Cleaning advice, anyone?

[tonyb]

This afternoon I happened upon a pair of vintage trousers that almost fit, which is rare for me, so I bought 'em. Cost me 18 bucks plus tax.
They are definitely fine pants, or were, anyway, and I maintain hope they will be again.
They have pleats and suspender buttons and a watch pocket. In one pocket I found an envelope with a May 1 '45 postmark. In another was a handkerchief bearing the monogram of the man whose name was on the envelope.
They have no holes and very little sign of wear. They fit me well in the waist and rump (they'll fit even better once I drop another 5 pounds) and, thanks to their generous cuffs, they'll fit in the leg, too, once they're altered. Or so the seamstress assures me.
Here's the problem: They are a lovely cream color. Or, more accurately, they're a lovely cream color in places. The bottoms of the legs are quite clean and bright, but on close examination the upper reaches look rather dirty and dull. I speculate that they were either on a hanger or folded at the knee for an awful long time and only the upper parts got exposed to dust and other fallout.
So ... I left 'em with the seamstress (who works at a drycleaners) who will extend the legs and then hand 'em off to the cleaner. My concern is that cleaning will be only partially successful. Their utility to me will, of course, depend on just how successful the cleaning is.
I'm prepared to learn I have wasted the cost of the pants and another 8 or 9 bucks for the alteration. And that's OK -- it's still a low-stakes gamble. But should they come back to me hardly improved at all, is there anything I can do myself that the cleaner wouldn't risk? You know -- naphtha or gasoline or Everclear or something? Would soaking them in a Woolite solution for days on end do any good?
And did I get ahead of myself? Should I have tried an experiment or two before I entrusted the pants to the drycleaner? Should I go retrieve them tomorrow, before they do something that will only serve to further set the soiling?
The pants are entirely wool (I think) and of a softish weave. My uneducated guess is that they are flannel. Interesting that the creases are still sharp, after all these years. (And I really doubt they've been pressed in quite some time, as I would think a person would have removed that handkerchief and folded envelope -- which is rumpled and NOT pressed, by the way -- before pressing the pants.)

 

[John in Covina]

Dry cleaning

Traditionally, dry cleaning involves the use of Solvents which are very good at disolving the the grease and oils portion of what is in a piece of clothing. However it is not as good a process for removing sugars, carbohydrates and such from food spills. This is why one is supposed to inform the cleaner of such spills so they can be wet cleaned, other wise they form brown cooked stains from the heat of the press. Woolite sounds like a fine idea, some have mentioned Oxyclean also. Occasionally an old pair of pants may have urine stains which are supposed to be the hardest to get out, however Wildroot mentioned on the QM video that by using urine to presoak those stains it unlocks the old urine stains and allows them to be washed out. Sounds kinda yechy, but the word is it works. Kinda like a diamond used to cut another diamond I guess.

 

[tonyb]

How about dust and other airborne stuff? That's my best guess as to what this soiling is. I understand that dust is made up (in large part) of human skin, which we upright, naked primates are constantly sloughing off. And the rest of it? I dunno. Whatever else is typically floating around in house interiors.
What's best for dissolving that kind of soiling?

 

[John in Covina]

Woolite or Oxyclean might be the thing. If I remember right Detergent and soap both unlock the grip of dirt on the cloth so it will lift out of the fabric. Just remember no warm or hot water and drip dry so the wool won't shrink.

 

[tonyb]

A bit of online research and a chat with the guy who actually does the drycleaning turned up some information which may save those old trousers.
A couple of online sources advise against using Oxyclean on wool. I don't know why, and I can't attest to those sources' reliability, so that bit of information is worth about what it cost you. Still, I will avoid that product until I get clear on whether it's safe.
The drycleaner guy was quite helpful and forthcoming. Yes, he said, the cleaning process may indeed make matters worse. The heat and steam that is a part of the process can set the soiling. He kinda liked the idea of soaking the pants in a solution of Woolite in cold water. If that works, he said, just bring the pants back to him for a proper pressing. And if it doesn't, it isn't likely that cold water and Woolite would do them any harm. He added (as a caveat) that Woolite and water has been known to lighten colors, but seeing how this particular garment is of such a light color anyway, it shouldn't hurt it any.
He seemed impressed when I told him of the stuff I found in the pockets, and how the trousers remain so structurally sound after all these decades. (He mentioned that some old garments disintegrate when cleaned.) I regret that I didn't take the pants directly to him, instead of his company's outlet nearer my residence.
I'm heading back over there in a few minutes, as I have another garment in need of mending and I have to make clear to the seamstress that the pants are NOT to be drycleaned after she alters them.

 

[tonyb]

Update

Got the pants back from the seamstress. They are now soaking in a Woolite and cold water solution. Got my fingers crossed.
But get this: The pants smell like mothballs. Get 'em wet and you can't help but notice it. Goes some way toward explaining why they have no bug damage.

 

[Sweet Leilani]

Hi Tony- my guess is that the discoloration is caused by exposure to light. UV light will damage natural fibers in the same way it damages your skin, i.e. it will change/fade the color (like getting a tan) and cause the fibers to become brittle. Common sources of UV are the sun and flourescent lighting. My guess is that the pants sat on a shelf, "sunny side up" and were exposed to some type of UV light.

Unfortunately, UV exposure cannot be reversed. I suspect that even after soaking and cleaning you will still see some discoloration. Your choices would be then to try to even out the existing color, through bleaching or dying- seek the assistance of your drycleaner for these.

 

[tonyb]

Thanks, Leilani. I gave those pants a good, long soak in Woolite and cold water, which helped quite a bit but didn't clean 'em entirely. And there are now two large-ish spots that are ever so slightly darker than the surrounding fabric. I think I'll try denatured alcohol (unless someone advises me against it) before handing 'em over to the drycleaner.
But yeah, I'm beginning to think they will need a redying to be fit for wearing anywhere fancier than Denny's. I just hope the pants survive all of this and remain structurally sound, as they now seem to be.

 

[Fletch]

Bump. And scrape.

I'll join in here...I just received a tan tropical wool suit that has an extensive grey dirt scrape on one knee (as if the wearer knelt down to fix a flat tire), plus a few brownish spatters on a sleeve. So any further advice anyone may give is of interest to me, too.

Some questions occur:

-Would agitating or scrubbing help or hurt with the Woolite/Oxi Clean soaking?
-What are the reasons Oxi Clean shouldn't be used on wool?
-How would you use denatured? Pre-treat and rub full strength? Or dilute? How dilute? Is drugstore isopropyl suitable?

This is kinda like those old recipe books where they pass on all the folksy inaccuracies and superstitions, no figgerin' or high falutin' home economics, just a fair glug o' this and a chunk 'o that the size of a spring onion, and them what gets lucky gets a fine meal. [huh]

 

[Grace]

I agree with Leilani, that it could be exposure to light. Sadly, it is irreversable, and many of vintage is ruined this way.

Oxyclean should not be used on wool or silk, because it works on protein based stains, and wools and silks are proteins. I also wouldn't recommend agitating or scrubbing the wool, as it will hurt the fibers.

Ifyou do handwash, I would reccomend using the bath tub, as opposed to the washing machine. Cold water and gentle detergent or soap such as Fels Naptha (Woolite contains harsh chemicals). if you do use the washing machine, do not, at any part during the cycle, let the stream of water hit the wool directly.

 

[Grace]

If you go to my site, gracesvintage.com,and click on 'Articles' I have some lovely cleaning articles copied right out of a 1927 Butterick book. It's a good read with some good advice on stain removal.

 

[tonyb]

Since I last weighed in here, I have read a couple of sources that say what Grace says about Oxiclean: Don't use it on animal-derived fiber. It attacks protein-based stains, and wool and silk (and mohair and cashmere and such) are protein-based fabrics.
My attempts at removing those spots I alluded to back on March 1 were unsuccessful. I took the pants to the helpful drycleaner guy and he said he couldn't get 'em out either. So I asked about redyeing the pants. He said it is probably worth a try, but he cautioned against shrinking the fabric.
So I did some online research and determined that the safest method would involve low temperatures only. I also learned that Kool Aid (yes, Kool Aid) quite effectively dyes protein fibers -- wool and silk, etc. Use the plain old unsweetened powdered kind and mix it with water in jars before pouring it into the dye bath, they say. Some sites say to use white vinegar and salt; others say vinegar isn't necessary because the Kool Aid is plenty acidic itself. Most of the sources recommend using heat from either a stovetop or a microwave, but that advice is for dyeing yarn. I found a couple of sources to say that Kool Aid dyeing works in cold water, which is what you want if you wish to avoid shrinking your finished fabric, but it takes at least a few hours and the dye may not set as well.
So I tried it, first with Tropical Punch flavor, 15 packages of it. I figured the vinegar couldn't hurt and it might help, so I added a cup or so. And I also added a cup of salt and let those pants soak in the solution in a stainless steel sink for about five hours. They came out pink, and the spots were all but invisible.
I've been known to wear fuchsia and turquoise and other screaming colors, but this shade of pink didn't really appeal to me. So after those pants had thoroughly dried and I gave 'em another visual inspection, I decided to try it again, this time with grape flavor.
I was pleased to see remarkably little of the pink color bleed out when I soaked the pants in clear water. (I've seen considerably more of other dyes -- Rit, for instance -- bleed out in the initial post-dyeing wash.) To the grape Kool Aid mixture I added a vial each of blue and red food coloring. The result is a very dark (almost black) purple.
The pants soaked overnight in the purple dye bath, held down with glass jars. This morning the trousers' color was a bit inconsistent, which I expected, seeing how the fabric was folded over on itself. So the pants have been moved around in the dye bath every couple of hours since and they'll soak for as long as it takes for the color to even out. Judging by what I've witnessed so far, that should happen by this evening.
The Kool Aid and food coloring does indeed dye only the animal fibers. The cotton pockets and other interior stuff has taken very little of it. I'm hoping that the heat from pressing the pants will help set the dye, but I expect that I'll lose some of it in the first couple of cleanings. But I don't expect to have to clean them very often, seeing how I don't expect to wear them very often. They are purple, after all, good for parties and whatnot, if nothing else.
Those who know what they're doing are likely getting a hoot out of this tale. What I spent on Kool Aid and food coloring probably would have bought some honest-to-goodness fabric dye. But I've had my fun, and I trust I'll end up with a nice pair of pants.

 

[Fletch]

I'm not putting a suit in Kool-Aid. lol For one thing, I don't want a cherry or grape colored suit.

Has anyone had anything commercially dyed?

 

[dhermann1]

Kool aid?

Well, if you find your trousers are attracting bees and hummingbirds, you'll know why.

 

[tonyb]

Yeah, Kool Aid, no kidding. I'm certainly no expert, but I have dyed fabric on a few occasions, and Kool Aid seems to work every bit as well as the dyes you can buy at the supermarket.
The color on those pants is now even throughout. Now let's see how well it holds.

 

[Fletch]

The gals over in the powder room are now saying anything with a lining must be dry cleaned.

Does this mean I have to trust my cleaners with getting out ancient stains that they probably don't have the time or desire to mess with? And sending them back again at $7 a throw if they don't come out?

 

[Paisley]

You're taking your chances if you wash something lined. However, I have a linen suit with a lined skirt that I wash and hang out to dry. I used to have a pair of lined wool pants that I washed, also. The pants stated on the label, though, that they were washable.