At the end of the Grand Ball your Princess dress is covered with stains? That’s normal! And it is also normal that these stains disappear so that, at your next big event, you will once again be the prettiest Princess of the Kingdom. Here are some “recipes” to get rid of the most stubborn stains.
On white fabric, Marseille soap works wonders on all stains (except ink and tar stains): let the soap work for about 20 minutes before rinsing with clean water. The oldest stains should disappear if, before washing them with soap, you dab them with a cloth impregnated with hydrogen peroxide.
On uniformly coloured fabrics, the most stubborn stains (except ink and tar stains) do not resist a paste composed of baking soda and water. Leave on for three minutes and rinse with water.
To remove stains on fragile fabrics, it is advisable to dab the stains with a cloth soaked in turpentine after testing this stain remover on an invisible part of the coat.
The most common stains are butter, oil or fat and the earlier they are treated, the easier it is to remove them. When the stains are still fresh, place the fabric on a sheet of absorbent paper covered with talcum powder, cover the stains with talcum powder or “Terre de Sommières” and leave them for 6 to 12 hours, then dust the fabric and wash it in soapy warm water. When grease stains are old, the application of a paste composed of sodium bicarbonate and water is sufficient to remove them from the white cotton fabric but on coloured or fragile fabrics, the stain is treated by placing the fabric between two layers of absorbent paper and passing a hot iron (not too much, not too long) on the absorbent paper: the stain will melt and be transferred to the absorbent paper. If this is not enough, rubbing the stained fabric with Marseille soap should permanently remove the haloes.
Soda drink stains on fragile fabrics disappear by dabbing them with a 50/50 mixture of household alcohol and water.
Soil or chocolate stains on delicate fabrics should be buffered with white vinegar diluted in water and then washed with water and Marseille soap.
Pen ink stains on white cotton do not resist hydrogen peroxide, which should be allowed to act for 2/3 minutes before rubbing with Marseille soap and rinsing. On the other hand, when it is a coloured fabric that is stained, it is important to avoid hydrogen peroxide, which could discolour it. An effective anti-stain recipe on dyed cotton fabrics is to apply a paste composed of half a part of alcohol to be burned to one part of white vinegar, leave it to work for 5 minutes then wash with Marseille soap and rinse with warm water.
Finally, when the princesses have blown out all their birthday candles, their dresses wear the memory of these celebrations. To remove these wax stains embedded in the fabric, first scrape the surface of each stain with a spatula, then slide the stained fabric between two layers of blotting paper and iron it slightly with a hot iron. The melted wax passes through the fabric and impregnates the blotter. Wax residues can be removed with an ammonia-impregnated cloth (To be tested first on an invisible part of the fabric).
Finally, a review of the most common stains would not be complete without the chewing gum stains that can be more easily scraped with a spatula if the fabric has previously been cured by placing it in a freezer for a few hours. Then, to remove the last traces of chewing gum on delicate textiles (silk, satin), rub with a cloth soaked in household alcohol and water. On synthetic fabrics, you can replace alcohol with white vinegar. Finish the process by washing completely with water and Marseille soap.
So, each type of stain and each type of fabric requires a specific treatment but a well-kept dress will resist all kinds of stains and be ready for new adventures for many years to come.