Washing and improving stains on Edwardian dress

[violentpink]

Hi, I have what I believe is an Edwardian tea or lawn cotton dress, though please feel free to correct me if otherwise, and I'd really appreciate more input before I attempt to clean it. Other than the stains, it seems pretty sturdy and wearable which makes me feel confident hand washing it but I want to know which product(s) to use and if I should do anything extra for the stains. I've been looking around online and Orvus has stood out, what do you think? I'm not expecting a miracle, just for the stains to soften a little bit.

 

[carla rey]

I've had exceptionally good results with age spots on older white cottons with retroclean or oxy clean in a warm water soak. I've personally never used Orvis quilt soap. Pretty dress!

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

That's a pretty dress. Those look like what some of us call "rust" stains, caused by starch that remained in the fabric and aged over the years to that tan or brown color. I have had good luck with Oxy Clean, but first I give it a mild soak in warm water to remove some of the starch and surface dust. After soaking in the Oxy, be sure to rinse it very well, and when you think it is rinsed well....rinse it again.

I know there are other products that work well also, so another member will probably chime in with more advice.

Carla, I never heard of combining Oxy and Retroclean together. Is there a formula you can share on that?

 

[pastperfect2]

I combine Orvus and Oxy Clean. The Orvus seems to help lift out the Oxy Clean in the rinse.

 

[carla rey]

@Rue_de_la_Paix I edited my comment, it should have read OR not and. Oopsie!

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

The only other tip I have is to Not scrub the stain ares. I have found the material will disintegrate and you will end up with a hole.
I found this out by trial and error over the years. I have always used Restoration for my antique whites and light colored cottons.

 

[Vinclothes]

I want to emphasize the importance of soaking old whites in clear distilled water as a first step in lessening stains. It it amazing what comes out with just plain water. Then proceed with chemicals. The ones recommended so far are all good in my experience.
Marian

 

[violentpink]

Hi everyone, thank you so much sharing!!! I ended up washing the dress in several steps with water, Orvus, and Oxi Clean - all the stains are completely gone (except for a tiny rust stain at the hem if you wanna get technical)! However, I've noticed now that it's dry, it's very stiff...I'm wondering if I didn't completely wash everything out? I rinsed it more than I thought I needed to but maybe I still didn't get all of it, hmmm.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Great to know that you had success getting out those stains. The dress might be linen (and not cotton), which may account for the stiffness after washing. The natural "sizing" from the flax fibers may have been revived by washing and drying. Of course, I am not sure but that is one explanation for it. A light pressing should remove some of that. Linen is actually better than cotton to some collectors, although it does wrinkle terribly.

 

[pastperfect2]

If you press and get orange discolorations, there is still Oxyclean in there and you will need to rinse again, probably even soak with Orvus to get it out. . Been there, done that!

 

[Jonathan]

If you want to try getting the rust stain out, mix a bit of salt with lemon juice, wet the area with this and put in the sunshine for an hour or two., redampening as necessary until stain is gone - rinse. It works!

 

[Pinkcoke]

Jonathan have you ever tried that on prints or colours? does it affect the dye?

 

[Jonathan]

As long as the dye is water safe I have never had a problem. The only time it can create a problem is if its a very large, old, or serious rust stain, in which case the fibres have already been eaten out by the rust and you end up with a hole, but for most small rust stains caused by a pin or hook and eye - it comes right out.

 

[Vinclothes]

Jonathan is right. Small rust stains will come right out using his mixture and directions.
Marian

 

[violentpink]

Thank you all so much again!!! I didn't consider the dress could be linen, that makes a lot more sense! Good to know about treating rust stains, I don't mind it but if I ever sell or pass it on, I'll probably try that - or for other projects.

As for an update, I gently kinda...massaged it in a way haha then pressed it and it seems to feel as lightweight and comfy as before. Luckily no discolorations. It looks really nice and better than I ever expected! My photos don't do it enough justice:

 

[pastperfect2]

Nice work!

 

[PastPiecesVintage]

The stiff garments that I've washed and hung to dry always get a few twirls in a cold clothes dryer. It softens them and releases some wrinkles.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

This is a reply to "Linda"'s comments:

Normally I might not want to disagree on a Public thread but as someone who conserves and cares for antique clothing and textiles, I feel this is very important.

I cannot stress enough that I feel bleach should be your last resort in cleaning any antique clothing, linens or textiles.

Bleach has its place and is a good tool when all else fails or for strong textiles such as bed sheets, towels, kitchen linens, etc.

However, I would never want to suggest that anyone use bleach as a first choice, especially on such a thin sheer fine fabric as lawn. And antique lawn to boot. And even if I did use bleach (as a last resort I have done so), I think the ratio of a full cup to a kitchen sink full of water seems rather strong. Start with 1/4 cup and then increase in the next sink full if the stains do not remove or lighten.

And I do think the rust on her dress was probably old laundry starch left in the fibers, which had oxidized over the years. Perhaps Linda is thinking of mildew or mold stains?

The bleach will remove the stains, but will significantly weaken the fibers upon contact and no matter how much you rinse it, over time the dress will begin to disintegrate.

Of course, we all have our own opinions.

So just to say "use caution with bleach".

 

[violentpink]

Linda, many others chimed in with very valuable advice here, which I've taken and found successful - not only with this dress but even more similar garments I've started cleaning. I originally had a bit of hesitation about washing the dress at all and, as I said, the safer and less harsh methods to clean the dress worked fabulously. I also fear chlorine bleach may harm garments in the long run (especially ones with so much more age and history.) However, if you have any sources about oxygen bleach rotting fabric faster than chlorine bleach (since I've heard the opposite), I'd like to read more about it.

Also, I see no point why you've bumped so many threads (dating back to May) to add your 2 cents and I think you may need to rethink if you're actually being helpful or rude. I absolutely adore and appreciate this forum because of how knowledgable and kind the members are, so it seems disrespectful to them to barge into posts as if they hadn't taken the time to post. I've learned so much from here as a consumer/collector, not only from my own inquiries but I may be a bit happily obsessed with reading other posts as well, so it's kinda discouraging to see condescending replies from someone.

 

[greatglenvintage]

Linda, many others chimed in with very valuable advice here, which I've taken and found successful - not only with this dress but even more similar garments I've started cleaning. I originally had a bit of hesitation about washing the dress at all and, as I said, the safer and less harsh methods to clean the dress worked fabulously. I also fear chlorine bleach may harm garments in the long run (especially ones with so much more age and history.) However, if you have any sources about oxygen bleach rotting fabric faster than chlorine bleach (since I've heard the opposite), I'd like to read more about it.

Also, I see no point why you've bumped so many threads (dating back to May) to add your 2 cents and I think you may need to rethink if you're actually being helpful or rude. I absolutely adore and appreciate this forum because of how knowledgable and kind the members are, so it seems disrespectful to them to barge into posts as if they hadn't taken the time to post. I've learned so much from here as a consumer/collector, not only from my own inquiries but I may be a bit happily obsessed with reading other posts as well, so it's kinda discouraging to see condescending replies from someone.

Thank you! I agree. She basically called me ignorant/uninformed/stupid on a few of my posts simply because I am new-ish to vintage. It's so disheartening to get that kind of response.