Can one remove the impurity of Tzara’at on a garment by dying it?

Question

The Mishnah in Negaim 11:3 says that colored garments cannot become impure from signs of Tzara’at.

The question is: if a plain garment already has signs of Tzara’at on it, if one dyed it afterwards, does the Tzara’at lose its status?

Answer 1

This halacha is discussed later on in the perek - Negaim 11:12 according to the interpretation of the Ra”v, Tiferes Yisroel and others:

בֶּגֶד הַמֻּסְגָּר שֶׁנִּתְעָרֵב בַּאֲחֵרִים, כֻּלָּן טְהוֹרִים. קְצָצוֹ וַעֲשָׂאוֹ מוֹכִין, טָהוֹר, וּמֻתָּר בַּהֲנָיָתוֹ. וְהַמֻּחְלָט שֶׁנִּתְעָרֵב בַּאֲחֵרִים, כֻּלָּם טְמֵאִין. קְצָצוֹ וַעֲשָׂאוֹ מוֹכִין, טָמֵא, וְאָסוּר בַּהֲנָיָתוֹ

If a garment that had been isolated was mixed up with others, all are clean. If it was cut up and made into shreds, it is clean, and benefit may be derived from it. But if a garment that had been certified unclean was mixed up with others, all are unclean. If it was cut up and made into shreds it also remains unclean and it is forbidden to have any benefit from it

The commentaries (mentioned above) explain that the way it got mixed in was by dying the nega so it wasn’t noticeable.

The Rambam paskens this way as well in Tumas Tzaras 13:11

בֶּגֶד מֻסְגָּר שֶׁצְּבָעוֹ אוֹ מְכָרוֹ לְעַכּוּ''ם טָהוֹר. וְכֵן אִם נִתְעָרֵב בַּאֲחֵרִים כֻּלָּן טְהוֹרִים. קְצָצוֹ וְעָשָׂהוּ מוֹכִין פָּחוֹת מִשָּׁלֹשׁ עַל שָׁלֹשׁ טָהוֹר וּמֻתָּר בַּהֲנָיָתוֹ. הָיְתָה בָּהֶן אַחַת שָׁלֹשׁ עַל שָׁלֹשׁ וְנִרְאָה בָּהּ נֶגַע הִיא לְבַדָּהּ טְמֵאָה:

When a garment that was isolated because of a blemish was dyed or sold to a gentile, it is pure. Similarly, if it became mixed with others, they are all deemed pure. If the owner cut it up and made it into small strands, each one less than three fingerbreadths by three fingerbreadths, it is pure and it is permitted to benefit from it. If one of the strands was three fingerbreadths by three fingerbreadths and the blemish was discovered on it, it alone is impure.

Based on the explanation of the commentaries, it becomes clear that it doesn’t become tahor inherently, rather since it can’t be noticed anymore, it can’t become tameh. So if it was only “musgar” It can’t become “muchlat” and therefore, it will be tahor. However if it’s already muchlat, then it will remain tameh even if it’s not noticeable, since doing it doesn’t make it tahor but just makes it impossible to determine it as tameh in the future.