How to Fix Your White Shirt that Turned Pink when Bleached

Apologies in advance for the lack of photos. I was too devastated to take photos. Here’s what to do if your white shirt turned pink on application of bleach:

Finish bleaching – do your bleaching as regular, don’t worry about the parts that have turned a bright and strong pink / magenta. Once you’re satisfied with the accomplishment of your original goal of bleaching,
Put in regular wash in the washing machine, with detergent. Once washed, the pink will remain as is, don’t worry.
DO NOT PUT IN DRYER, instead,
Hang in direct sunlight to dry and make sure that the pink parts are facing the Sun directly.
Check after 3-4 hours and your shirt should be dry AND the pink should have completely dissapeared.

All I know is that it works. I have no idea why it works but it works.

After having scoured the internet for a solution to my precious white cotton shirt turning pink in a streak across the collar and shoulders, I could not find a solution. So, I did what I thought might work and it did, and I’m no longer devastated.

I had washed the shirt in the washing machine prior to the application of bleach, so there was no residue possibly remaining on the shirt. The shirt was wet and submerged in regular tap water. I poured bleach into the sink and some of the bleach hit the shirt that was above the water, and it IMMEDIATELY blazed pink and I FREAKED out. The shirt had picked on a bit of grey from one of my pre-washed black shorts that I put in the washed together with it, which was lazy on my part. I just wanted to bleach the shirt a bit to get it back to white. But I got pink instead. The rest of the shirt turned whiter of course. I then washed it again in the washing machine and then hung it to dry in the direct Australian Sun and after about 3 hours, the pink was all gone and I have a bright white shirt again. PHEW.

You’re welcome!

I am a photographer based in Adelaide, South Australia and the following are some of the images from my portfolio :