why does bleach make white spots on jeans, chemistry?

Question

why does bleach make white spots on jeans, chemistry?

Answer 1

Dyes are simply chemicals that when hit with light absorb some of the light and reflect back a particular light that can be picked up by our eyes as a color (for jeans it is blue).



Bleach doesn't actually leave white spots, but alters the dye chemical in a way that no longer reflects a light that can be seen by the human eye.

Answer 2

Bleach reacts with the dye chemicals in clothing and causes the color to disappear and leaves the white spots of the original clothing material underneath.