Necktie Stain Removal

[funneman]

I may have stumbled onto something here.

One of my favorite silk ties has had a nasty salad dressing stain on it for sometime. It's about an inch long and half an inch wide. (I must be a loose eater!).

Anyway, the other day I applied mild dish soap directly to the stain, rubbed it in and let the whole tie soak overnight. I then rinsed and gently squeezed a little of the excess water out of the fabic and then hung the tie up in the shower to dry.

To my amazement, the stain is completely gone.

I know there has been some discussion about stains on vintage ties, so I wanted to pass this along.

 

[FedoraGent]

That does indeed work, however what ends of happening is the colors sometimes run. What brand dw soap are you using?

Thanks,

Jon

I may have stumbled onto something here.

One of my favorite silk ties has had a nasty salad dressing stain on it for sometime. It's about an inch long and half an inch wide. (I must be a loose eater!).

Anyway, the other day I applied mild dish soap directly to the stain, rubbed it in and let the whole tie soak overnight. I then rinsed and gently squeezed a little of the excess water out of the fabic and then hung the tie up in the shower to dry.

To my amazement, the stain is completely gone.

I know there has been some discussion about stains on vintage ties, so I wanted to pass this along.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Howzabout acetate/rayon ties? Can they be soaked over night in something like Oxiclean without melting or something? [huh]

 

[Undertow]

Wait, so let me get this straight, you spot cleaned with mild dish soap AND immersed the tie overnight?

 

[FedoraGent]

Deja vu....alas the search function is a rather nifty feature.

Floungers,

I'm either experiencing pon farr....um no...I'm experiencing deja vu. We had a couple of threads on this in my period on the lounge: (Scroll to the bottom too, there is info.)

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=19935&highlight=cleaning+tie

and

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=14905&highlight=cleaning+tie

and

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=14875&highlight=cleaning+tie

and

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=15513&highlight=cleaning+tie

and

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=14906&highlight=cleaning+tie

and

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=5680&highlight=cleaning+tie

and

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=9919&highlight=cleaning+tie

and

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=9919&highlight=cleaning+tie

-----

Folks, you get the picture. This one has been bantered around the Lounge since the beginning of time. Long and short, the reader's digest condensed version states that different fabrics/materials call for different cleaning methods. The important part is to understand that different fabrics are more delicate then others. One may react differently than another and age is also a factor as well. Remember a couple of things:

0. Search the Lounge for older posts, often we're not the first ones to think of the question.

1. Silk, especially older silk will shatter and when it does...it isn't a very pretty sight. Treat silk like you would treat your own baby, as delicate as possible.

2. Colors run faster than balloons in a prevailing wind. If your tie is hand painted, or it's an older vintage dye process it will either run and/or bleed or horribly it could ruin the color and make it lighter.

3. Vintage ties in particular suffer through misuse and the ravages of time. Put the two together and it could ruin a one of a kind tie possibly forever. When cleaning, don't rub hard...don't pull the fabric or spread the threads with your hands. Dab if possible.

4. You should be careful with any cleaning agent. Chemicals can be harsh and can ruin not only the tie but the fabric. Take time to learn what agents work best with the fabric you're working with and also importantly what temperature...whether hot or cold you're going to be using. Remember, even though before the '30s folks used gasoline and benzine as cleaning agents doesn't necessarily mean that it would be good for your ties. Also take into consideration that things like OxyClean or Shout or chemicals like that might have compounds that might adversely effect the tie. READ THE LABELS on the cleaning agents carefully.

5. Soaps and detergents are VERY useful but be aware that they also have chemical compounds in them. For instance, Woolite is brilliant in some situations but it does make silk, rayon, wool and acetate SOFT and in some situations old fabric can start to come apart. Magneto has often suggested (with some success might I add) that unscented Ivory soap works best on spots. OxyClean is great but make sure you test with a like fabric.

Just some helpful tid bits that I hope will assist you in your cleaning quest. Go forth and be clean.

FG.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Thanks for tie-ing that all together, FG.