Nicotine Stain removal

[kaZombie]

Hey friends

I recently grabbed a dress from a antique shop that has some pretty gnarly smoking / nicotine stains on the trim. The white collar is completely yellow. Even doing a spot test on the dress before trying to clean in to check for bleeding (that showed no bleeding) the second it started soaking in cold water the water turned purple. The dye has already transferred on the belt. Would adding vinegar to the water help? Or is the only hope removing the trim and cleaning it separately

Picture here for reference
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/s...OsB5JN_eRUsaToz5SXTUD1bQHnB_qU9U=w469-h625-no

 

[Jonathan]

White yellows with age, so it's not necessarily tobacco staining. What is the material of the dress? A dark fabric with white trim is always bad news for dye transference.

 

[kaZombie]

White yellows with age, so it's not necessarily tobacco staining. What is the material of the dress? A dark fabric with white trim is always bad news for dye transference.

My guess it's some sort of crepe rayon. There is no tag on the inside, and I believe it was probably handmade. The trim that came on the belt was still pretty white, and the whole thing smells of old smoke :c

 

[denisebrain]

You're using very cool water, right? Color catchers are sheets that are manufactured to attract and form a chemical bond with loose dyes in water while washing. I have found these useful (but not flawless). If the light area is already discolored, you can try using either RIT Dye Fixative (be careful not to confuse the fixative with dye remover), or a detergent such as Synthrapol. Both these products are designed to bind to loose dyes and remove them from the fabric. Personally, I think cleaning the trim separately makes sense.

Edit: I just looked at your photo (beautiful dress!) and got to wondering if the dark fabric is velvet? If so, it would need to be dry cleaned.

 

[kaZombie]

You're using very cool water, right? Color catchers are sheets that are manufactured to attract and form a chemical bond with loose dyes in water while washing. I have found these useful (but not flawless). If the light area is already discolored, you can try using either RIT Dye Fixative (be careful not to confuse the fixative with dye remover), or a detergent such as Synthrapol. Both these products are designed to bind to loose dyes and remove them from the fabric. Personally, I think cleaning the trim separately makes sense.

Edit: I just looked at your photo (beautiful dress!) and got to wondering if the dark fabric is velvet? If so, it would need to be dry cleaned.

I used almost too cold to put your hands in cold water.

Dark fabric is possibly a crepe rayon. I am not 100% sure. For sure not a velvet. I could never imagine shoving a velvet dress in a tub of water lol. I will see if I can hunt down some color catchers or synthrapol.

 

[MaryLC]

That is a lovely dress. I would remove the trim and clean it separately. If it is nicotine stained, you will have to process the trim several times to lighten it to white and I wouldn't expose the full dress material to the process.