• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
    Textile Indie

    Textile Indie

    • About
    • Blog
    • Work With Me
    • Events
    • Resources
    • Shop
    • Fiber Arts
      • Basketry
      • Spin
      • Dye
      • Print
      • Sew
      • Felt
    • Videos
    • Basketry Immersion
    • Courses

    Natural Dyeing Safety – What You Need to Know

    You are here: Home / Natural Dyeing / Natural Dyeing Safety – What You Need to Know

    Understanding natural dyeing safety is crucial for anyone venturing into the world of natural dyes. This guide provides insights and precautions to ensure a safe dyeing process.

    Natural dyeing safety basics:

    • Ensure Proper Ventilation: Always work in a well-ventilated space to avoid inhaling fumes or dust.
    • Prioritize Personal Protection: Don protective gear, including masks and gloves, to safeguard against potential irritants.
    • Maintain Separate Equipment: Never mix utensils used for dyeing with those for eating to prevent contamination.
    • Stay Organized and Prepared: Familiarize yourself with each step of the dyeing process in advance to ensure smooth execution.
    • Exercise Caution Near Heat: Be vigilant around heat sources to prevent burns and fire hazards.
    • Practice Good Hygiene: Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling dyes to prevent skin irritation and potential ingestion.

    Guide to natural dyeing safety

    Are you diving into natural dyeing?

    There are a few safety things you’ll want to keep in mind. Messing with powders, mordants, and hot water can get tricky if you’re not careful.

    Let’s break down some safety tips for natural dyeing.

    Some are just good ol’ common sense, while others might need a bit of planning ahead.

    If you prefer to watch than read, I made a video on Natural Dye Safety:

    Natural dyeing safety

    Working with powders

    When working with powdered dyes, mordants, assistants and other dyeing powders wear a dust mask and consider wearing safety glasses.

    Breathing any kind of powder is not good for your health, even if it is “natural.”

    Also, work in an area that doesn’t have a breeze going through it. Powders blowing around as you are measuring them out is frustrating and more likely to cause you to breathe them in.

    Measuring out mordant powder while wearing a dust mask.
    When working with powdered dyes, mordants, assistants and other dyeing powders wear a dust mask.

    Some links below are referral links, meaning, at no extra cost to you, we earn a commission if you make a purchase. Thank you for supporting Textile Indie in this way! See our complete disclosure statement.

    Ventilation

    While you don’t want a breeze through your work area when measuring powdered dyes and mordants, good air filtration is essential for other aspects of the dyeing process. For instance, when you’re extracting dye over a heat source and anytime you have anything on the stove.

    Working outdoors is a great option if you have a cookstove or an outdoor burner.

    If you are working indoors, turn on the stove fan, set up an additional fan in the kitchen, and open a window to allow fresh air.

    All of this fresh air will help push smells and steam outside.

    Separate equipment

    Use separate pots and equipment for natural dyeing. You don’t want to dye and cook meals with the same kitchenware.

    While many natural dye raw materials are not harmful – and may even be edible – mordants, poisonous plant parts, and inedible plants could cause health issues if cross-contaminated. 

    Store your dye equipment away from your cooking equipment.

    Clearly label everything with “dye” or another label that identifies it.

    Label equipment specifically used for dyeing.
    Use separate equipment for dyeing and cooking. Label your dyeing equipment.

    Prepare questionable dyes outside

    Again, working outside is a great way to eliminate fumes and moisture in the house. If you are using a plant with a strong smell and are unsure about its toxicity, I highly recommend going through the dye process outside.

    Setting up a natural dyeing station outside on a camp stove
    Work outside if you don’t want to deal with the mess and smells of dyeing inside.

    Protective gear for natural dyeing safety

    Dress like a scientist!

    Good protective gear will go a long way in eliminating potential health risks and injuries.

    Wear a dust mask

    Always wear a dust mask when measuring mordants, powdered dye, and concentrates. The particles get in the air, into your lungs, and can cause respiratory problems.

    Once the powders are stirred into the water, they will not blow in the air. Whether you wear the dust mask throughout the heating process is your discretion.

    blue surgical gloves and a dust mask for natural dyeing safetey
    Be careful when natural dyeing. Wear safety protection when needed.

    Wear rubber gloves

    When working with mordant baths, wear gloves and thoroughly wash your hands or skin whenever the mordant bath splashes onto you.

    I have never had any skin reaction to alum or iron water, and I’ve had my bare hands in the bath to grab bundles of fiber quickly.

    But I would not suggest this as a regular practice. You could have a skin reaction, and exposing yourself to metal salts is not a good idea.

    Wearing gloves to remove dyed fiber from dye baths, especially with very potent dye baths, will keep your hands from changing color.

    Wear an apron

    To protect your clothes, wear a waterproof apron.

    Be prepared for each step

    Have all your materials laid out and prepared. Avoid scrambling to find a cloth or equipment by thinking through the process beforehand.

    Natural dyeing equipment and materials laid out.
    Lay out all tools and materials before beginning a dyeing project.

    Wash your skin whenever you get splashed with dye

    When dyeing, there is a high likelihood that you will get splashed with dye liquid.

    Wear old clothes or a waterproof apron to avoid ruining your nice clothing.

    Also, dye liquid is often scalding – if not boiling. Be aware and cautious when working around your dye pots. 

    Washing hands in a stainless steel sink
    Wash your skin whenever you get splashed with dye or a mordant bath.

    Working with heat

    Be aware of heat source safety. Working with burners, stoves, boiling water, and dye baths requires common sense and caution. 

    Natural dyeing safety equipment

    • Dust mask
    • Gloves
    • Waterproof apron

    What to do with your mordant and dye baths when you’re done

    Disposing of mordant baths safely

    When you have completed using a mordant or dye bath, you need to dispose of it.

    For mordant baths with alum or iron (or other metal mordants), dispose of the bath by dumping the excess water onto gravel or another location away from the soil.

    The mordants in the water make it toxic enough that you wouldn’t want to water your veggie garden with it.

    Another option is to further strip the mordant bath of the mordant salts to make it less toxic to the environment. In other words, exhaust the mordant bath.

    To exhaust the mordant bath, use it a second time.

    Don’t add more mordant; add more fiber and bring up the heat. Follow the mordant procedure for your type of fiber.

    Then, after you have removed the second batch of fiber, you can dispose of the water outdoors. There will be little mordant left in the water, decreasing its toxicity.

    Woman bending over, emptying a stainless steel pot of liquid into gravel
    Dump used mordant baths on well-draining ground like gravel, away from gardens and soil.

    Disposing of dye baths safely

    Natural dye baths are typically non-toxic and can be emptied down the drain.

    I often dump mine in my flower garden.

    I avoid my vegetable garden and other edible plants as an extra precaution. It’s probably fine, but I have plenty of ornamentals to water.

    Dumping used dye baths on garden.
    Natural dye baths can water plants, just not on vegetable beds.

    More natural dyeing resources

    How to Scour Cotton Fabric

    How to Make Natural Dyes from Plants

    List of Dye Yielding Plants for the Natural Dyer

    Natural Dyeing Glossary: Terminology for Natural Dyers

    Natural Dyeing Materials for the Modern Dyer

    Sidebar

    Meet Brittany

    Work with Me

    Legal Information

    Textile Indie is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Textile Indie also participates in affiliate programs with CJ, ShareASale, and other sites. Textile Indie is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.

    About Brittany

    Privacy

    Work with Me

    Follow on Social

    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Facebook

    Resources

    Favorite Tools and Supplies

    Textile Indie Shop

    Basketry Immersion: A Year Long Journey

    Video Basket Courses

    Copyright © 2023 · Textile Indie · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme