Name: Kim
Message: Thank you for your wonderful site.
I wanted to dye some cloth diapers (cotton) with Rit dye (as it is readily avaliable). My son likes to suck on the ends of the diapers (he uses them as a blanket). Do you feel that this would be safe for him to do after I have dyed and washed the diapers? Thank you very for your response.

All-purpose dye contains direct dye, which bleeds with every washing for the life of the garment. Presumably it can also bleed some with chewing.

I do not know that there is any danger in cummulative exposures to direct dye, for a baby. I suppose any risk is probably very tiny, if there is any risk at all. As a general rule, dyes are considered non-toxic, since they do not have any immediate poisoning effects. However, my personal preference would be to never allow a baby to chew on a fabric dyed with a dye that bleeds. With my own babies, I used only high quality fiber reactive dye, never all-purpose dye.

It is not very much trouble to mail-order fiber reactive dye from a good dye supplier, such as ProChem or Scarlet Zebra. (You can start out by ordering a tie-dye kit; see the contact information for these and other dye retailers on my "Sources for Supplies" web page.) If you do so, you will, in the long run, save a considerable amount of money, as fiber reactive dye, when purchased in two-ounce jars, costs about one-sixth as much, per pound of fabric dyed, as all-purpose dye does in local stores. You will also be using dye which bonds permanently to the fabric, instead of gradually leaching out throughout the life of the garment.

A further consideration is that the dye technique with fiber reactive dye does not require that you simmer it on the stovetop. All-purpose dye requires extensive simmering hot water (half an hour at 190 degrees Fahrenheit) to perform at its best, but, since the dye is not food-safe, any cooking pot used for the dye must never be used for food purposes again. Fiber reactive dye only needs to be allowed to react with the cotton in the presence of soda ash (washing soda), at room temperature, making it much easier to use in many different creative ways.

After you dye with fiber reactive dye, wash the garments (or diapers) once in cold water without detergent, and then several times in hot water with detergent, to remove all traces of unattached dye.