For those of you that don't know me, I'm Lottie and I write about my vintage lifestyle over at Lottie Loves. Annie has kindly let me come over here for the day to share with you my tips on caring for vintage clothes. Some of them will be old hat to you vintage lovelies but there may be a few gems here worth reading.
Washing
· Wash all clothing as little as possible. Over washing leads to your clothes wearing out and it's unnecessary to wash something after just one wear, unless it particularly smells or has something dropped on it. Hang the item up for a day out of the wardrobe and then put it back in. Only wash it when it's really necessary, although you should be careful of sweat stains. If you have had a particularly sweaty day then do wash your clothing as a) it will smell and b) sweat stains build up and are impossible to remove.
· Don't leave vintage fabrics in the sunlight, they often can't cope with the exposure. Just air them indoors.
· Fabreeze is fab for freshening up clothes that may need a bit of jujing (new word for you!) but don't need washing. Just test it on a piece of the fabric that's not visible when worn first.
· Always read the care label and follow instructions - they're there for a reason. That said, if you buy some cheap piece for a few pounds and it says dry clean only it may be worth taking the risk and hand washing or washing on a cool wash. It depends how much you value the item as to whether it's worth the extra expense of dry cleaning. It goes without saying that high-end clothing should always be dry cleaned unless otherwise instructed.
· You vintage gals will find that your clothes often have no labels. I get away with washing most of mine on a cool wash on a short cycle but if in doubt hand wash or ask for advice from your dry cleaner.
· If you are in a hard water area always add softener, this way your wash detergent will be more effective at removing stains, particularly at lower temperatures.
· I wash all of my clothes at 30 degrees unless stained. This is good for your clothes and the environment. I do, however make sure I do my sheets or some other weekly wash at 60 degrees because your washing machine needs a regular 60 degree wash to get rid of any scum build up which is particularly bad when washing on cool all the time.
Stain Removal
· Remove red wine stains with white wine. This is by far the most effective thing I have used, although it's quite painful using white wine up on such a task! Do this straight away and then wash normally immediately for the best results.
· Tomato stains from spaghetti, ketchup, beans will soon come out of your clothes if you leave them in sunlight. This is a truly great phenomena which never fails to amaze me. Even the most enormous tomato sauce stains will disappear within a couple of days. Yes, vintage clothes don't like sunlight but they also don't like tomato stains so you should weigh up the risks versus benefit.
· If you have a grease stain from butter, oil, and so forth, just rub Fairy Liquid into it (no other brand will do the job quite as well) prior to washing normally. The stain will disappear.
· Remove stains such as pen from satins or shiny fabric by using hair spray. Seriously, this works. I bought a ball gown for a massively reduced price because some nitwit had got pen on it. I got it home, sprayed the stain with hairspray, left it for a few minutes and gently rubbed. Hey presto pen gone! Hairspray has similar ingredients to rubbing alcohol.
· If you get sick on your dress (I'm talking about you ladies with children not you ladies who get blotto on a Saturday night ;-) ) soak your dress in a mixture of luke warm water and a tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda and then wash normally - no sick smell. This works on carpet and bed linen too.
· Removing sunscreen stains is a nightmare. Almost impossible. To avoid sunscreen stains use a once a day sunscreen such as Piz Buin Factor 30 once a day. Apply before you get dressed and allow a few minutes to soak into skin. Then put clothes on. This way you are less likely to get whopping great dollops of sunscreen on your dress which is then ruined.
· Always wash clothes after you have worn them with sunscreen, on a 40 degree wash with detergent and fabric softener. Ideally dry on the line in sunlight.
Little Tips
· If you have static on your clothes then cover your hands in hand cream and wipe over your body or stockings. I find Atrixo works best. A friend's Mum told me that one when I was 20 and it has been one of the most valuable tips I've ever had.
· If you have a white dress with yellowing sweat stains under the arms throw it. I know, it's painful, but it's so unsightly and there's not a thing you can do about them. You can of course use the fabric for something else if you're that way inclined.
Drying
· Always line dry if you can. Drying in a tumble dryer just damages and wears out fabric.
· If it's a fragile or heavy fabric dry it flat so that it doesn't stretch or tear with the weight of the water. This is also important with woollens, especially vintage woollens.
· I've found these brilliant Hook Ups from Lakeland that allow you to hang your dresses/shirts on the line on a hangar without it sliding and falling off. £1.99 for a pack of 12 and they are superb! I no longer have peg marks on my frocks.
I hope these tips help you ladies with your lovely clothes. Do let me know if you have any other tips to share.
Lottie -x-
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