We're a trades-first laundry company building concentrated formulas that pull embedded job-site soil out in one wash — without bleach, softeners, or optical brighteners that wreck FR gear and reflective tape.
What dulls hi-vis gear?
High-vis garments rely on two things: fluorescent background fabric and retroreflective tape. Both degrade faster from how the gear is washed than from the work itself:
- Ground-in grime and road film graying out the fluorescent color.
- Optical brighteners and harsh additives leaving residue on the fabric and tape.
- High heat and over-drying breaking down the reflective tape's bond over time.
- Fabric softener coating the surface and trapping soil.
Basic hi-vis wash rules
1. Read the garment care label first
ANSI/ISEA high-vis garments vary by class and manufacturer. The care label is the first authority — always.
2. Wash hi-vis separately
Keep it away from towels, linting fabrics, and oily rags that redeposit soil onto the bright fabric and tape.
3. Use a clean-rinsing detergent
Skip fabric softener, chlorine bleach, and optical brighteners. For trade work it also has to cut sweat, diesel, oil, grease, and road grime — not just freshen.
4. Wash inside-out, gentle, warm (per the label)
Turning the garment inside-out protects the reflective tape. Hotter isn't cleaner — it's just harder on the tape bond.
5. Skip fabric softener and dryer sheets
Residue is the enemy of both reflective tape and fluorescent fabric.
6. Air dry when you can
Heat is what loosens reflective tape over time. Hang it; inspect the tape before any dryer heat.
How to get a graying hi-vis vest clean again
- Shake out loose dust and pre-treat the worst grime and grease spots.
- Turn it inside-out; wash warm if the label allows, with a clean-rinsing workwear detergent.
- No bleach, no softener, no optical brighteners.
- Air dry and inspect the tape and seams.
- Repeat for heavy road film — lifting ground-in soil, not bleaching it, is what restores brightness.
Ingredients to avoid on hi-vis
- Fabric softener / dryer sheets — residue dulls fabric and tape.
- Chlorine bleach — damages fibers and dyes.
- Optical brighteners — leave chemical residue; not ideal for hi-vis or FR.
- Starch — buildup and stiffness.
Not sure which of these you're getting wrong? Take the free 60-second FR Laundry Mistake Checker — Take the FR Laundry Mistake Checker →