The Cleaning Clothes (vintage or other) Thread

[swinggal]

Anyone know where I can buy sweat pads from? Some of my vintage dresses came with them but they are so useful and i want more as you can wear the dresses over and over without having to clean so often. Even for modern clothes like jackets, that need drycleaning all the time - they would be great.

Any ideas?

 

[KittyT]

Anyone know where I can buy sweat pads from?

I'm not sure about where you are, but here in the US, most fabric stores have them.

If you can't find them locally at fabric stores, you can definitely get them at http://www.kleinertsshields.com/.

 

[swinggal]

Thanks KittyT. I haven't seen them at any of the local stores here. I will order some online. Should have bought some when I was in the US in May...doh!

 

[swinggal]

Hmmm...seems there are disposable ones here. I might get some of those and cloth ones for re-use.

 

[KittyT]

Hmmm...seems there are disposable ones here. I might get some of those and cloth ones for re-use.

Yeah, the cloth ones are definitely a better value. Get the pin-in ones instead of the sew-in ones.

 

[MaryMary]

I tried both the washable ones and the disposable, and I have to say that the disposables didn't work all that well for me - they were so thin that on a hot day I just sweat right through them!

The ones that are thicker have always worked best for me.

 

[Drappa]

I have just done a search and couldn't find anything, so excuse me if this is a repeat question.
I just bought a beautiful 30's floral dress that was sold to me as a nylon dress and certainly feels like it, the stretchy kind. It also has a yellow background, which could be on purpose, but looks like it was hung out in the sun and may have yellowed, which leads me to believe it is nylon.
Am I safe to handwash it or does it bleed or shrink?
And if not, is it too delicate for dry-cleaning? I have nylon petticoats I handwash, but they are modern nylon and I have never had a vintage nylon dress. TIA!

 

[Gracie Lee]

If you are 100% sure that it's nylon (you can do a burn test on a scrap you snip out of the selvedge), go ahead and wash it like normal or hand wash if you feel it's too delicate. However, if there's even the slightest chance that it's acetate, which was developed in the 20s and marketed in the 30s as faux silk, water will ruin it, and you should take it to a reputable dry cleaner. I've had friends who've taken acetate to a dry cleaner and it was still ruined b/c there was too much water in their mix. Be forewarned that, if the yellowing is due to age, oxidation (common with acetate materials), or UV exposure, no amount of washing will remove it, though. Best of luck!

 

[Drappa]

If you are 100% sure that it's nylon (you can do a burn test on a scrap you snip out of the selvedge), go ahead and wash it like normal or hand wash if you feel it's too delicate. However, if there's even the slightest chance that it's acetate, which was developed in the 20s and marketed in the 30s as faux silk, water will ruin it, and you should take it to a reputable dry cleaner. I've had friends who've taken acetate to a dry cleaner and it was still ruined b/c there was too much water in their mix. Be forewarned that, if the yellowing is due to age, oxidation (common with acetate materials), or UV exposure, no amount of washing will remove it, though. Best of luck!

Thank you! I don't mind the yellowing, I actually like it. It's a floral print and the background looks a bit creamy-yellowish but it goes well with the print.
Stupid question, but what is the burn test, and how do I know it is nylon form doing the test?

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

Now I may be wrong but I don't think nylon was used for clothing in the 30s. It was only invented in the mid-30s and the fibres were used for stockings in the very late 30s/1940ish. So if it's definitely a 30s dress, I'd say it's quite likely it isn't nylon... [huh]

 

[swinggal]

I tried both the washable ones and the disposable, and I have to say that the disposables didn't work all that well for me - they were so thin that on a hot day I just sweat right through them!

The ones that are thicker have always worked best for me.

Thicker meaning the cloth ones?

 

[KittyT]

Thicker meaning the cloth ones?

The thin ones are a plastic-y backing with a sort of felted material on one side. The cloth ones are 2 layers of heavy cotton (that feels like a light twill) with plastic inside.

I have tried making my own using a couple layers of fabric, but the plastic is really, really important. I sweated right through the ones I made!

 

[Drappa]

Now I may be wrong but I don't think nylon was used for clothing in the 30s. It was only invented in the mid-30s and the fibres were used for stockings in the very late 30s/1940ish. So if it's definitely a 30s dress, I'd say it's quite likely it isn't nylon... [huh]

To be honest I was wondering that and emailed the sellerbefore I bought it. She said it was definitely 30's and it looks older than 60's or 70's, but could be 40's I guess. I'm not too good at dating yet though. The print definitely looks 30's.
I emailed her today about cleaning it and she said hand or machine wash on delicate and seemed pretty confident about it.
Ugh, I think I'll stick to cotton from now on.

 

[swinggal]

Don't machine it. I never machine wash any of my vintage garments...I always handwash. Post a pic so we can have a look and tell you it's age.

 

[swinggal]

The thin ones are a plastic-y backing with a sort of felted material on one side. The cloth ones are 2 layers of heavy cotton (that feels like a light twill) with plastic inside.

I have tried making my own using a couple layers of fabric, but the plastic is really, really important. I sweated right through the ones I made!

Thanks KittyT. I will get the thicker washable fabric ones and few of the extra thick disposables too. Three of my 40s dresses still have original cloth sweatpads sewn into them. They all feel so thin and wouldn't have worked very well I don't think...haha. One set look like they'd never been used.

 

[Drappa]

Don't machine it. I never machine wash any of my vintage garments...I always handwash. Post a pic so we can have a look and tell you it's age.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/46184053/vintage-1930s-bramble-clatter-dress

I haven't taken any pics yet, but this was the listing.

 

[Gracie Lee]

Thank you! I don't mind the yellowing, I actually like it. It's a floral print and the background looks a bit creamy-yellowish but it goes well with the print.
Stupid question, but what is the burn test, and how do I know it is nylon form doing the test?

I have to be honest, I am no expert on burn tests. I work exclusively with natural fibers, as a result of living in Florida and doing a lot of Victorian repros, and those aren't very hard to tell apart. However, I've found very comprehensive directions on how to do it and what to look for by Googling "fabric burn test." You'll literally be lighting a scrap on fire: watching whether it burns, melts, or smolders, looking at the residue and noting the smell. Perhaps other ladies here have more experience with it?

Edited to add: Ooooh, I just pulled up the pics you posted! It's beautiful!

 

[Miss Sis]

Ah, I'd say it's a rayon jersey - basically a rayon knit. It will survive a tepid handwash. I've got a dress made of the same sort of stuff and it's fine. I do suspect that it has yellowed a bit with age and that likely won't come out, but it could just be surface dinge.

Oh, and I'd say it was more likely 40s than 30s.

 

[Drappa]

Thanks ladies! I recently shrunk a rayon crepe dress by handwashing in cold, because I'd washed others before that were fine, so am a bit nervous. But I'll google the burn test and see what happens. Learning lots on here every day

 

[MaryMary]

Thicker meaning the cloth ones?

Yeah because the disposibles are always very thin and I find a out-sweat them....ew...

Oh...and to add...in a pinch, I have actually used maxi pads....LOL don't judge me, they actually work! Well, I mean the good name-brand ones that have a better adhesive...I stuck them in there and no one knew the wiser! Of course...I wouldn't recommend it unless it really is in a pinch. I kept thinking the whole night about what I would say if maxi pads began spontaneously dropping out of the bottom of my dress!