Ever wonder how Zorro kept his black cape from fading?  I mean he's riding around in the hot Mexican sun, working up a sweat dueling bad guys, and generally exposing that cape to a lot more wear and tear than you or I would to our clothes.  Yet his black outfit always looked black, it never faded.  Okay maybe Zorro is a bad example.  The only reason I bring him up is that I have what I call my Zorro outfit hanging in the closet and I'll bet you do to.

We all have at least a couple of pieces of black clothing that are our favorites.  My Zorro outfit consists of black slacks and a black turtleneck sweater.  Sometimes when I'm wearing it people ask me where I parked my U-Boat.  At any rate you know what I mean.  Black is sophisticated and a great look that we all like.  And it fades.

So is there a way to stop black garments from fading?  Well the answer is no but you can slow it down following these handy tips.

When you're getting ready to wash the item, button it up or zip it up and then turn it inside out.  The idea here is to keep the fabric that shows when we wear it away from the full impact of the agitator and the detergent.

If you can, and if it's your favorite item you'll find a way, wash the black item by hand rather than using the washing machine.  Abrasion is the number one cause of accelerated fading and if you can eliminate contact with the washing machine's agitator, as well as contact with other clothes, then you can keep your black item black a lot longer.  If you have to use the washer, set it on gentle and use cold water and try to keep the number of other items in the wash to a minimum.  Also use a gentle detergent, one without "whiteners" included.

Here's a handy tip.  If you're washing your black clothing in the machine, add a cup of white vinegar to the water.  Vinegar will prevent the dye in the clothing from bleeding.  Vinegar in the rinse cycle will remove more soap from the fabric than any liquid fabric softener.  And actually soap residue plays a big part in blacks "fading".  It's not so much that the black has faded than it is that the soap is just hanging on subduing the color.

If you can, air dry your black clothes but don't do it by hanging them in direct sunlight.  Ideally you would hang the clothes where they would be exposed to a light breeze and then touch up the moist areas with an iron.  If you have to use the dryer, keep the clothes turned inside out and set the dryer on its lowest temperature setting.  If you've used vinegar in the wash then you have no need to use a fabric softener sheet.

The dryer is the biggest enemy to black fabric.  The heat and abrasion is the number one cause of fading.

So with a little care you can keep those black things black longer.  I wonder if Zorro used white vinegar.