Cleaning ties?

[onlyoneintown]

Gentlemen,

For the good of the cause, I shall go ahead and do that. I will also clean them and have HappyFilmLuvGuy film it.

You think I'm kidding, I most certainly am not.

FG.

However, this will have to be AFTER Christmas.

Maybe I can bring my ties over to your house that day too John?

 

[John in Covina]

Wrong Section!

Maybe I can bring my ties over to your house that day too John?

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Wow! Maybe we can have a Tie Cleaning Party! Be sure to post that in the events section!

 

[FedoraGent]

Experiment...

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Wow! Maybe we can have a Tie Cleaning Party! Be sure to post that in the events section!

Folks,

This is an experiment. I'm going to go and buy the cheapest vintage ties I can find at Ozzie Dots, and then perform the experiment. Part of that experiment will be how the fabric holds up a day, a week, a month after the cleaning to see if there is any shattering or any other stresses on the fabric. And then, I'll have to report.

As far as other hand cleaning, yeah we can have a bunch of people over and clean ties, block hats and such.

FG.

 

[Tomasso]

Them's some pretty ties, Johnnysan!

Wonderful

 

[Starius]

Awhile back I picked up a old tie at Good Will for $1.30. Nice shape overall, but it does have a couple stains on it. I've been looking around at various sources for tie cleaning methods but I thought I'd check with folks here; is a bit of woolite in water still the best stain removal method for a tie cleaning?

I guess for my investment, I'm not out much financially if I ruin the tie. I rather like it though, and I'm certainly not comfortable wearing out anywhere until I get it cleaned up a bit.

 

[donCarlos]

I guess it is. The ties I posted recently to the tie topic were all cleaned (and that was some cleaning) in tepid water only with soap in it. It worked quite well.

 

[Feraud]

Awhile back I picked up a old tie at Good Will for $1.30. Nice shape overall, but it does have a couple stains on it. I've been looking around at various sources for tie cleaning methods but I thought I'd check with folks here; is a bit of woolite in water still the best stain removal method for a tie cleaning?

I guess for my investment, I'm not out much financially if I ruin the tie. I rather like it though, and I'm certainly not comfortable wearing out anywhere until I get it cleaned up a bit.

Earlier in this thread I noted good results with Oxyclean.

 

[funneman]

Tie Cleaning

I've recently been on a tie buying binge at thrift stores.

I've read a lot about the colors in vintage silk ties running when immersed, but not having more than three dollars into a tie makes it easier to take a chance.

Here's what I've been doing with great results:

Clean out a bathroom or other sink, fill with cold water, add a healthy drop of dish detergent on the offending spot, gently rub it in and turn the tie upside down in the sink. Leave to soak overnight. I am sometimes amazed at the amount of crude that settles in the bottom of the sink.

Next day, remove the tie and hang to dry in the shower on a towel rack. Do not wring it out!

Then throw a t-shirt over the tie and iron with a med-hot iron.

So far, it's worked everytime.

 

[Starius]

The other day, I was in the super market looking for Woolite and Oxyclean.... and in between two said products I found something called "Delicare."

It caught my eye for a number of reasons. One of which was it was only $1.99.
Also, it states it is ideal for the hand washing of fine garments, no shrinking, stretching, or fading, and safe for silk, wool, cashmere, fleece, cotton, linen, polyester, nylon, acrylic, spandex, rayon, and other synthetics. So if it works for frilly bloomers, it should work for a tie, right?

The tie before shots:

I don't know how well you'll tell from these shots, but there are a couple of stains... though, they sorta blend in with the natural color gradient of the tie. Some of the color wasn't very uniform though, indicating to me that there is some amount of soiling on some parts of the tie.

I followed the hand wash instructions of 2 capfuls of the Delicare into a bathroom sink of cold water, and squeezed the soapy water through the tie a bit and let it sit for a hour or so. I hang dried the tie, and while cleaner, some of the staining remained.

So I washed it again the same way a day later, and rubbed some of the Delicare into the stains more vigorously with my fingers. I should have done this the first time, perhaps with a nail brush. This time, the old stains are pretty much gone and overall the color of the tie is much more uniform. It certainly smells nicer too.

Clean Tie Shots:

Overall, I'd say it worked pretty well, its probably more useful for more recent stains or discoloration than those that have aged, but I'm happy with the results here. Also, it specifically says its fine on silk... which might be good on silk ties in particular.

 

[DerMann]

There was this brown tie that used to be my grandfather's, and it has a really nice pattern on it.

Only thing was that it was stained fairly thoroughly with splotches of some sort of liquid (possibly sweat).

I need the tie for tomorrow (birthday party) and didn't have any of the cleaning products listed on this thread.

Filled the sink up with tepid water, soaked the tie for a few minutes, rubbed on some Ivory soap on the troubled spots (most of the tie), soaked the tie in the soapy water, drained the water, put the tie under some more tepid water, filled the sink again, let it soak for another five minutes, and then hung it out to dry.

It'll need some pressing, but it got the job done.

 

[Feraud]

Btw, has anyone tried to clean a painted tie?

I recently picked up a few and a couple could use a cleaning.

 

[Feraud]

Has no one has ever cleaned a painted tie?
I really don't want to be the guinea pig on this...

 

[John in Covina]

Has no one has ever cleaned a painted tie?
I really don't want to be the guinea pig on this...

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Looks like you'll have to be the guinea pig on this one.

First off, it seems to me the paint should not be water disolving as you'd ruin it if it rained or you spilled on it, so chances are if you soak it with something MILD and rinsed it carefully you'll probably not wipe out the painted portions.

With maybe + probably as the watchwords here, Good Luck!

 

[Feraud]

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Looks like you'll have to be the guinea pig on this one.

I thought this might be the case..

Maybe this evening I will do a "spot test" on a small area of the tie to judge the effects of Oxyclean.
Not sure if you can judge by the picture but this tie has a stain on the botton and soiling along the right side.

I did the Oxyclean method last night and the tie came through beautifully. The stains are completely gone and the overall appearance is brighter.
Not a bad deal for two bucks.

 

[Feraud]

Here is the tie shown above after cleaning.

 

[John in Covina]

That is super!

 

[JimInSoCalif]

None of my ties are as old as the ones shown here. I have a few that are 40 years or a tad older that I bought new. I have never had any problem with the cleaning of silk ties, but the first ones that I had cleaned long ago, I gave to the GW as soon as I got them back.

The problem, which I am surprised I have not seen mentioned here, was in the pressing - they looked like they had been run over by a steam roller and were just two dimensional. My cleaners now know how to press a tie and they do a pretty good job although the tie is never quite as nice as it was before I spilled my soup on them and had them cleaned and pressed. All of which makes a good argument for wearing bow ties.

I assume that you folks who clean your own ties are handy enough with an iron not to flatten them after cleaning - ironing is a skill that I have never developed.

Cheers, Jim.

 

[Feraud]

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Looks like you'll have to be the guinea pig on this one.

First off, it seems to me the paint should not be water disolving as you'd ruin it if it rained or you spilled on it, so chances are if you soak it with something MILD and rinsed it carefully you'll probably not wipe out the painted portions.

With maybe + probably as the watchwords here, Good Luck!

O.k. John, I'll play the sucker on this one.
I just put a painted in the solution. With luck I will update the thread with positive results.

 

[Widebrim]

O.k. John, I'll play the sucker on this one.
I just put a painted in the solution. With luck I will update the thread with positive results.

I expect that it will come out fine. Usually, I send mine to an Armenian dry cleaner over in Glendale (she loves my tie collection), and they come out fine for $2 a pop. Yet I think I'll start cleaning the non-silks on my own to save some money, likely with Woolite, Oxyclean, or that Delicare that Starius mentioned.

 

[Feraud]

I am happy to report the vintage painted tie I put through the Oxyclean treatment came out just fine.