Dear Paula:  I bought a red, dyed-in-India rayon skirt a couple of weeks ago, and whenever certain liquids drip onto or touch the fabric (such as cold condensation from a drinking glass), dark, ink-like stains appear.  It looks exactly as if a blue/black pen had bled onto the fabric.  And if I don't immediately saturate the stains with water and detergent, they seem to become permanent - I now have one on the lower front of the skirt.  The fabric also BLEEDS LIKE CRAZY - I first washed it in the tub, and the water turned bright red - couldn't believe it!  First I thought THAT was the problem - that the skirt was so saturated with dye that hadn't been 'de-activated' or stopped that the dye process became 're-activated' by chilled water.  But I have since washed it four times - including once in the washing machine with centrifugal spin/extraction, and those ugly ink-like stains STILL appear when cold liquids hit it.  Tepid water-drips do not seem to cause it. 
 
What can I do?  I love the skirt, but wearing it clearly comes with risk and frustration - I've gotten those 'ink stains' on it everytime I've worn it...
 
Have you ever heard of/encountered this phenomenon?  Any info or guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. 

I've never heard of that before. It's an interesting question. I wonder if the color change has anything to do with pH: laundry detergent generally has a high pH, and there is often some residue left in the fabric, so getting the fabric wet might be like increasing the pH. (If so, a drop of vinegar should be different from a drop of water, but I can't recommend that you try this, except perhaps on an inconpicuous inner seam; it's possible the results might not be good.)

Any dye that runs is a bad business. You don't want it on other clothes, and you don't want the loose dye particles getting on your skin. I would advise you to wash the skirt in HOT water to remove as much dye as possible; soaking in hot water will remove even more of the dye. The heat is the key. To set the dye, you could mail-order some Retayne (or check your local quilting supply store or fabric store first); this product will set most (but not all) commercial dyes. See Commercial Dye Fixatives for more information on Retayne. 

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