The Cleaning Clothes (vintage or other) Thread

[KittyT]

To me..(and never trust me....wait for the fabric experts)....Linen in general is a sturdy fabric....

Linen's a natural fiber. Miss Neecerie is right - it should be fine. If it's dyed, you may want to do a spot test first to test for color-fastness though.

 

[dakotanorth]

Water staining

hello ladies. Does anyone have a tip on how to get waterstains out of satin? I found this beautiful boudoir chair from the 30's ( I know it is not clothing, but it has fabric ). I got it for 20 euros, so I consider it a steel even though it is terribly waterstained. I would like to keep the original upholstery so I was thinking someone here had the knowledge to help me. Thank you.

I"m still doing research on this- the water stain is a mineral deposit of some sort. I tried using "Lime-Away" on a shirt but it didn't work- not exactly sure why.
Warning- don't try Lime-Away!!

On Heatherc's stinky purse- yeah, I say Baking Soda. Or "Carpet Fresh" which is baking soda with fragrance. IT's cheap, easy to find, and comes right out.

My turn!! I soaked a shirt in Biz- probably too much of it. Now the shirt is stiff. I've soaked and rinsed it several times, including White Vinegar, Febreeze for the wash, dish soap, and fabric softener. Any ideas? I almost think the Biz reactive with the rayon fibers!

 

[mackenzie]

Note that any cleaner that is wet will waterstain satin.

But it is already waterstained and you said that the only way to get them out is to waterstain the whole thing again. Now I am confused...

 

[KittyT]

But it is already waterstained and you said that the only way to get them out is to waterstain the whole thing again. Now I am confused...

Yes. I assumed that you meant you were going to try the upholstery cleaner on the stain itself to get it out. I was just saying that if it's a wet cleaner, it's just going to add more stain, and stain any non-stained areas it touches.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Any tips on how to clean angora? Can it be hand washed?

 

[BeBopBaby]

I've hand washed angora plenty of times.

I use cool water and woolite in a wash basin. Then I gently swirl the clothing around in the water for 2 minutes. Don't wring the sweater, instead remove the sweater from the basin, dump the water out and then gently press the sweater against the side of the basin to get the excess water out. Then I repeat the process with clean water to rinse it out. Lay flat to dry.

 

[KittyT]

I've hand washed angora plenty of times.

I use cool water and woolite in a wash basin. Then I gently swirl the clothing around in the water for 2 minutes. Don't wring the sweater, instead remove the sweater from the basin, dump the water out and then gently press the sweater against the side of the basin to get the excess water out. Then I repeat the process with clean water to rinse it out. Lay flat to dry.

Thanks! I too have some angora to wash at the moment.

 

[Kassia]

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?

Strangely enough a crunched up newspaper will take mildew smells away..
Put some paper inside the purse and put the whole thing in a plastic bag..
Not sure for how long tho but the paper will take the smell up..
I have several friends who has done this with stinky old, Featherweight sewing machine cases and it works like a charm...

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Strangely enough a crunched up newspaper will take mildew smells away..
Put some paper inside the purse and put the whole thing in a plastic bag..
Not sure for how long tho but the paper will take the smell up..
I have several friends who has done this with stinky old, Featherweight sewing machine cases and it works like a charm...

REALLY! I will do this.

 

[Kassia]

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!

Hmmm, i was told by a textile conservator to never store fabrics directly in contact with cedar.. So she suggested that you put the item or items into cotton bags or folded cloth and then put it in the chest...
Cedar is a very very acidic wood and will eat away at natrual fibers...
That is the reason, where on the west coast, that we never compost ceder clippings.. Not much grows under a cedar tree either...

 

[BeBopBaby]

The secret to cleaning angora is not to agitate it or ring it out. Treat it like you would cashmere. Angora fibers are delicate like cashmere, and can break easily. They also pill easily so the less you rub it, the better.

Make sure you dry the sweater flat. If you hang the sweater, the weight of the wet sweater can pull it out of shape. Once the sweater dries it will fluff back up.

Also if you don't have woolite, a little bit of shampoo will clean the sweater nicely. After all, angora is just hair anyway. A little dunk in some some cool water with some hair conditioner will also help to soften up scratchy sweaters. I do this with my knitting and it helps to soften up scratchy wool.

 

[Kassia]

REALLY! I will do this.

Let me know if it works out... Of course your purse is leather and most old sewing machine cases are fabric and cardboard.. But have you ever smell old newsprint? Yeck... Some of the stuff that's stored away in my parents basment, the news papers smells worse than the stuff that's wrapped in it..
But i have heard it works for alot of things that you just can't wash..

 

[BeBopBaby]

Cedar is a very very acidic wood and will eat away at natrual fibers...
That is the reason, where on the west coast, that we never compost ceder clippings.. Not much grows under a cedar tree either...

This is true. The oil in cedar will also stain fabrics and can turn them yellow. If you store items in cedar you should never let them touch the cedar directly. I solve this this problem by putting items in a an old cotton pillow case before I put them in the cedar trunk. Or I'll wrap them in an old cotton sheet.

 

[Kassia]

The secret to cleaning angora is not to agitate it or ring it out. Treat it like you would cashmere. Angora fibers are delicate like cashmere, and can break easily. They also pill easily so the less you rub it, the better.

Make sure you dry the sweater flat. If you hang the sweater, the weight of the wet sweater can pull it out of shape. Once the sweater dries it will fluff back up.

Also if you don't have woolite, a little bit of shampoo will clean the sweater nicely. After all, angora is just hair anyway. A little dunk in some some cool water with some hair conditioner will also help to soften up scratchy sweaters. I do this with my knitting and it helps to soften up scratchy wool.

Another thing you can use for wool and other natural fibers is Tail and Mane Shampoo... I use it all the time on my silk blouses.. Like you say, wool and angora are really just hairs.....

 

[Odalisque]

I was wondering what the standard cleaning method was in the 20's/30's/40's ect?
I figure, the best way to clean vintage clothes would be how they were cleaned in their time period. I always thought that until the 50's, most clothes were hand-washed.
Thoughts?

 

[KittyT]

I was wondering what the standard cleaning method was in the 20's/30's/40's ect?
I figure, the best way to clean vintage clothes would be how they were cleaned in their time period. I always thought that until the 50's, most clothes were hand-washed.
Thoughts?

I think they had some types of manual hand washing machines and wringers.

I don't agree that the best way to wash them would be the same way they were washed in their day. Fabrics age and a 1940s rayon dress is definitely not as durable 60+ years later as it was back then. A vintage 50s cotton day dress probably would have been washed in a washing machine, but there's no way in hell I'm trying that!

 

[Odalisque]

Fabrics age and a 1940s rayon dress is definitely not as durable 60+ years later as it was back then. A vintage 50s cotton day dress probably would have been washed in a washing machine, but there's no way in hell I'm trying that!

You have a point. It just seems like every method (even hand-washing) is bad for this or that fabric. I'm a little afraid to do laundry after reading this thread. I have a 1940's blouse and I am completely unsure of what fabric it is!
My luck, it's crepe and I end up shrinking it

 

[Miss Sis]

Most fabrics can handle a gentle hand wash in tepid water and a proper wash fluid for delicates. That's the trick, to use TEPID water, not hot. Also make sure your rinse water is the same temperature as the wash water. I think that is why most things shrink.

Of course you should try spot tests for colour fastness, stains etc.

I wash almost all my vintage 20s - 40s stuff and have never had a problem. In the end if you can't wear it because it's stained/dirty, what's the point of having it?

 

[Fleur De Guerre]

My granny was a devotee of dress shields, I'm not sure she really washed many of her clothes in the 40s. She only bathed once a week herself (though she did wash daily)! People cared less about a bit of B.O. back then! lol

I'm afraid that I wash all my cotton day dresses in my machine on the delicate cycle. I've not had any accidents, disintegration or noticeable fading (except mildly on a deadstock mostly black print). Like Miss Sis said, I like wearing my clothes, so they need to be washed and clean and my delicate cycle is pretty gentle. The only things I handwash are my stockings and my Whirling Turban dress. I have never had anything dry cleaned, but I don't actually have much rayon or many suits, when those are dirty, I may have to start.

 

[KittyT]

My granny was a devotee of dress shields.

Dress shields are seriously one of the Best Things Ever and they are SOOOO vintage. They were commonly used in the 30s and 40s! Not only do they allow you to wash your vintage less frequently, but they prevent annoying sweat staining and the fabric degradation that can be caused by the bacteria that thrive on perspiration. Slips are great for this same reason. I can't recommend enough getting a few sets of pin-in dress shields. Seriously - it's much easier to wash those dress shields than it is to wash the dresses!