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Cleaning Up:  Yellowed Dress... Any ideas to restore?  |
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FishieLPK
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
Felicia
Moscow
ID
USA
11 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 20 2011 : 1:56:55 PM
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I found a dress in my closet that I wore when I was two years old, but it's turned yellow after 19 years of just sitting there. My mom suggested I put it in a bowl with peroxide and water, but it didn't really do anything, and neither did borax. Do you guys have any suggestions as to how to get the dress back to its original white color?
In the picture, you can see that the lace on the sleeves is still white, but the front lace is yellowed, while the rest of the dress looks rather dingy.
"Heal the world we live in. Save it for the children."
http://gogreenauntie.blogspot.com |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2011 : 2:13:20 PM
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Try soaking it in lemon juice and water. After it has soaked try laying it out on a white sheet in the sun. I've done that with old table linens with yellow streaks where it was folded and it has worked. It looks like there is white and off white in the dress, are you sure you don't have two colors of lace?
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Penny Wise
True Blue Farmgirl
1903 Posts
Margo
Elyria
OH
USA
1903 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2011 : 3:00:34 PM
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it does look like two colors of lace....be careful!
Farmgirl # 2139
~*~ counting my pennies and biding my time; my dreams are adding up!~*~ |
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FishieLPK
Farmgirl in Training
11 Posts
Felicia
Moscow
ID
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2011 : 4:40:00 PM
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Connie, I asked my mom the same thing, and she told me no, that it had all been white when I had worn it. The back collar of the dress is even more yellow than the front is, and pieces of the lace in the back are white, so with what my mom told me, and what I've seen, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be one color. I'll give the lemon juice a try though :) Thanks.
"Heal the world we live in. Save it for the children."
http://gogreenauntie.blogspot.com |
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alterationsbyemily
True Blue Farmgirl
694 Posts
Emily
Chambersburg
PA
USA
694 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2011 : 7:48:07 PM
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My mom did that with my christening dress in OxiClean, she said it worked really well.
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Farmgirl #2951
Currently renting-farmgirl wannabe |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 20 2011 : 8:02:51 PM
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Oh yeah I forgot about OxiClean. There was another cleaner I used on boys baseball pants long ago. It was some kind of enzyme powder I bought in the grocery with all the other powdered laundry stuff. Can't think of the name of it to save me. It worked really well too.
Anyone know the name of that?
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Beverley
True Blue Farmgirl
2707 Posts
Beverley
atlanta
Michigan
USA
2707 Posts |
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Fannie
True Blue Farmgirl
67 Posts
North Huntingdon
PA
USA
67 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2011 : 02:54:58 AM
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I have used white vinegar to brighten whites. That seems to work for me.
Fannie
Farm Girl #2746 |
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walkinwalkoutcattle
True Blue Farmgirl
1675 Posts
Megan
Paint Lick
KY
USA
1675 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2011 : 03:55:00 AM
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I'd try this:
1 c purex 2 color safe bleach powder
1 c dishwasher powder
5 gal bucket. (if your bucket is 2 or 3 gal, use 1/2 c of the above powders)
*Put powders in bucket.
*Add the hottest tap water you have to bucket.
*Add stained clothes.
*Ignore until next washing day (up to a week), but add more stained things to the bucket as you come across them.
*Dump the entire contents of the bucket (soapy water AND clothes) into the washer.
*Wash, w/o adding more soap, of course.
*Before drying, inspect stuff and throw back into the bucket for round two (I rarely have a round two)
*** Use caution when soaking items w/ bright red or navy blue trim as they may bleed. All other stuff is fine.
Farmgirl #2879 :)
Starbucks and sushi to green fried tomatoes and corn pudding-I wouldn't change it for the world.
www.cattleandcupcakes.blogspot.com
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2011 : 06:42:59 AM
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Biz was it! Thanks Beverly! I prodded my brain all night to try and remember that.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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BalancingAct
True Blue Farmgirl
297 Posts
Jackie
Hoosierville
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2011 : 08:12:51 AM
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Several weeks ago I was at the store buying ingredients to make my own laundry soap and came upon this:
Mrs. Stewart's Concentrated Liquid Bluing / Whitens White Clothes Safely / Non-Toxic / Bio-Degradable It comes in a small, blue bottle. On the back it reads, "Why Bluing? White fabric turns yellow or gray with age and repeated washings. Blueing restores the sparkling whiteness. Works on synthetics as well as natural fabrics without harming fibers like bleach can."
I thought "why not give it a try on our dingy white socks?" I have to say, it worked like a charm! I've also used it on yellowed-aged stuff with great success!
Just make sure you follow the instructions or you will end up with more blue than you planned.
Farmgirl Sister #2851 -"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
http://www.fiberandherbscottage.blogspot.com/ |
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Tina Kay
True Blue Farmgirl
107 Posts
Tina Kay
Deary
ID
USA
107 Posts |
Posted - Jun 21 2011 : 11:18:53 AM
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I just wanted to say how pretty that outfit is. I hope you find a solution to your problem.
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Happy it is, indeed, for me that my heart is capable of feeling the same simple and innocent pleasure as the peasant whose table is covered with food of his own rearing, and who not only enjoys his meal, but remembers with delight the happy days and sunny mornings when he planted it, the soft evenings when he watered it, and the pleasure he experienced in watching it’s daily growth.
J.W. von Goethe (the Sorrows of Werther)
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Edited by - Tina Kay on Jun 21 2011 11:19:46 AM |
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graciegreeneyes
True Blue Farmgirl
3107 Posts
Amy Grace
Rosalia
WA
USA
3107 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2011 : 11:32:55 AM
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My mother in law has told me that laying vintage linens/dresses out on the grass in the sun will take the stains out of them - something about the chlorophyll. I haven't tried it myself, but it might be worth a try - it's free anyway:)
Farmgirl #224
"use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"
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Sheep Mom 2
True Blue Farmgirl
1534 Posts
Sheri
Elk
WA
USA
1534 Posts |
Posted - Jul 09 2011 : 1:14:37 PM
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I use the Biz bucket method only I use mild dish soap like dove or ivory. You can leave garment in this solution up to a week or more. If more than a couple of days, I usually change out the solution. This works great with old linens too. Laying it on the grass does work too - that was they way fabric was bleached white before the invention of chlorine bleach. However - the grass method really only works with non-synthetic fibers.
Blessings, Sheri
"Work is Love made visible" -Kahlil Gibran |
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Cleaning Up: Yellowed Dress... Any ideas to restore? |
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Yellowed Dress... Any ideas to restore?
