Vinegar?

[tonyb]

Ladies and gentlemen (but likelier the ladies, I suspect),

I get the gist of pressing trousers. Problem is, I rarely do such a job of it to rival what I get at the cleaners. I very rarely produce a crease that stays sharp for more than a few hours of wear.

I refuse to believe I can't, though, even without a pants press. I know the difference between ironing and pressing, and I appreciate what a press cloth can do (or, perhaps more accurately, what it prevents me from doing).

I saw an online video which says that to get a sharp crease that'll hold, spray the press cloth, where it is covering the crease, with a 50-50 solution of water and white vinegar, and then press until much of the mixture is evaporated. It also recommends leaving the trousers flat on the ironing board until they are completely dry.

Huh. Before I try this, I wanna know, 1.) if anyone here has done the vinegar thing, 2.) if it actually works and why, and 3.) if a residual smell of vinegar will remain in my pants once they're dry.

 

[Bugsy]

Ladies and gentlemen (but likelier the ladies, I suspect),

I get the gist of pressing trousers. Problem is, I rarely do such a job of it to rival what I get at the cleaners. I very rarely produce a crease that stays sharp for more than a few hours of wear.

I refuse to believe I can't, though, even without a pants press. I know the difference between ironing and pressing, and I appreciate what a press cloth can do (or, perhaps more accurately, what it prevents me from doing).

I saw an online video which says that to get a sharp crease that'll hold, spray the press cloth, where it is covering the crease, with a 50-50 solution of water and white vinegar, and then press until much of the mixture is evaporated. It also recommends leaving the trousers flat on the ironing board until they are completely dry.

Huh. Before I try this, I wanna know, 1.) if anyone here has done the vinegar thing, 2.) if it actually works and why, and 3.) if a residual smell of vinegar will remain in my pants once they're dry.

Do a test run first. Vinegar is an acid.

 

[Joie DeVive]

I've never heard of this practice. I'd also recommend care due to the acidic nature of vinegar. I'll give you vinegar is a mild acid, but I'd worry about dye interaction.

Have you tried a proper dampening of the pants before pressing? Back in the day, ladies used to sprinkle water on a garment, roll it up, and put it in a cool place (later the ice box) overnight and iron it the next day. I understand this is supposed to offer superior results. Just a thought. [huh]

 

[Shawn M]

While in the Navy, my uniforms needed to maintain a crease all day. I bought Niagra spray starch. Vinegar was used for whitening my dress whites, under shirts, and my dixie cup.

There is also a way to make your crease permanent. Melt a thin monofilament fishing line into the crease. It will never flatten. Be very careful, if you make a mistake it can't be fixed.

 

[carter]

Interesting

While in the Navy, my uniforms needed to maintain a crease all day. I bought Niagra spray starch. Vinegar was used for whitening my dress whites, under shirts, and my dixie cup.

There is also a way to make your crease permanent. Melt a thin monofilament fishing line into the crease. It will never flatten. Be very careful, if you make a mistake it can't be fixed.

How do you melt the line and not affect the pants? And... what happens when the pants are dried in a dryer and/or ironed later?

 

[Shawn M]

With a heavy iron, press the fishing line into the crease using the thinnest fishing line you can find. The fishing line couldn't be allowed to saturate the cloth because that would show through. As for laundering, nothing changed. The nicest part about doing this to uniforms was not having to press them ever again. Throw them into the dryer with a wet sock on perm press.

 

[ShoreRoadLady]

I haven't tried the vinegar method, but yes - you want to let all the steam and moisture leave the fabric before moving it. That "sets" the crease better. If you leave it damp, especially with wool, you'll just set in more wrinkles when you move it.

With a heavy iron, press the fishing line into the crease using the thinnest fishing line you can find. The fishing line couldn't be allowed to saturate the cloth because that would show through. As for laundering, nothing changed. The nicest part about doing this to uniforms was not having to press them ever again. Throw them into the dryer with a wet sock on perm press.

That sounds absolutely precarious. I suppose it depends on the fabric. Some fibers would have to be ironed, and I'm guessing that would melt the fishing line all the way through.

If I can find some fishing line lying around, I may try it on a few different fabric scraps, because it sounds too interesting to pass up.

 

[navyguyAl]

Creases in uniforms

Isn't it surprising what can come up on such Forums as this!! In all my time in the Navy I have never heard of using vinegar and I think I'd prefer to keep that for my chips!! It was always use soap!!

In the British Navy, and I think still with the US Navy uniforms, were always pressed inside out using a damp cloth or, today, a steam iron. However a steam iron should never be used on the OUTSIDE of the material as it will put on a terrible shine. ALL my creases stayed in by this method with no problems at all. It was recommended that you could run a bar of soap over the 'inside' of the crease which supposedly kept them in longer but I must admit I never tried that.

I am also now a member of numerous WWII re-enactment groups and thus have managed to get some genuine 1940s uniforms which are made of a very thick serge material and also had far more creases than today's uniforms. With the pants that have the 7 creases (can explain why if anyone wants to know!! ) these are again pressed inside out and flat using a steam iron and all these creases stay in OK although with Blues they usually need re pressing after a couple of wearings. The Whites, though, keep their creases a lot longer.

While in the Navy, my uniforms needed to maintain a crease all day. I bought Niagra spray starch. Vinegar was used for whitening my dress whites, under shirts, and my dixie cup.

There is also a way to make your crease permanent. Melt a thin monofilament fishing line into the crease. It will never flatten. Be very careful, if you make a mistake it can't be fixed.

 

[dit dah]

With the pants that have the 7 creases (can explain why if anyone wants to know!! )

I'd like to know navyguyAl

That is I'd like to know about the creases, not that I'd like to know navyguyAl, not that I wouldn't like to know navyguyAl, oh, you know what I mean.....

 

[scotrace]

I dunno why, but I keep hearing something like a playground taunt in my head.

"Vinegar pants! Vinegar pants!"

 

[navyguyAl]

7 creases

I think I know what you mean!!

In those far off days sailors did not have the luxury of wardrobes or large spaces to store uniforms, etc, only small lockers. In consequence everything had to be rolled or folded up as small as possible. With the dress uniform this meant problems so it was designed as part of the uniform to have creases in it so it could be both safely stowed in as small a space as possible and when taken out could be worn without having to be ironed.

With the bell bottomed pants they were turned inside out and laid flat and ironed and then had 7 concertina creases put in at 4" apart (the width of the pay book). If you were 5'6 and shorter then you only needed 5 creases!! These could then be folded up and stowed safely. The tops were similarly done and the most noticeable being the flap collar which had three creases.

Not sure how I can add a pic to show these as it seems to only permit a URL address and not a file.

I'd like to know navyguyAl

That is I'd like to know about the creases, not that I'd like to know navyguyAl, not that I wouldn't like to know navyguyAl, oh, you know what I mean.....

 

[Cody Pendant]

White vinegar works, try it.

The white vinegar works wonders. I use it all the time. It is also very useful for getting creases out where you don’t want them such as when you lengthen a pair of pants and need to remove the old crease mark at the hem which can be stubborn otherwise.
As for the smell, white vinegar does not have a strong odor at all. I have never noticed it at all after it dries.
As for how it works, I venture to guess that it relaxes the fibers making them more plastic, allowing them to be molded by the heat and the pressing to the new shape.

 

[Nick D]

My wife puts a little white vinegar in the washer to remove odors, as long as the vinegar's diluted and let to air for a short time, there should be no lingering smell of it.