The Cleaning Clothes (vintage or other) Thread

[Cherry_Bombb]

Short Clara- You can put the cedar right in with your dress, you can even fold them up in your dress. Or, If you're worried about the cedar wood possibly causing pulls in the fabric (they shouldn't- they're usually sanded down just for that reason, but sometimes there are those few), put them in a breathe-able bag- some sort of fabric, not plastic- and then put them in with your dress. The cedar isn't going to stain your dress or anything like that.

Texas Girl- Glad to help!

 

[cookie]

Donegal Tweed Suit

Would anyone be tempted to wash it delicately?[huh] I want to brighten it up as its dates to the 60s and one side got a little sun marking on the back side of the sleeve and the rest of the suit needs to be zooshed up a bit?

 

[SpaghettiRed]

Patio/square dance dress...how to clean?

I need to clean two typical patio (also called square dance or squaw ) dresses – the kind with crinkly fabric, lots of silver metallic rick rack trim and a full circle skirt. There are no fabric tags (maybe homemade). Does anybody know if that crinkly fabric is cotton or rayon? Is it prone to shrinkage? They smell a little ripe, so I'd like to try to hand wash them. I know Oxyclean is supposed to be good for refreshing the smell, but I read on some vintage clothes care sites that Oxyclean shouldn't be used on rayon. One of the dresses is bright red, so I don't know if it's likely to bleed into the trim. Has anyone had experience cleaning one of these dresses?

 

[Mary]

I have this dress that was soaked wet by some rain. Haven't had the money to dry-clean it so it has been sitting in my closet. And I don't know if drycleaning would help. What's your opinion?

The dress is maybe some sort of silk and from the fifties.

And here's what it looks like.

 

[KittyT]

I'm pretty sure dry cleaning will not remove water stains and that the only way to get rid of them is to wet the entire dress.

 

[Smuterella]

I'm pretty sure dry cleaning will not remove water stains and that the only way to get rid of them is to wet the entire dress.

thats what i'd try.

 

[BeBopBaby]

I'm pretty sure dry cleaning will not remove water stains and that the only way to get rid of them is to wet the entire dress.

I doesn't. I had a silk skirt that got a big water stain on in and dry cleaning did nothing for it. I finally just dunked the entire skirt in water and that did the trick.

 

[KittyT]

The only thing to be careful about is that if it's not silk (a rayon blend, maybe), it (or the lining) may shrink.

 

[Mary]

Thanks for the advice. Should I simply dip it cold, varm or hot water?Or should I wash it? I have some gentle washingsoap. I know I ironed it a bit last time. Is there something to consider like you do with wool?

Thanks again!
M

 

[Kitty Foyle]

Cleaning Vintage Fabrics

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to clean and care for vintage Rayon or other vintage fabrics? I have a mint condition rayon dress from the late 30s I love to wear, but am afriad to send it to the dry cleaners for fear that they will ruin the lovely pile and silky feel of the fabric. How did the ladies clean ther fine clothing before and during the war? I'm also curious about vintage dry cleaning techniques and if they are so different from the modern techniques used today. Thanks in advance for the help and suggestions.

 

[DecoDahlia]

Hi Kitty Foyle---

Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT attempt to wash rayon on your own, as it shrinks like crazy, especially the vintage rayons, such as your dress, and I also wouldn't send it to a dry cleaners, since shrinkage, color change, and disintegration of the fabric can happen with a regular dry cleaners. Vintage rayon and water and/or modern dry cleaning chemicals just don't mix.

If there a museum in your area that has textiles, give them a call or shoot them an email to ask them which cleaners in the area they use for their textiles. I'd recommend a place I use (have been collecting/wearing vintage for 13 years), but they're in Los Angeles, and you'd have to send your dress to them, so if you can't find anyone locally, I'll post in another, follow-up post as a last resort.

In the past, women would either send out their laundry or do it at home, if it was a more durable fabric. They also sent out items to be cleaned with the "French" hand laundry method, which involved hand washing, specialized solvents, and finishing. This is basically what you'll need for your rayon dress, as, it's still used by museums for their textiles.

There's quite a difference between old dry cleaning methods and more modern "green" ones, as, dry cleaning in the 20th-21st centuries involves solvents to dissolve stains and bodily fluids i.e. perspiration. These solvents are petroleum based, which is why they're so harsh on fabrics. "Green" dry cleaning solvents aren't petroleum derived, but they still might not be gentle enough for vintage fabrics and thread, as well as the buttons and trims on vintage clothes. When dry cleaning was first developed in the 18th century, it was literally, fine powder that was worked into the garment to absorb stains and perspiration, which often involved taking the garment apart at the seams and re-sewing it.

As for caring for/storing your vintage, to quote Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest," "No wire hangers ever!!!!," as, they'll pop through the shoulder seams of your vintage, and cause them to become mis-shapened. If you want to hang something, use padded hangers, but try not to cram everything into your closet, give the garments breathing room, especially velvet items, so that the nap doesn't get crushed. Never use the plastic garment bags you get from the dry cleaners to store things in, as they're also made with petroleum based chemicals which "off-gas" in confined spaces, and can discolor your garments. If you store things in garment bags, use the cloth sort to protect them.

The best way to preserve vintage garments is using archival, acid free boxes, with acid free tissue paper; this is how museums do it. Below is a link to where you can buy archival boxes and tissue.

http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com/item.action?itemGroupId=87


Hope this helps!

 

[SuperKawaiiMama]

Can I suggest that you put your question to the Vintage Fashion Guild as well. Those ladies have such a wealth of knowledge in this area that they are sure to have some handy hints for you.

 

[KittyT]

There is already a huge thread here on cleaning vintage clothing - http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=16552

Note that some ladies have had no problems hand washing rayon and steaming it back into shape.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

All Merged!

KittyT,

thanks for finding the other thread...I was a bit slow this morning in doing it, though I knew there -was- a thread somewhere...so thanks!

 

[KittyT]

thanks for finding the other thread...I was a bit slow this morning in doing it, though I knew there -was- a thread somewhere...so thanks!

You're welcome, Miss Neecerie. I like having everything in one place

 

[LawnFlamingo]

I hand-wash vintage rayon quite often and have never had a problem. I would never iron it though... I always steam rayon garments after air-drying.

Also, I only use really diluted Woolite on my rayon garments... not sure if that makes a difference, but it works for me and I'd rather not experiment detergent-wise with my vintage things!

 

[dakotanorth]

Clarify- Biz??

When people are talking about Biz, are they referring to Biz Double-Action with "Staining Fighting Enzymes" or plain ol' Biz? I've got a handful of shirts that really need some magic done on them.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Leather Handbag

My latest find, a tooled leather Mexican handbag, has that mildew smell. It's not bad, it's just "basement" smell on the interior. Any tips for getting it out? Preferably DIY, stuff lying around the house that can be used tips?

 

[MissJeanavive]

For the Love of Gloves

Hello Lovely Ladies,

I have a lovely pair of White Gloves with wonderful eyelet details and the tell tell sign of age with some discoloration. From prior a thread I see that Oxy and Borax can do the trick with stains. I tried some Oxy, but still have some spots. I am going to try one more soak to see if it does the trick with out destroying the fabric.

If not, has anyone tried to sew details from gloves onto a better pair or perhaps combine with something off the shelf? I LOVE the eyelets but will be annoyed with the stains if I can't wish them away.

Cheers,

 

[Kassia]

Hello Lovely Ladies,

I have a lovely pair of White Gloves with wonderful eyelet details and the tell tell sign of age with some discoloration. From prior a thread I see that Oxy and Borax can do the trick with stains. I tried some Oxy, but still have some spots. I am going to try one more soak to see if it does the trick with out destroying the fabric.

If not, has anyone tried to sew details from gloves onto a better pair or perhaps combine with something off the shelf? I LOVE the eyelets but will be annoyed with the stains if I can't wish them away.

Cheers,

I am assuming they are white?
Try a little bit of lemon juice and leave them out in the sun...