New York ? When two men laundered the money they nabbed in a bank robbery, authorities said, they took the literal approach.

Anthony Digiosaffatte and Paul Villanueva stuck some of the cash in a washing machine to cleanse it of red dye from a special pack that exploded during the heist, authorities said.

The men stole $65,000 at gunpoint from a bank in Queens on Tuesday, according to criminal complaints. Digiosaffatte told the tellers, “No dye packs,” the complaints said, referring to packs of dye banks use to foil robbers by making stolen money unusable.

No such luck.

Authorities said that as the men were making off with the loot, a pack exploded, spraying much of the cash with red dye. The pair dropped about $30,000 on the sidewalk outside the bank, officials said, while more was left behind in the getaway car.

Digiosaffatte, 51, and Villanueva, 37, then checked in to a motel, where authorities said they stuck the money in mesh laundry bags. Authorities arrested the two on Thursday. They were ordered held without bail at their arraignment on Friday.