them.

The white clothes, which were obviously hit the hardest, I will probably just bleach.

However, my colored clothes were hit as well. Luckily, there's just a few stains on those, so spot-cleaning is a possibility.

What are my options? I haven't tried re-washing these clothes yet. Can I hope the color disappears after several washing cycles, or is this completely hopeless?

Answer 1

The best you can do is apply a stain remover, let it set 5 minutes or so, and scrub it with a plastic brush, or rag, before running through the laundry. Repeat this process several times if necessary.

Leather dye is a real bear to remove! Sometimes you can never get it all out, without damaging your clothing!

Answer 2

I had a similar problem from a brown leather belt. I found that it was staining some of my trousers and the dye was even seeping through to stain a couple of my shirts underneath. I think it was because the belt was bare leather which had not been sealed with paint or a coating. The stains are very hard to remove. Vinegar is supposed to be very good at removing stains. I think you have to soak clothes in a bucket of water with half a cup of spirit vinegar for a couple of hours and then rinse them out. Or make a paste out of vinegar and salt and rub it on the stain. Then rinse it out.