The Vintage Lover’s Handbook: Stains and Smells
Professional methods for removing yellowing, rust, sweat, mold, grease, color bleed, bugs, mothballs, and cigarettes.
Have you ever found yourself cruising the racks at the thrift, stumbling across an “omg perfection is being embodied right in front of me” garment only to realize the armpits are yellowed and dribbles of unknown origin grace the bib? Without the proper knowledge in stain removal, you’ll likely pass on such a piece — deeming it unsalvageable and missing out on what otherwise may have been an item you would have treasured for years to come.
As a seasoned vintage dealer, I bring home and restore sullied textiles on a weekly basis. In fact, breathing new life into a garment that the general population would regard as irreparable is one of the most magical elements of the job.
The Vintage Lover’s Handbook is a monthly series dedicated to providing you with a professional arsenal of techniques to care for your beloved vintage treasures. With a decade of experience buying and selling vintage, I’ve tested a variety of remedies and discovered what actually works.
In this chapter of the The Vintage Lover’s Handbook, I’ll be covering all things stains and smells — sharing my tricks of the trade and giving you the tools to save vintage treasures from an untimely demise.
I show you my methods for removing: yellowing, sweat stains, rust, mold, blood, grease, color bleed, bugs, mothballs, and cigarette smells — safely, effectively, and cheaply!
This chapter builds on the previous, so if you haven’t read The Essential Guide To Laundering Vintage be sure to visit that first!
My #1 General Purpose Stain Remover
Starting off hot, I’m going to say something that might be considered controversial — especially in the vintage laundry space… I don’t love Oxiclean! Not only is it expensive, in my experience, even when used at proper dilution, it’s too harsh for most vintage textiles, and can leave you with irreparable damages — disintegrating fabric, fading colors, and bleaching areas without even removing stains.
The only occasion I find Oxiclean to be a suitably safe stain remover is when you are looking to remedy deep set stains in sturdy white cottons that have no additional adornment or screen printing. For example white bed sheets that have been yellowed over time do very well in very hot water with a few scoops of Oxi.
Below the paywall I reveal all my go to methods for stain removal, including my favorite general purpose stain remover which is much cheaper, safer, and works as an optimal first line of defense when tackling stains of unknown origin.