Consumer Reports tested the Shout Color Catcher and the Carbona Color and Dirt Grabber. Carbona claims, you can "wash mixed colors with confidence!" Testers washed sure-to-run red polo shirts with white cloths to see how well the products work. The Shout and Carbona cloths turned pink, absorbing quite a bit of the dye. How about those white test cloths that testers put in the wash? Testers used a special machine to precisely measure their color levels. Neither Shout nor Carbona could keep the cloths from turning pink. In fact the white cloths didn't look any better than the wash done without a color-catching product. Consumer Reports says your best bet is to wash your dark clothes separately from your light clothes. In fact, in small print on the back of the box, Carbona actually cautions that "new colored clothing should always be washed separately the first few times." So there is no escaping having to separate your laundry. In addition to separating dark clothes from lights and whites, Consumer Reports says you can also help prevent colors from running by washing your clothes in cold water. Deep, intense colors like red, blue, and black are more likely to run./>
Consumer Reports finds out which color catchers work
DENVER - Consumer Reports washes 6-and-a-half tons of laundry every year to test washing machines, so testers know a little something about getting clothes clean. How about keeping colors from running in the wash? Consumer Reports just tested two products that promise will help.
