Cleaning a Christening Dress

Archives: Request: Whitening a Christening Gown Archived on 09/10/2006 Can Oxi clean whiten 32 year old christening gown? I am afraid to use this listed way even though I know it may work. The 1 cup dishwasher detergent w/tide and one cup clorex use to work great on my daughter's white nurses uniforms and my sons white football/baseball pants. I use to soak them overnight, then put through wash cycle. then I would put thru another wash cycle. Joan from Rutherford, NJ Answers: RE: Whitening a Christening Gown A number of years ago, before Oxi clean was on the market, I had a similar problem. I used Biz and CloroxII (all fabric bleach) with great results. I would dissolve equal parts of each in a small amount of hot water and then add enough cold water to cover the clothing items. Add the clothing to the cooled down solution, not the hot. I think 1/2 cup of each to 1 or 1 1/2 gallon of water would work. I let this soak for several days and just checked it daily to see if the stains were gone yet. The dishwasher detergent works but I feel that it is a very strong bleach and might harm fragile fabrics. Dishwasher detergent also has a very fine abrasive ingredient in it to "scrub" the dirty dishes clean so I don't use it with any fabrics. My son's old baby clothes, and baptisimal outfit, were packed away clean, but 30 years later had ugly brown stains on them! I could only guess they were from old formula/spit up stains that appeared to be washed out but still remained in the fabric. I'm happy to report they all came out......much to my surprise and relief! (09/04/2006) By Grandma Margie RE: Whitening a Christening Gown If the Oxi-clean doesn't work, why not give old-fashioned laundry bluing a try? It's recommended for delicate whites and can be used to soak and hand wash something like a Christening gown. Here's the URL to some info on bluing: http://www.walco-linck.com/bluette.html Just a thought... (09/04/2006) By sylviecyn RE: Whitening a Christening Gown My mom uses CLASSIC IVORY SOAP. We had several family heirloom articles that needed whitening. Because they were old and fragile mom did not want to use harsh detergents with chemicals. Lather the aritcle really well with the ivory soap (the classic bar...). Let the article sit with the soap in it. The soap lather will whiten the article gently.... it may be necessary to repeat the process depending on how yellowed the gown is... (09/04/2006) By Miss Cris Report Spam or Abuse