There’s no doubt that tie dyeing is the ultimate summer craft (rivaled only by friendship bracelets, in our opinion!), but there’s no reason to pack away your tie dye supplies with your bathing suits and sandals!
Tie dyeing inside at home during colder months is easy and can be done with minimal mess–if you have a gameplan. Enter: this blog post!
After teaching countless virtual tie dye workshops from our kitchens, bedrooms, and offices, and tie dyeing on our own in our bathtubs, laundry rooms, and basements, we here at The Neon Tea Party have proudly become pseudo-experts on the topic of how to safely and neatly tie dye indoors!
If you’ve felt hesitant about setting up tie dye indoors, we hope this post will empower you to move past those fears and partake in this colorful, joyful craft during the time of year when our souls need it most!
Can Tie-dye Stain my Bathtub? No, bathtubs and showers are non-porous and waterproof. They are usually made of acrylic or porcelain, both of which cannot be stained by tie-dye. You can safely rinse tie-dye in your bathtub or shower.
KEEPING THINGS NEAT WHILE YOU DYE
Create a clean station and a messy station, or do all the clean stuff first, followed by the messy stuff. “Clean stuff” refers to everything before introducing dye into the picture including dampening your items and binding them up with rubber bands. We recommend making one part of your station your clean station (or do all the clean stuff first), and all the dyeing at another part of your station (or do all the messy stuff second.) This prevents unwanted dye from getting on undyed items, dye drips going where you don’t want them to go, and other sorts of dramas like this!
Use that tie dye rack! We can’t emphasize enough that tie dye racks are game. changers. when it comes to tie dyeing indoors. They catch all dye that drips down, which you can then pour into a plastic bin and shuttle to your tie dye sink.
Wipe up dye spills as you go. Have paper towels or rags handy and wipe up spills as you go, for the same reasoning as the previous tip!
Tips for neatly using tie dye bottles: While tie dye bottles are our preferred method of indoor dyeing, stray spills and squirts are absolutely possible. Here’s how to prevent them from happening:
- Make sure your lid is on tight!
- When you shake up your dye be sure the tip opening is covered, either by the cap or with a paper towel or rag.
- Remove the tip cap with a paper towel or rag. Trust us. The dye tends to squirt out a little when you remove it, so doing so with a cloth will catch any surprise dye squirt.
- Littles and dye bottles can be a tricky mix, especially when dyeing indoors. Young children tend to squeeze their dye before aiming directly at their fabric and often like to squeeze out a little too much dye. (We can’t blame them — it’s so much fun!) When dyeing with littles, you can tie dye over a plastic bin to catch any accidents, or simply help guide their squeezing.
SET UP YOUR SPACE FOR SUCCESS
Choose a place in your home that isn’t a big deal if you have an accidental spill or squirt. The keys are that this room should 1) have hard floors–no carpet or rug, and 2) be generally mess-friendly. Some of our favorite places to tie dye indoors are:
- kitchen – kitchen table or counter top
- laundry room – on the floor, in a slop sink, or on top of a laundry machine
- bathroom – on the floor or in the tub
- playroom – on the floor or craft/activity table
- basement – on the floor or on a folding table
- garage – on a folding table
Cover your workspace in plastic. You’ll of course want to protect whatever surface you’re dyeing on — and in this case, a liquid-resistant covering is your best friend. Cover your table/counter/floor/etc with a plastic tablecloth (included in our Tie Dye Kits!) or cut open a large garbage bag or two. You can tape down your plastic covering to be extra secure, especially if you’re tie dyeing with younger children.
If you’re crafting on a table or counter and want to be extra neat, you can also cover your floor with a plastic tarp. We like these ones, which you can easily cut to size. Bonus tip: You can easily wipe down and reuse plastic tablecloths and thick plastic tarps! We do it all the time!
Choose your designated tie dye sink. This is the sink in which you’ll fill and rinse your dye bottles and dump any excess dye or dye water. There are a few important things to note when choosing your tie dye sink:
- It should be a sink that you are fine with getting a little messy. Here are some of our favorite sinks to use for indoor tie dye:
- utility or laundry room sink
- bathroom sink
- bathtub or shower
- If at all possible, don’t use your kitchen sink. We are big proponents of not cross-contaminating dye with items used for cooking and eating. While filling your bottles with water and carefully dumping dye directly down the drain are okay, avoid getting dye all over the surface of your kitchen sink where you wash your dishes.
- Make sure you don’t have to cross through a nice room to get from your tie dye station to your tie dye sink. The last thing you want to happen is for dye to accidentally drip onto your beautiful carpeted floor on your way to rinse your tie dye items!
Gloves & an apron or smock. No matter where you’re dyeing, you’ll need to protect your hands and your body by wearing rubber gloves and an apron or smock. Also, avoid wearing clothes you wouldn’t want to get dye on–we recommend old grubby clothes, something that’s already tie dye, or all black.
Tie dye squeeze bottles. Using squeeze bottles rather than buckets of dye is one of the best ways to prevent major spills and aim your dye directly at your fabric. See the next section under “Tips for neatly using tie dye bottles” for more on this topic!
Tie dye rack. A tie dye rack is a metal cooling rack you place on a tray with tall sides, over which you tie dye to catch excess dye while preventing the pooling dye from getting on the underside of your fabric. You can find our favorite tie dye rack here or DIY your own setup! WARNING: DO NOT use items to prepare food after using them for tie dye.
Paper towels or rags. To wipe up drips, remove bottle cap tips, and anything else you need them for!
Plastic bags and/or plastic wrap. Place your dyed items in sealed plastic bags or wrap up in plastic wrap. If going with the plastic wrap method, be sure to place items in a plastic bin to transport them to your tie dye sink
Plastic bins. If your tie dye station is a ways away from your tie dye sink, we recommend having a plastic bin or two on hand in which to pre-dump your dye (ESPECIALLY from your tie dye rack!), corral drippy bottles, and even shuttle your bagged up tie dye items.
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FAQ
Will tie-dye stain my bath tub?
Can I rinse tie-dye in my sink?
How do you get dye out of a bathtub?
Will tie-dye stain porcelain sink?
Can fabric dye stain a bathtub?
Yes, fabric dye can stain the bathtub if it is not cleaned up promptly or if it comes into prolonged contact with the bathtub surface. Fabric dyes contain pigments and chemicals that are designed to bond with the fibers of the fabric. When spilled on a bathtub, these dyes can penetrate the surface and leave behind stubborn stains.
How do you remove fabric dye stains from a bathtub?
However, successful removal depends on factors such as the type of dye, the material of the bathtub, and prompt action. Acting quickly to clean up the spill and using suitable cleaning techniques like baking soda paste, vinegar solution, or commercial stain removers can help remove fabric dye stains from the bathtub surface.
Can fabric dye stain a sink?
Fabric dye can stain bathtubs, the plastic components in washing machines, and some types of sinks, so the safest option is to avoid dyeing in these things. If you’re currently fighting a dye stain, there are a few cleaners you can try to lift the stain. Dyeing fabric blue in a big plastic tub. Photo credit: Pexels. Will fabric dye stain my sink?
What happens if you spill fabric dye on a bathtub?
When spilled on a bathtub, these dyes can penetrate the surface and leave behind stubborn stains. Porcelain, acrylic, and enamel bathtubs are particularly susceptible to staining. It is important to address fabric dye spills as soon as possible to prevent the dye from setting and becoming more difficult to remove.