We love bright bold colors in our clothing. Color is beautiful, until it fades. A bright red shirt that you love can quickly turn into a piece of clothing you detest when it fades to a washed-out pink.

1. Read the Care Label
It takes a few seconds, but reading the care labels may save a lot of heartache when your clothes come out of the wash. Check for instructions that may say to wash only in cold, or with like colors. Don't forget to check for drying instructions as well. The label may indicate that the clothing needs to be dried on low or line-dried.

2. Wash Dark Colors Together
Sorting clothes is a great opportunity to check the care label, and ensure that clothing is placed in the correct pile. Anyone who has ever washed one red sock with an entire load of whites knows the pain that can happen when colors fade away. To prevent dark colors from fading, keep like colors together.

3. Turn Clothes Inside Out
Some of the wear and tear that happens on your clothing can be prevented by turning your clothing inside out before washing and drying. Washing and drying clothing is rough on the outside of your clothing. Turning garments inside out will reduce pilling, which dulls the look of the fabric. Don't forget to also turn clothing inside out when you hang clothes outside to dry. While the sun is an excellent and efficient drying tool, it will zap the color right out of your clothing.

4. Don't Stuff the Washer
Stuffing the washer to reduce laundry loads may be tempting, but it can cost us quite a bit. It makes the machine work harder and is tougher on our clothes. Clothing can't come clean or have soap evenly deposited when it is packed into a washing machine. Clothing also takes a lot longer to dry when the dryer is stuffed with wet clothes. Clothes need room to move about in the dryer.

5. Wash in Cold
"Colors in cold" was the unofficial motto at my parent's house. If there is one thing I learned about laundry from my mother, it is that colors get washed in cold. If you want to prevent fading from your colored clothing, wash them in cold water. Detergents have come a long way in the last several years, and most do as well in cold water as they do in hot or warm.

6. Don't Over Dry
It's easy to let our clothing over dry. While this is bad for all of our laundry, it is particularly bad for our bright and dark colors. Over drying will cause your colors to fade. Set a timer and don't forget about the clothes. Clothes should be slightly damp when they are pulled from the dryer.

7. Add Vinegar
Vinegar doesn't have the most pleasant smell, but adding a cup to your washing machine will not only act as a natural fabric softener, it will also help prevent colors from fading. Plus the vinegar smell goes away in the wash.

8. Use the Gentle Cycle or a Gentle Detergent
If you still want to make sure your colors last as long as possible, you can wash your laundry on your machine's gentle cycle or hand wash your special clothing. There are several detergents on the market that are formulated to prevent fading and color loss.

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