Eighteen months ago my daughter started a new school and we purchased her new burgundy uniform. One of my friends warned me that she had washed the burgundy and white rugby shirt prior to her son starting school and it had run terribly turning the white collar as well as the rest of her wash load pink. She recommended that I use Dylon colour catcher when I washed mine to avoid the same misfortune.

I'd heard of this before but never thought that it would be worth buying - I couldn't see how it could work effectively, but not wanting to have to hand wash this rugby shirt at frequent intervals I decided to follow her advice, and I've not looked back since. It really has been a revolutionary product for me and one of the most useful things that I have in my kitchen.

Colour catcher is designed to do as it says in the title; catch the colour that runs from non colour fast garments and prevent them from staining other materials, thus allowing mixed washing loads. The colour catchers are strips of a thick strong paper type material measuring 26cm x 11cm. There doesn't seem to be anything special about them at all, but they do have a very slight scent of washing powder to them. I've looked on the packaging to try to see if I can work what it is that makes these simple looking pieces of paper so effective, but there is no list of ingredients, so I have no idea what the magic formula is, other than it saying that they act like magnets. All I know is that they really do work.

Dylon is a brand name that I have been familiar with for years as a manufacturer of stain removal products and material dyes. It sells the colour catcher sheets in a small bright red box with a washing machine door on the front with multi colour clothes in and a rainbow flowing from it; very eye catching and appropriate for the purpose of the goods. Lots of information is given about how to use the product and what results to expect. It does suggest that effectiveness cannot be guaranteed where lots of dye runs from an item.

Initially I only brought the smallest box which contained 12 sheets but I now buy a box of 40 sheets and look out for it being on special offer. My current one says it is a value pack. I can't remember what I paid, but they are readily available in most supermarkets. In Asda and Tesco a pack of 24 is currently selling for £2.89. That's 12p per sheet.

As suggested in the instructions I placed the paper sheets at the back of my washing machine drum and then placed my clothes in on top and ran my 30 degree cycle as normal with my normal detergent and fabric softener. As I knew that the rugby shirt would definitely run I used 3 sheets as recommended for items that are most likely to bleed. I was amazed when I took the laundry out of the machine to find that the sheets were quite a deep pink colour but everything else was its normal sharp colour and even the rugby shirt had a pristine white collar still.

I have since used the colour catch sheets on numerous occasions. If I have new jeans or a brightly coloured top where I think there is any risk of colour bleeding I will use the 3 sheets the first time I wash as a precautionary measure. I am then able to make a judgement about the need for further use of the sheets based on the amount of dye that I notice has been collected on the sheets. I will often then reduce to one or two sheets or I may be surprised and realise that something that I thought would run hasn't at all so don't need to worry, but it is good to have had the peace of mind on the first wash. As it says on the packaging 'the proof is in the sheet'

I rarely do a complete a mixed wash as I can normally generate a full dark or light load, but this has been invaluable if an item has a mixture of dark and light colours as I know that with the addition of 1 sheet I can add it to either a light or dark load without risking ruining the garment. I have been able to buy some clothes that I would previously have avoided and the best thing is that I no longer feel the need to hand wash 'at risk' items. I have not experienced a single failure since I've been using these, so they feel like excellent value for money and something that I will always keep a supply of. Without doubt they are a five star product; I wish I knew how they worked.