Hmmm, well first liquid Cheer does not have the colorguard only the powder does. The white revive is a oxygen bleach so don't use that on colors.

Many of todays textiles are just not as colorfast. I wonder if you have a high concentration of chlorine in your tap water. You could try the cheer powder. Cheers *guard* is sodium percarbonate, there's no way to put this into a liquid detergent which is why its only in the powder. wish I could be more helpful.

Everything you said was very helpful, thank you! Good point about the chlorine content in the water, that might be driving part of this problem since the fading has been slow but steady. And sadly powdered Cheer disappeared from store shelves at least five years ago. I had no idea that the ingredient that protects colors cannot be bottled in a liquid formula, thank you Mamapinky. I'll look into sodium percarbonate. Powdered Cheer is available on Amazon, but it's very expensive. I'll stop using White Revive on colors and use less detergent on my towels and maybe skip the extra rinse. Is the Woolite for Darks formula any good at protecting dark or vibrant colors from fading? It's a liquid too.

I hate to see expensive-well expensive for me-things lack the quality of colorfastness. I'm not sure if it's due to cutting corners or complying to laws that regulate the chemicals permitted in dyes, but it sure is a disappointing outcome. Time spent shopping to replace things that don't live up to expectations seems so wasteful. Putting something in the wash water to bind the chlorine in the city water seems to be the best option at this point. Where can I find sodium percarbonate? Thanks again, MP! And your dear family is in my prayers.

Cheer liquid does say Colorguard on the front of the bottle and Cheer powder has not been discontinued; it's available at Target and Walmart.

It sounds like undiluted detergent and/or additives are getting on your laundry and that's causing the fading issues.

You can order the 120 load box of Cheer online from Target or from Walmart. Not sure Walmart has the 120 load, maybe just the 80 load box. Shipping might be cheaper than through Amazon. If I could I would try the powder and see if it helps. Greeny, you are correct, the bottles of liquid Cheer do say Color Guard on them.

I can find no magic ingredient in Cheer liquid to protect colors like the Guard in Cheer powder. ..unless its the dye or tint. As we know sodium percarbonate is not stable in liquids. I see no mention of any antichlor in it either. It could simply be a less aggressive surfactant along with less enzymes and the tint.

Cupofkindness...if your going to order percarbonate in order to neutralize the chlorine, I would have no idea how much is enough without being too much.

You could check into a laundry antichlor.

Are you in Canada? I ask because Cheer powder can still be found in the US and runs about 12 $ for the 80 load box. You could also try a more gentle detergent such as a purex as the surfactants are less aggressive. I do stress the importance of not using any Whites detergent or boosters as your trying to avoid fading.

I'm a regular borax user (since getting a front loader just over a year ago) especially on whites. I have used it on colors and sometimes without with just Cheer. Colors fade no matter what. I used to wash colors in cold (before coming to this site) in a traditional top loader and colors still faded.

It depends on the fabric and dying method, I'm convinced.

I have given up on colored towels and bed linens and underwear (these are all pure white).

For work I wear black khakis (Dockers), black socks (Gold Toe) and colorful shirts (from Donna Karen, Calvin Klein, Kenneth Cole and non designers), they all fade with repeated washings.

It sounds like you're doing nothing wrong, it's the fabrics and dying method.

I had the same problem when I used OxyClean as an additive. Don't know why I thought my detergent needed help in hot water. Now I only use it for whites. It really streaked my tan sheets and some nice beige towels. Never again. Sounds like White Revive is the culprit.

Pat that's what I'm thinking. Consumers can't be blamed for this when manufactures label detergents *With Color Safe Bleach*. LOL. Its only color safe to a certain extent. ..if it has no bleach activator and its used with cooler water temps, and the clothing is colorfast than it doesn't pose as high a risk for fading. Add the activator and all bets are off or use hot water even if there's no activator and things are going to fade. We all know this, but most people don't.

I really appreciate all of these comments, thank you. Like Rgurl implied, it's terribly disappointing to spend a lot of money on towels only to have them fade in an ugly manner. You know, over 20 years ago I bought "bar towels" from Lands End and to this day, the two or three I have left are still a deep brilliant blue color. No fading, no spots. The queen sheets went back to the store and the sales clerk told me she was shocked, never seen this happen before in the 14 years that she's worked there. Really Macys? Am I the only one with this problem? What am I doing wrong? But I bought them a month ago, so there was no arguing with me there. Sorry about your tan sheets, Pat. I bought Wamsutta sheets at Bed Bath and Beyond in a tan color and they have held up very well for us. Wrinkly, but all cotton and a good value.

I'll look at Target and Walmart for powdered Cheer and switch back to that. I'll cut back on the Borax too. Here's a question, based on what you know, should I buy another set of aqua colored towels or sand colored towels? I'm thinking that the beige dye might be more stable, but I'm really not sure. We painted the bathroom to match the towels... Trendy colors so easily matched but I am rather wedded to either one of those colors. I tried white towels but those don't look as good as the other colors. Also, if I do use White Revive, I activate it in hot water. And our water is steaming hot, MP, I'll have to put myself on a White Revive diet. : (

And when I wash the new Pottery Barn towels, should I use cold water? I always use at least warm water (except for my husband's wrinkle free shirts), but would consider cold or perhaps a cooler warm temp by starting the load with warm and switching to cold when the tub is half full. But the first priority is clean towels, so probably stick with a warm wash, minimal detergent, no Borax or White Revive, and maybe just one rinse.

Thank you!

I was at Kohl's and they had some nice looking towels in that aqua/green. I have that color and silver. Neither of those have faded. Will say the best towels I ever had -- but the heaviest -- are from Restoration Hardware. They wear like iron. No fading or difficulty at all with their color. I waited for their sale.

Cupofkindness. I think its perfectly fine to use the borax if you want.

Thanks, MP and Rgurl! I'll have to check out Kohls this weekend. I love my Borax, and I really love my new Speed Queens. Having new appliances inspired a total clean of my laundry room. So blessed!

Borax is ok, but it does break to a very weak bleach. Just sounds like cheap textile products. On a side note, I have used LCB with colored towels and there was no fading. Much of it deoends on the quality and dye process of the textile.

@rococogurl...the towels from Restoration Hardware look gorgeous. Thanks for the tip.

This is still an issue for me, just returned some Bed Bath and Beyond towels that streaked. No Borox ever, no White Revive. I am thinking it's Old Spice hair products that are used by my teenage son. : ( Any other ideas? Thanks!

This is not an answer to your question, cupof, just a comment; but I think Restoration Hardware is owned by Pottery Barn or vice versa. Chuck Williams started it all with that cooking ware store (can't think of the name right now). Therefore, wondering how RH towels could be better than PB towels.

I don't think fabrics are as good as they used to be. 50 years ago (not exaggerating) I purchased some avocado green towels from JCPenneys. I still have three that I use. Sure the hems are frayed and they are thin, but I bet if I purchased six towels today they would not last 20 years. i know where the other three went and they are probably still being used. Just thought I would mention my towels.

The only time I've had any experience like the OP had was when I used lcb in a FL on some towels and a set of sheets. No problems using lcb in a top loader. Borax may be a mild bleach but have had no problems with it and I use it in every load I do. One advantage to a top load is that you can add all additives while it's filling so they are well mixed before adding clothes.

When reading some posts on Tide Facebook page, many have reported having detergent stains. I believe it's because the detergent combined with low water was not completely dissolved. Even though it's a liquid, it still needs to be mixed with water.

I think you might have been right with your original thought about shaving cream. I was getting "hand prints" on towels and could not figure out the culprit. That is until I watched my husband shaving one day and reach over to wipe his hands on his towel.

Yes, I tend to agree. It's the skin and hair care products. Heaven only knows what the chemicals are used in these products, but they pack a lot more punch than the simple products from days gone by. Also, the push for eco-friendly dyes... I just hate to see really beautiful towels, lose color. The color is simply gorgeous but nagging my children about this matter is just plain stupid. After all, it's just towels.

What about acne meds. Anyone use them in the house?

The ONLY time I ever had this happen was when my DDs were home from college. There were big splotches on the towels.....not a general fading. I asked them to please stop using any " products" other than basic soap/shampoo. That solved the problem.

Nope, MP, not acne products, maybe shaving gel? It might be contact lens solution or maybe my son's hair gel. I think it might also be body wash... but I cannot put my towels before my kids hygiene needs... I mean, I'd really like to but that wouldn't be how I would want my children to remember me. And I know you get it, girl... Thanks!

Grapefruit: All these girl products have crazy ingredients. But this happened to my boys towels-my girls towels are stable (purchased from Target many, many years ago). Go figure!

My once-favorite towels in my favorite color are on clearance at Pottery Barn, yesterday I walked right by them, a little sad though... I'm too attached to towels, need to pour my energy into my children! : /

So I ordered the 17" by 24" shower bath mat in my favorite color instead-for 40% off. The color matches the walls. In fact, I ordered two since the color is retiring. It's the perfect size for a bathroom with a corner shower. I am blessed.

We understand.

But I think there's more than one way, and maybe you can all get what you want.

The vast majority of times this has happened in my home it was guests. I did not even mention to them, like you said, it's just towels and I kept using them until they wore out, I just made sure not to use the bleached ones when guests were visiting.

But here's the deal. I have sometimes used anti-acne medication. I also have used toothpastes and mouthwashes that have peroxide or other bleaches in them to treat gingivitis. And I often wear contact lenses that need to be cleaned/disinfected with peroxide (not all contact lens solutions have it).

There are things that are easy to do -- rinse your face well before using a towel, for example; spitting toothpaste out and then just wiping your face dry will bleach the towel if you're using dental hygiene products with bleach.

Sometimes it's harder, because people are trying to follow instructions from their doctors -- for example, when cleaning contacts, one is often advised to dry hands/fingers between dealing with one contact and then the other one. Sometimes doctors advise to always deal with the contacts over a towel (for example, rinse them with the disinfecting solution) so as not to drop them on dirty surfaces.

That's when it helps to step outside the box for a bit. I only use the towels when what I'm drying is clean and well rinsed.

If you need to blot something or rinse contacts over a towel, that's when I reach for the roll of paper towel I keep in the bathroom.

As a bonus, not only are you discarding the paper and it doesn't matter if you had peroxide on it, but also you are always using a fresh paper towel for things that should be kept away from whatever was in the towel before you tried to use it. Also, no lint on the contacts, much nicer to the eyes.

Good luck!

Sorry, but I must take exception to the above mentioned reasons and cleansing agents as the primary culprits. I have both expensive and inexpensive towels that are approaching 20 years old (still fluffy and useful) and none have bleached spots on them, no matter what I use on my face or my hands. I also often wash towels in hot water. The old ones have no problem. MOST of my new towels have bleach spots and yet, I do not use benzoyl peroxide. The culprits bleaching my current towels may also be minute traces of whitening toothpaste (hydrogen peroxide?), but my old towels survive this assault just fine. Something has changed with respect to the current dyeing methods; which have definitely changed over the years. This problem is unacceptable and the fact that no one seems to notice that colored towels never had this problem in the past is maddening to me. Same with sheets. New sheets fade, old sheets: no problems. Someone should investigate the change in the chemical composition of dyes and fixation processes used on sheets and towels. This is the answer to this problem. Companies, not the consumer, need to solve this problem!

It's the Pottery Barn towels. They are an inferior product. I've had various towels for years with no dye loss, but I just replaced everything with PB. There were no changes to our skin care products or detergents. After three months, all the PB gray towels have faded pinkish spots. I'm working on a refund.

I love Pottery Barn furniture but will never buy towels or sheets or table cloths/napkins from them again. Target has figured out how to make good towels and has a better return policy too. As consumers demand “green” elements in the manufacture of their products, the durability will suffer. So people will simply have to replace things more often. 🤨

I found a seven pound box of powdered Cheer at Walmart for $11.87 (80 loads) in the summer of 2020. I purchased six boxes. I still cannot figure out a consistent way to neutralize the chlorine contained in the entire tub full of water.

And now, I only buy white towels.