Cleaning Tips and Tricks

I thought it might be a good idea to compile some useful tips and tricks for cleaning vintage items. I have two items in particular that I am having a hard time with:

I bought a cute 60's dress but it had a bit of that thrift store smell. There were no washing instructions and I'm not sure what the fabric is so I chanced it, threw it in the wash and it came out looking fine, but the smell is almost worse. It's like engrained in the fabric now. Is it a lost cause?

Second question - I have a nice pair of leather boots but inside the lining feels really gross to the touch - a little sticky, a little dusty... It's as though there was glue between the lining and the leather and it's started to decompose or something. The boots are so cute, but I can't even get my feet into them because of the tackiness inside. Can you think of any way of cleaning these?

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Permalink Reply by Gabreial on June 22, 2008 at 8:27pm: Great thread topic! I hope someone who knows a little more about fabric can help you.

I'll do some research for you in the meantime.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by CrochetBee on June 22, 2008 at 11:12pm: I have a link on my blog for cleaning vintage clothes. I think it is listed in tutorials. It is a great site and I believe they also have info about cleaning boots. Not trying to plug my blog, but it is easier to go to the link and find pages of good information. You will find the site very helpful.

http://cateslinens.blogspot.com; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Heather Lewis on June 23, 2008 at 12:32am: Hi,

I sell vintage clothing and have tried a billion things to get smells out of garments. Many times, I will hang the garment in my garage for a few days and Febreeze them. Then, I will start my washing machine on super hot, add in detergent and fabric softner and stop the water once it has reached a level high enough to cover all garments. I will let those items soak in the hot water for several hours. I will then line dry the garments again and Febreeze them again, if needed. This ususally works for me.

I'm not sure about your second question. I have you tried putting anything oil based on the sticky part (like olive oil?). I'm thinking the oil might make the sticky go away. May not.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by RainbowVintage on June 23, 2008 at 12:32am: Sticky/dusty boot lining disease is incurable. I believe it is related to bonded acetate disease (sometimes known among eBay sellers as "devil dust"), which is caused by the degradation of the bonding agent used to adhere the two components together. I have heard a few reports that aggressive & thorough vacuuming produced good results, but only with coats. If the boots are for you, maybe some talc would help tome down the sticky?

Re: deep "thrift" odor, the only thing that has worked well for me is air and time. Hanging outside accelerates this. "Time" has varied, for me, from a few days to a year, depending.

I'm not that great at stains, personally. I hear people talk about successes they've had, but I've never been able to crack the code. I have found eBay's vintage discussion board VERY helpful, people have offered all kinds of advice and can usually back it up.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ThirteenLeafClover on June 23, 2008 at 2:38am: good idea, I might try and vacuum them and see what happens. I originally bought them to sell, but then I was thinking I'd keep them if they were my size, but I literally can't get my feet in, even with socks it's just too sticky to get past. The outsides look so great I didn't even think to check inside them when I bought them. CrochetBee I am going to have to bookmark that info, thanks!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Valerie Mungia on June 23, 2008 at 5:21pm: Try baking soda on the dress. Maybe a little sprinkled all over and then placed in a plastic bag for a little while. Or tuck an open box in a plastic bag along with the dress. Then air it out outside for a few days.

Baking soda in little vintage salt shakers is sometimes helpful in a closed bookcase to get rid of old book smell too. Personally I happen to enjoy old book smell.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Empress Jade Vintage on June 25, 2008 at 1:32pm: I know what you mean about washing actually intensifying an odour. I have a terrific 70s halter dress that just stinks of mothballs and washing it made it much more intense. Fabreeze did absolutely nothing. I've had the dress hanging outside for two days and the smell is lessening, but it's taking a long time. If that doesn't work the next step is a vinegar bath and more airing outside. Another trick is to put the garment in a bag with kitty litter and let it sit for a few weeks. Eventually the smell will come out!

I second the devil dust diagnosis on the boots. If you've got black dust it means the lining is starting to disintegrate. This happens a lot with faux fur coats when the inside layer starts to break down. I've learned the hard way to inspect boots and coats very carefully and give items a very good shake to see if any dust comes out. This stuff is TOXIC, so don't get any in your eyes or breath it in! I would recommend you just cut your losses and throw them out as it will only get worse, not better.

Lynn; ▶ Reply to This