<p>Bleaching works "as expected" for natural plant fibers (e.g. cotton). Polyester is actually a plastic, and bleaching will not have the same effect. I expect one (some?) of the following:</p>

<ul>
<li>no change;</li>
<li>some fading, potentially not uniform;</li>
<li>(partial) destruction of the shirt, as a result of the bleach attacking the plastics. Even worse, if there is anything natural hidden somewhere (some stitching, logos...)</li>
</ul>

<p>Bottom line, I would not even try. A new white shirt must be quite easy to find, and quite cheap.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-23T12:21:14.440Z
2020-01-23T12:21:14.440Z
virolino
<p>I have a shirt that is 95% polyester and 5% spandex. I'd like to completely whiten this shirt. How can I accomplish this?</p>

<p>Related: <a href="https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/6346/fade-color-in-fabric/6401#6401">Fade color in fabric</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-23T01:32:22.703Z
There are some color removers (bleaching will damage the material), but you won't get colored polyester white.  It's very inert and hard to get dye to bind with.  So to keep the color from washing out, the color is usually either added to the plastic before it's extruded into fibers, or a chemical process is used that's hard to fully undo.  At best, you can lighten the color in an uncontrolled way (potentially really ugly result).  See http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyeblog/C1975726308/E20111209070220/index.html.
fixer1234
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-23T10:26:40.213Z
That sounds like a complete answer to me, @fixer1234
Joachim
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-23T19:16:24.823Z
@Joachim, yeah, you're probably right; should have posted that as an answer rather than a comment.  But virolino's answer covers the bottom line, so it wouldn't add value at this point to make it another answer.  Next time.  :-)
fixer1234
<fabric><clothing><dye>
How can I fully bleach a polyester shirt?
jackwise
# How can I fully bleach a polyester shirt?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-01-23)

I have a shirt that is 95% polyester and 5% spandex. I'd like to completely whiten this shirt. How can I accomplish this?

Related: [Fade color in fabric](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/6346/fade-color-in-fabric/6401#6401)

**Tags:** fabric, clothing, dye

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: There are some color removers (bleaching will damage the material), but you won't get colored polyester white.  It's very inert and hard to get dye to bind with.  So to keep the color from washing out, the color is usually either added to the plastic before it's extruded into fibers, or a chemical process is used that's hard to fully undo.  At best, you can lighten the color in an uncontrolled way (potentially really ugly result).  See http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/dyeblog/C1975726308/E20111209070220/index.html.  
> **username_2**: That sounds like a complete answer to me, @username_1  
> **username_1**: @username_2, yeah, you're probably right; should have posted that as an answer rather than a comment.  But username_3's answer covers the bottom line, so it wouldn't add value at this point to make it another answer.  Next time.  :-)  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-01-23. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Bleaching works "as expected" for natural plant fibers (e.g. cotton). Polyester is actually a plastic, and bleaching will not have the same effect. I expect one (some?) of the following:

* no change;
* some fading, potentially not uniform;
* (partial) destruction of the shirt, as a result of the bleach attacking the plastics. Even worse, if there is anything natural hidden somewhere (some stitching, logos...)

Bottom line, I would not even try. A new white shirt must be quite easy to find, and quite cheap.


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