Be very careful when cleaning......

[JediJaida]

Be very careful when cleaning vintage items of clothing.

I had gotten a Pleasant Peasant outfit from AAAA, and dunked the whole thing in a cup of warm water with a smidge of detergent along with Oxy-clean, on account of the white top being dingy from age.

It got clean all right, but the blue flowered skirt faded a tad. The white top came out nice though.

I also had gotten the white Dinah mite wedding dress, as well as the black and white cocktail dress, both of them dingy as heck.

The white dress will never be that again, I fear. The yellowing is just too ingrained, even though it came out somewhat with the help of the detergent. The black and white was a bit better off, and now the skirt is a nice shade of white.

A word to the wise people, if your going to wash a small item like a costume or outfit, make sure it's color fast, and use maybe about a shot glass of detergent and lukewarm almost cold water.

DON'T leave it to soak for more than an hour or two at the most, and DON'T agitate it with a nail brush!

Blot dry with a CLEAN hand towel, and place to dry thoroughly on a sunny windowsill on top of a paper towel folded in half, or two of them placed together.

And remember, just cuz it's vintage, doesn't mean it has to look like crap.

[ctc]

>use maybe about a shot glass of detergent and lukewarm almost cold water.

Hmmmm.... I prefer dish soap; it's pretty benign and it's got stuff in it that'll break up grease and oils. Most kid-related stains are grease or oil based. (Doesn't always work on grass though.)

>Blot dry with a CLEAN hand towel, and place to dry thoroughly on a sunny windowsill on top of a paper towel folded in half, or two of them placed together.

Say.... THAT'S a great idea!

Don C.

[Gorn Captain]

I always use lukewarm water with a little soap (from a regular bar of soap).
I leave it to soak for no more than five minutes, gently "massaging" the outfit.
Sometimes, I do this again in fresh water (if the outfit is really dirty).
I then take it out, first put it in between something like toilet paper (to drain most of the water out), then in between a towel (press gently), and then I let it airdry.

Works wonder, and not just for outfits.
I bought a bunch of Matt Mason figures that looked like cr*p, very gently washed them with the same mixture, and they looked fantastic now.

Sometimes you can buy stuff for cheap because it looks awful, but a little clean-up will work miracles!

BE CAREFUL: outfits with fake leather and such require more attention: you might ruin POTA outfits!

[theressa]

I use shampoo and cold water. Just a few drops, enough to soap up a bit. And don't forget to seperate "loads." I have had good results with light dirt and minor stains. I have soaked clothes for hours and had no problems. I only use my fingertips for working it in. Any kind of brush will create pulls or nasty looking spots!
I do use this on Ape tunics, just for a few minutes though.
Only thing Mego that has ever bled on me was Trek pants. And this was not enough to really worry about. I consider that dead color, or excess color that was keeping them from looking nice anyway.
I have never had reds or yellows, from say an Ironman suit, to bleed into each other.

[PNGwynne]

I have washed things briefly, but pretty aggessively by hand, using warm -to-hot water and dishsoap & Oxy. Rubbing alcohol on a q-tip will also remove some greasy stains; put a folded hanky under the item as a blotter, & then re-wash.

As far as whites go, I usually use Oxy on knits. I did have great success using a pretty strong bleach solution on a cotton Lizard coat and rinsing it quickly & well. It is brilliantly white now.

I agree about blotting/blocking the item & then letting it air-dry.

[70's-toy-fan]

i have never had to wash anything but i have recieved some with the old mold smell and i use a ziplock baggie and a fabric softner sheet to get rid of the smell.After 2 or 3 days smell is gone.