Why can cashews bleach fabric?

[Darkmisc]

TL;DR Summary

I was soaking a red T-shirt in water and accidentally dropped a cashew nut into the bucket. The spot where the cashew rested became fainter. Can anyone explain why?

Hi everyone

I was soaking a red T-shirt in water and accidentally dropped a cashew nut into the bucket. I think the nut would have been soaking with the T-shirt for maybe three or four days. When I emptied out the water, I noticed the spot on the T-shirt where the cashew had rested became fainter. The faint spot radiated out from the nut and was maybe 10 times the size of the cashew.

Can anyone explain why?

It was soaking only in water, no detergents.

Thanks

 

[Astronuc]

Summary:: I was soaking a red T-shirt in water and accidentally dropped a cashew nut into the bucket. The spot where the cashew rested became fainter. Can anyone explain why?

It was soaking only in water, no detergents.

It would appear that there is a compound (or molecule) in cashews (an enzyme maybe), or perhaps a chemical on the cashew, that dissolves the red dye in the fabric, or at least breaks the bonds fixing the dye to the fabric/fibre.