Musty Union Made Lamé ballgown… how to clean?

[alexandrathegreater]

I had the good fortune of finding this full on fairy-dang-godmother ball gown at an estate sale, replete with unattached puffy sleeves, and full, puffy skirt. It is thrilling to wear… but less so to smell!

It smells strongly of “old clothes”, which I assume is mildew. I had another vintage dress that smelled just like it, which a double soak in oxiclean cured of. This dress is so strong smelling that my eyes and throat get irritated.

However, this seems like it could be more delicate. Tag says it’s nylon and metallic.

any ideas on what to do with this? I don’tr care enough to dry clean it. Also: my cat got a little bit of pee on one of the sleeves before I could stop him. Yeah.

m

 

[denisebrain]

Wow, that is dramatic!

If you don't want to dry clean it, you will take a risk for sure. I think the material least OK with washing is the acetate. If you want to try washing, I'd use cool water, detergent and dissolved or liquid oxygen bleach. Let soak for several hours, rinse and hang to dry. If it has improved, hasn't been hurt by the washing, but isn't all better, do it again. You can spray odor reducing products, but it sounds like the dress needs more than that. Good luck!

 

[pastperfect2]

If it's an odor issue - maybe an ozone treatment? Some drycleaners offer this and it's usually a less expensive option. It just helps with odor though, not dirt or stains (or cat pee!)

You could wash the cat targeted sleeve by itself as a test -