R & K Originals Fabric Cleaning Question.

EndlessAlley

EndlessAlley

Alumni
I love this fun polka dot, faux wrap dress, but there are a few stain issues to address... looks like leg make-up on the hem and a few miscellaneous spots throughout. There is no fabric content label and my best guess on the fabric is a poly crepe. I've read that poly crepe is washable, but wondering what your experiences are and what about using oxy-clean? too strong? or would it be safer to dry clean?

Also would appreciate any thoughts as to date. From the Union Label I would place it as late 60s to early 70s. Thank you!:sunshine:

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I have had good luck with almost all types of polyester with hand washing. However, I have not tried oxy-clean so hopefully someone will chime in on its use with polyester fabrics. I think the biggest threat to washing this dress is bleeding, which happened to me once with a polyester dress but fortunately I was able to remove after the fact. Have you tried to use any gentle soap on the hem where the make-up is, just to see how the fabric responds. Sometimes using the dryel spot cleaner will remove the spots before you fully clean the garment. I try this first in a hidden area before I approach any spot.
 
Polyester stains can be really easy to remove or nearly impossible based on the nature of the stain. If the stain is oil based it's possible that it has bonded to the fibers and is permanent (polyester is oleophilic) If the stain is not oil based it might come out with a simple wash. I often use Windex on polyester because the ammonia penetrates the fibers better than just soap and water and helps to remove the stain more effectively. Windex will not harm the fabric as long as you rinse it out well. As for the colors running there should be very little risk. The base color of Polyester fabric is usually solution dyed which means the dye is added to the polymer solution before the fibers are created it is essentially a permanent part of the fiber. A print on polyester is the result of an extreme heat setting process with special dyes that chemically fuse to the fibers. Soap and detergent will not make the colors bleed. The only way I can see that happening is if the dying process was not done correctly and the dye did not set. I've never had a polyester print fabric bleed on me.

For polyester I use Windex or Folex on the stains, often with great success.
Melody
 
I find textile chemistry is fascinating too Joules! Do you mean a polyester acetate blend? That would be an unusual blend and not very good quality. Especially when talking about a vintage piece because vintage acetate was a cheap and inferior fabric. Or do you mean a polyester dress with an acetate lining? Either way it is a difficult combination to clean. Acetate is a manmade cellulose fiber (plant based). It is a hydrophilic material meaning it absorbs water and polyester is hydrophobic (repels water). They require different types of dyes and methods to color them so it would be hard to create fast color. Also acetate dyes usually bleed and fade quite easily (it's really not my favorite fabric). I can't think off hand of any common vintage fabrics that combine poly and acetate (unless maybe some of the old "whipped cream" style crepes from the 60s) Maybe satin with a polyester ground and acetate float threads (yuck) or some taffetas but no matter, you would certainly have to dry clean any acetate/poly blend.
Melody
 
Right Joules, the dress is unlined. Maxine and Melody, thank you for your suggestions. I did try Windex and Folex with no noticeable effect on the stains, but maybe they helped in removing the stains when I tossed the dress in the washer on a "hand wash" cycle. I'm happy to say that it came out great and is now air drying!
 
Alice, I did not mean the Dryel product freshener but the cleaning fluid that comes with the kit. As Melody stated, Folex is an excellent cleaner and is great stuff. Make-up is generally a mixture of stain with one part water soluble and the other part oil based so you will need to treat it as a combination stain. A combination stain first is treated with a dry spotter; such as, K2r, Afta, and the like. The cleaning fluid that comes with the Dryel is not a true dry spotter but does help dissolve oil based stains. Wash in tepid but not warm or hot since polyester is heat sensitive. If you decide to dry clean, ask your cleaners to place your dress in the light classification when sorting because this will help the white areas stay white.

Melody is very correct that some oil based stains on polyester even with the use of a dry solvent can be very difficult to remove. Keep in mind polyester is also alkali sensitive and the fiber can be damage. It is suggested when using ammonia not to exceed a 10% solution. In other words, it is best to use a very diluted solution.
 
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