gale

I only reuse if they stay white. I've never had one pick up any color from washing with a quilt, even with reds in the quilt. I still use them though, just in case.

gale

I think the color needs something to stick to, hence the reason washing soda alone wouldn't be enough. Seems like logically, you could put the washing soda in along with a cotton washcloth and theoretically the color would stick to the washcloth. I'll just keep using color catchers. They aren't that expensive (and I don't wash quilts that often).

Tartan

I use a fresh colour catcher when I first wash a quilt. I do dry the old ones that come out white and throw them in again with the fresh colour catcher though.

HouseDragon

Mine are reused by colour.

If I'm washing ~say~ a load of purples, I throw in all the purple Colour Catchers plus one unused one. If the new one comes out white/ultra light, the load goes into the dryer; if I can't tell which Catcher is the new one, I'll add another unused Catcher and rewash the load.

I've noticed that as I acquire more Catchers in a particular colour family, they get darker, and I rarely have to do a second wash as all of them are absorbing dye.

So IMO they do keep absorbing colour almost indefinitely: some of my Catchers are at least five years old.

*LOL* The various stacks of colours next to the Tide are "Art".

KenmoreGal2

Well that is quite interesting. I think I'll pull my two recent discards back out of the trash!!

tessagin

I have done both. Sometimes the terry alone on a lighter hue of the color or when I run out of the color catcher.

tessagin

As others have stated, I will reuse til I can't tell anymore. Another reason for the terrycloth rag. Extra insurance to let me know if any color lets loose.

Latrinka

I only use em once, I guess I just assumed they were for one-time use.

KenmoreGal2

This is quite informative. Thanks for all the replies so far.

husker67

I also assumed they were for one time use. I don't use them very often, but they are usually saturated with color. I've not tried the homemade ones.