Using old dyes

[tiedyejudy]

I know there have been discussions regarding how long you can store dyes before they lose their potency.  I have always felt that a month was the most I could hope to store dye, even refridgerated, before they need to be tossed.  Well, I had some unthickened dyes that I had labelled with the date, and the date was 11/06/06.  I decided to see what I would get if I used them, and here is a picture:

The dyes are all Dharma Procion MX mixed with plain water.  I used 3 colors, Golden Yellow, Light Orange ( I mixed Lemon Yellow with Deep Orange) and Jungle Red.  The yellow and orange held up beautifully.  The Jungle red was actually mixed at a later date, but did not hold up as well.  But I am now convinced that if I just want to play around, it's worth trying dyes if I have kept them refrigerated!

Judy

[ktaltre]

I've kept mx dyes mixed with water and urea in the fridge for 6 months and longer and most have held up well with little or no loss of vibrancy. A few didn't do so well, but still gave me decent color, but I don't remember which ones (sorry). Anything with fuchsia in it has to be strained after a few days and after a week or so, I'd strain most colors before using.
I actually rarely keep the mx dyes that long, but they can be refridgerated for a long time.
I have a bottle of brown that's one and a half years old (I mixed too much!) and it still dyes and isn't clumping! Why did I think I was going to use all that brown!
k. taltre

[fiberartist219]

When I was in school, we used refridgerated solutions. They were refilled every semester, and I never noticed anything losing any potency.

I haven't tried refridgerating anything lately though, because we drink kool aid sometimes, and the only fridge I have right now is the one in the kitchen. I really don't want food mixed with my dyes. I am working on getting my hands on a mini fridge though.

My powdered dyes are holding up well though. I bought most of them in 2004, and I haven't noticed any loss of potency, and they seem to mix ok. Then again, I'm not very scientific about my dyeing lately.

[2D4]

I've noticed that the green (Bright & Kelly) dyes and deep orange
are the ones that don't hold up for me.
Bright green turns into minty green and the orange goes flat.

I don't refrigerate anymore.  I found that waiting for the dyes
to warm up to room temperature was a hindrance. I had worse
results with cold dye than old dye....

Jo

[ktaltre]

I don't wait for the dyes to warm up! I use them straight from the fridge.
I figure by the time I'm wrapping up to batch, everything is room temp.
k. taltre