Color gone from vacuum bag

[phoenixman2014]

I washed the outer bag on my Montgomery Ward Hand Vacuum. It was all turquoise before. Now, its all brownish blueish. I do not have experience washing outer vacuum bags. It was so dusty and dirty, that when you would turn the vacuum on, it would puff out a huge ball of dust into the air. I used a lot of detergent. Now, most of the color is all gone. Those that wash vacuum bags, how do you wash them? I just soaked it in a bucket of water and a lot of detergent. Is that the right way to do it?

 

[Gr8DaneDad]

A lot of detergent is not a good thing... less is more. I always use clear, clean water and test for color fastness and only if there is no bleeding do I then rinse the bag until water runs clear. If I'm not happy with how clean it is, then I add a very small amount of deterget to cool/cold water and again test for color fastness then wash gently by hand and rinse until water runs clear. Then I throw it in the front loader if the bag is sturdy and in very good shape for a quick spin and lay flat to dry. If I'm worried about the condition of the bag, I blot with a clean towel above and below and then lay flat to dry.