In our 3rd installment with vintage maven, Ashley Baluyut of Milk Teeths, we take a look at ways to clean your new gear from yesteryear...
So you’ve picked out that perfect piece of vintage and now, as you examine it in the privacy of your bedroom you realize one thing: how the hell am I going to clean this thing? Maybe it’s a delicate 1940s day dress or an amazing 1970s shearling coat, the bottom line is that care instructions are no where to be seen and you’ve been wanting to wear this piece since yesterday. What should you do? Some of my go to tips include:
For Underarm Stains
Yellow underarms stains on light colored clothing is pretty much inevitable, but it’s also solvable. I recommend two methods for getting rid of the stains.
- If you live in a sunny area, lay your garment out in direct sunlight and squeeze the juice of a lemon onto the stains, making sure that the stain is fully saturated. Come back in a half hour and the combo of lemon juice and sun should have bleached the stains right off of your piece.
- Create a paste made up of baking soda and water. Apply the paste onto the stains and let sit for at least a half hour. Rinse and repeat if the stain is still there.
For Musty Smell
Get rid of that “vintage” smell by pouring a mixture of cheap vodka and water into a spray bottle. Spray down your piece and let air dry.
General Washing Machine Rules
If your piece looks like it can handle it (it’s made of cotton, poly blend, synethetic), washing with cold water on the gentle cycle with Woolite (or even Palmolive) would be fine. Roll in a towel to dry instead of wringing.
**Of course with every vintage piece, it’s important to first do a spot test to make sure that these methods wont ruin your clothing. Pick an inconspicuous section near the inside of the bottom hem for your test**
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Ashley Baluyut is an Orange County based blogger and writer with a serious love for vintage clothing. You can find her at her fashion and lifestyle blog MILK TEETHS or you can catch up with her latest thrift haul vintage finds on YouTube at Three Feathers Vintage.
[Image via Junkaholique]
5 comments
ModCloth Coupon says:
Dec 9, 2011
Wow, it’s so great. We pursuit vintage fashion and like the vintage fashion. Vintage clothing with the skills we know more. But because the characteristics of vintage clothing. We pay special attention to the degree of wear and tear of clothing, as well as zippers. Therefore, cleaning of vintage clothing is more trouble than the average clothing. We should note that many of the details. Thank you to share the author. These techniques are very useful.
Sara says:
Dec 11, 2011
Okay, the tip for getting rid of the musty smell is brilliant! And I will definitely be trying the yellow stains with lemon in the sun tip on some of my everyday wears :) Great, informative, and fresh info! Thanks Ashley!!
shea says:
Jan 2, 2012
thanks for the great tips !! now i know what to do with the new vintage dress i bought at etsy last week !
cleaning service Nashville says:
Jan 4, 2012
If you do adore your vintage clothing very much, learn the right way of washing them and also maintain the cleanliness of your cabinet where you are going to place them after drying. It does take effort and attention if you value cleanliness and neat appearance not just for your clothes but for your entire household as well.
How to Hand Wash Vintage Clothing Pt. 2 | Karmaloop Ladies' Blog | Karmaloop Ladies' Blog says:
Jan 6, 2012
[...] I discussed some useful cleanings tips for your vintage threads (check out the post right over HERE) but that was just the tippy tip of the iceberg. There are tons of different cleanings tips and [...]