Do you know what made it turn gray? What did you wash it in?

Did you wash it with some blue jeans?

I would suggest trying soaking it in Oxyclean following the instructions. Soak it for the maximum time. If that does not take it out, I don't know what will. If it is dye transfer, it may never come out. I have a pair of formerly white sock that were stuck in a pair of jeans, they are now a hideous shade of gray, and washing them has not improved them.

It is 2-3 years old, so I know some of the grey is age, but otherwise...

It's always washed in cold, I hang all polar fleece to dry, but I'm sure it's found its way into the dryer on rare occassion... I typically use ALL free & clear HE, for a while I tried tide HE, and while I've bought some Charlies I've yet to use it for my laundry (using up the All that I had on hand, on the last bottle!).... before the bosch set (just over a year old) I still used All free & clear, just not HE, in a maytag tl....

There are obvious "spots" in the yellow, and the white just has dirt... arm rubbing, leaning type dirt imbedded in the material... I'm thinking after it soaks this time, I will toss it in the washer on a soak cycle and then with more fleece on a wash cycle and see what I end up with.... I am a tad bit afraid that since it's been soaking in all this detergent it will suds like crazy.....so I think I'll let it hang and drip dry in the bathtub and then try the soak and wash routine...

anyone have any suggestions??? please????

I know no bleach and no fabric softner on polar fleece, and no heat...

Shouldn't be dye transfer, but I guess it's always a possibility.. I usually do two "fleece" cold washes, one with dark, one with light colors... I don't know, it just looked so horrible the last time I washed it I couldn't hang it up and send it to his room... so I'm trying any and all ideas...

Does oxiclean have bleach in it??? I know that's a no no for polar fleece... I'll check that out tomorrow when shopping...

I did try emailing the polar fleece (Malden Mills/Polartec) company to see it I could get any suggestions from them. If I hear back I'll let you all know what they say.

The label says not to use on wool, wool blends, silk, silk blends, leather, or items marked dry clean only. I did not see any exclusions for synthetics. I don't actually know what Oxyclean is, but it is safe for colors, I have treated many colored items, some very delicate, with no problems. I have a lot of polar fleece around the house, I cannot remember if I have ever had to treat any of it. You could try soaking a small piece of polar fleece if you have a scrap to see how it works. I probably would not think twice about throwing a polar fleece item in to soak, but that is just me.

This sounds like this has been accrueing. I would soak with Oxyclean...it is not chlorine bleach. I have used it on fleece and everything else. You must soak it in very hot water.

Since you have been soaking in all this stuff, I would rinse out well by hand before soaking with oxyclean. This type of problem is what oxyclean is used for a lot. You may have to soak all night. Keep changing water to keep hot and add more oxyclean.

When ready to wash, I would wash first with oxyclean in the machine. Cold water is not good for this. Use at least warm water.

Then wash again with detergent. Oxyclean is also very good for removing stains.

Well... here's where I'm at...

I took the bucket it was soaking in yesterday (this had Charlie's soap, ALL, and Cascade Complete) and tossed the whole thing in the washer on "soak".... I had pulled out the manual to see what the soak cycle did... for 2 hours it tumbles and stops (about 30-60 seconds of each), then it drains and spins out. After that was completed, I took some other light colored fleece and acced them to the machine and ran a cold wash with an extra rinse (I was assuming the top was still carrying around enough detergent to clean things)....

Well, the top was better... the very noticable spitting and discoloring in the yellow was gone, the cuffs were still dingy, but this is a couple of years old remember... the white on the sides and half of the sleeves was looking white, but still not what I was hoping for.

So, while grocery shopping I picked up the oxiclean and it's in the washer on a soak cycle again. When that's done I'll do another light colored fleece cold wash and see where I'm at and report in...

Well... I ran that soak cycle twice and then added some other items and ran a cold wash.

I just took the top out to hang up. I think it looks basically the same as it did this morning prior to the oxiclean soaking. It still is hands down better looking than it was when I started. I pulled the 'twin' to this top out of my duaghters closet and pur them side by side. The sons is definitely not as bright yellow or white as the daughters, but it's a lot better than before...

So... what worked??? I guess a combination of different cleaners and time...

My thanks to those who provided input...

To get the best results from the Oxyclean you really need to soak it in hot water. Put the hot water in your bucket and mix in the largest recommended amount of Oxyclean. Then put the top in and let it soak for a full six hours. Make sure it is completely submerged. If you want you can remix the solution every couple hours to keep it as strong as possible using fresh hot water each time. There is no point in leaving it longer than six hours because Oxyclean becomes inactive after six hours. I personally find this works worlds better than the soak cycle on these new machines, you really need to keep the item fully submerged for the whole six hours for the best effect.

I have a note about soaking with Charlie's and other detergents...and about the dingies... But since I'm the manufacturer, I would need permission to talk about it. You can always call if you have questions, too.

Taylor

jcrowley99...

I hear what you are saying about hot water... but the item in question is made of polarfleece... which is a product made of recycled plastic and is not to be put in warm or hot water... only cold...

FWIW, the oxiclean container says it works in all temperatures... I'm sure the hotter the better, when the fabric in question can take the heat.

Polar fleece that has been put in war/hot wash cycles and/or put in the dry gets less soft and over time will become brittle as the plastic begins to melt...

Taylor... I sent you an email Thanks

I have been washing polar fleece in warm water for years, everything is still soft and in great shape. I have a ton of polar fleece around the house, I use it for sweatshirts, house coats, blankets, quilts, scarfs, hats, mittens, and pet beds and blankets. I always wash the pet items in hot water and the rest in warm. In all honesty, some of the polar fleece fabrics I have purchased said machine wash warm, some said cold. You would have to use your judgement on the quality of the fabric. If it seems like it is not well made, definitely stick to cold, but if it is good quality fabric, warm should be fine. The most important thing to remove stains and dinginess is the length of the soak in Oxyclean. If you are afraid to use hot or warm water, then by all means use cold, but soak the item for the full six hours. I left a scrap soaking today for six hours (warm water, since I was just checking I did not bother to let the water heat up) and there was no damage to the fabric. I was new fabric, I didn't have any older scraps laying around.

I feel the reason it looks dingy is because you wash in cold water. Soaking in oxyclean in hot water in a pan will not harm it. The hot water is from the tap and is not the same as washing it in a machine with an internal heater at 157 degrees.

I have a polar fleece pull over which had a small stain on it. I used Goo Gone on it hoping to make the stain go away. Instead the Goo Gone has caused the section to be drab and dreary. I have washed it in Dawn with the stains still in. I took it outside in the sun with hopes the sun would fade the dingy out.NO it is still there on the front and now on the back. The original small spot was more than likely dripped food> This shirt has not worn out it's usefullness to this point and needs to be worn in an office like area wher clean is esential. HELP!!!