The Cleaning Clothes (vintage or other) Thread

[ShortClara]

Has anyone come across the mysterious rust-coloured vintage dust before?! I've got a vintage nylon jacket/top with a real fur collar and it is emitting said strange dust and I can't tell where the dust is coming from - the fabric or the fur. This has happened to me before with something vintage but i can't remember which garment. Has anybody else had this experience? Maybe I should just take it to the dry cleaners and see what they say.

On the ebay vintage board they call it devil's dust. Nothing to be done I'm afraid - you have to toss it. I have tossed a pair of boots I didn't notice it on. I just abandon buying anything with it on there. I really don't think it's good for you to be in contact with/ breathe. Now that's just what I learned from the folks over there, but they know their stuff on the whole.

 

[ShortClara]

Hi all,

I just acquired a lovely little load and amongst them is an Alix of Miami painted skirt, 50s. It's got some browning on the cream, might be rust (the skirt is painted in colors on cream). Anyone washed this kind of painted skirt with luck? It's cotton. I also recently got the rit anti-rust stuff. Has anyone ever tried that?

Thanks!

I'm bumping my own question for opinions. Anyone? Thx!

PS - I have read that washing wool in hot or cold will shock the fibers, as it were. I only wash wool in room-temp water and it comes out beautifully. I do the same with cashmere.

 

[KittyT]

Here's my dilemma- I find stuff that tends to have "Dirt" down the edge that was exposed to open air, yet, the sun and time have "Baked" this dirt in. It's like a dirt tanline?? Anyways, has anyone had bonafide luck removing this?

I would soak the garment all day or overnight and then use a brush to try to scrub it out. Lye soap is a good, strong cleaner that is gentle on garments. I can't guarantee this will work, but I have been able to get years worth of grease and hair pomade out of the collars of 50s rock n roll shirts using this method.

 

[MissHannah]

On the ebay vintage board they call it devil's dust. Nothing to be done I'm afraid - you have to toss it. I have tossed a pair of boots I didn't notice it on. I just abandon buying anything with it on there. I really don't think it's good for you to be in contact with/ breathe. Now that's just what I learned from the folks over there, but they know their stuff on the whole.

If it IS bits of dead animal rotting and turning to dust then I should efinitely throw it out... YUCK! I was a bit squeamish about the fur anyway but now... yeeeshk!

 

[Warbaby]

Apologies for this male intrusion into the lounge's feminine realm, but I've been following this thread (of interest, as well, to men who clean/wash their vintage things) and I've noticed that many of you use something called BIZ. I haven't been able to find it here in the grocery stores. What is it and is there an equivalent product available in Canada?

 

[Lady Day]

Clara of the Shortness:
Painted skirts should stand up to washing, but depending on how old it is/ what type of paints used, it might crack if the give of the fabric is stressed. Id spot clean it first (scrub a small area real good) and see if it holds up.

Warbaby:
As for what Biz is, I think this sums it up

LD

 

[dandelion-vint]

I wash about 80% of the vintage that I sell. The exception is older clothing that cannot get wet of course. I've gotten pretty brave over the years and you learn how to deal with certain fabrics and can usually tell if a stain is going to come out or not by just looking at it.
Call your local dry cleaners to see if they handle vintage clothing.

Biz - I love it! I use the powder form to soak items and make a paste to spot treat tough stains. I also use it as a regular detergent in the washing machine. I prefer it over oxyclean which can damage fabrics.

Dryel - if you are only using it for yourself then I would say that it is fine. But if you are cleaning items to sell, I wouldn't recommend it because it can cause skin and allegry problems to some people. The same with any Fabreeze type sprays. Those usually only mask smells, but it they work for you, fine. But for people like me, they smell gives me a headache and makes me itch.

Eucalon - is a wool wash that is great for soaking, softening and conditioning wools. Yarn shops and organic-type baby store sell it.

I hand wash most rayons and silks. The exception would be crepes which are the types that shrink up like crazy when they get wet.

Devil dust is the reddish brown dust that usually comes from the lining/backing of fabrics that are starting to break down. Once they start to break down there is no stopping them from continuing to break down. So even if you get all the dust out now, more will just build up again. No matter how fabulous the item, if I find devil dust on it, it goes in the trash because it is hopeless.

 

[ShortClara]

Clara of the Shortness:
Painted skirts should stand up to washing, but depending on how old it is/ what type of paints used, it might crack if the give of the fabric is stressed. Id spot clean it first (scrub a small area real good) and see if it holds up.

Lady of the Happy [Sun]Day:
Thank you! I will try it out, proceeding slowly

 

[Idledame]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but since so many ads for fabric and clothes of the 30's and 40's say "use Lux soap flakes", I did a search and came up with this company that is now selling in the US. They've been making pure soap flakes for 100 years. You can buy it online. http://www.soap-flakes.com/history.html

 

[NicolettaRose]

Soften up a starched fabric from the 1930's

I have an 1930's gown that I got today, its an evening/garden party gown made out of what appears to be a sheer cotton lawn, the problem with it is the fabric is a little stiff and scratchy, what is the best way to wash this gown so that I can soft up the starched fabric? Maybe a wash in cold water by hand?

 

[KittyT]

Yes, I would try handwashing it. Maybe add fabric softener to the rinse.

 

[NicolettaRose]

Thanks.

 

[~*Red*~]

Ecological Dry Cleaners???

Has anyone used one of these to clean their vintage garments as opposed to going to the regular dry cleaners? And if you were to hand wash Rayon, what is the best way? I've had it shrink before.. but I think I washed it in warm water.

Thanks!!

 

[Smuterella]

I'm really worried about a recent purchase, its a dress and jacket that look like they are made from shot silk. unfortunately all the seams have given way - I have reinforced them all and it seems to be holding together but I'm concerned I'll wash it and it will just disintegrate.

Any recommendations?

 

[~*Red*~]

I have a friend that shrunk some rayon crepe pants pretty bad, I'm talking SHRINKAGE. And she took them to the dry cleaners, and guess what? They came back normal size!!! [huh]

 

[Miss 1929]

Hard to find even here!

Apologies for this male intrusion into the lounge's feminine realm, but I've been following this thread (of interest, as well, to men who clean/wash their vintage things) and I've noticed that many of you use something called BIZ. I haven't been able to find it here in the grocery stores. What is it and is there an equivalent product available in Canada?

I have been finding it at Safeway, though. But not always! Do you have Safeways up there? Who knows, maybe it's considered a deadly poison in Canada...
It's basically a non-chlorine bleach powder and detergent in one. Oxyclean is very similar. I am doing a comparison of them to see which I like better.
I have used Biz for years, it works great for white clothes.

 

[pamina]

corsett

hello everybody =)

i love to look for old things on attics. so today i found a really old corsett. i googled it and i cam to the decision that it is from 1900-1910.
BUT: it is really old and you can imagine how it looks like ... 100 years ago it was white and now it is ... yellow ... with stains on it ... but the material isn't holey ... so how can i .... "wash" ... it? or at least get the stains out of the material ?

 

[KittyT]

Check out the thread on "keeping whites white" in the Golden Era forum.

One of the recommendations there is OxyClean.

 

[pamina]

thank you ^^

 

[KittyT]

However I wouldn't wash it in hot water, since it's probably delicate. I'd soak it in OxyClean overnight using warm water.