Introduction: Dark Wash Jeans to Light Wash Jeans

About: Hello my name is Bob and I like to make things. www.youtube.com/bobbee

In this Instructable I show you how to give you jeans a lighter wash using bleach.

Step 1: Check Out My Quick Video Tutorial!

In this video I show you how I bleached my denim.

Along with the video you can follow the (easy) steps below :-)

Youtube Video

Step 2: Get Your Materials

  • Get the jeans.
  • Get some bleach ( I used 1 liter of the cheapest bleach I could find)
  • Wear some old clothes and gloves as protection for the bleach.

Step 3: Fill the Sink

Fill up the sink (or a bucket, or a bathtub, etc) with water and dissolve the bleach.
I used about 1 part bleach to 3 parts water.

The more bleach you use, the more aggressive it will be, and the faster the bleaching process will go.
I didn't use too much bleach, so it's easier to control the process (before you end up with a complete white jeans).

Step 4: Wait

Now submerge your jeans into the water/bleach mixture and let it sit for a few hours.
But keep an eye on it and turn it / flip it now and then so every part is covered completely.

After 5 hours my jeans was light enough.
This depends a bit on:

  • how strong the bleach is
  • how dark your jeans was at the start
  • and how light you like the result to be

Note: I used cheap bleach with contains only 5% of Sodium hypochlorite. That's why it took me 5 hours. If you use stronger bleach the processing time may differ.

Step 5: Wash It

Now wash your jeans and let it dry.
When your jeans is dry you're done.
You will also notice the jeans feels softer.

Step 6: Done

Here you see the "before" and "after"


I'm happy with the result and the process is really easy.

Thank you for checking out my Instructable ;-)

Please also check out my youtube channel