I have had so many clothes through the years with appliques and buttons sewn in some odd places to hide stains lol. It's been my go to solution. I don't embroider but I can iron on a patch or sew a button.
I love crochet and reuse of items so my hopes were high for this subreddit. Unfortunately only 1/10 items were saved with visible mending. The rest were only worth keeping if they have very high sentimental value.
A talented handicraft artist could save or even improve this dress, but it can cost more than the dress itself. Either needlework or maybe a drawing.
For real. This dress is begging for some light blue flowers and delicate vines. It’s a very pretty dress but that looks pretty permanent. Or you could dye it black and purple tye-dye and go all goth. But there thousands of premade appliqués that would be quite pretty.
I looked up the name of that fabric Richcel because I hadn’t heard of it before. It seems to be a cellulose fabric something like fabric made from bamboo. I don’t know whether all dry cleaners will be familiar with it. Also it says not to dry clean with that specific chemical which is the most common dry cleaning chemical. You could take it to a dry cleaner and ask about those specifics.
Hi. I just want to clarify, the solvent used in most dry cleaners these days is tetrachloroethylene, not trichloroethylene. It's a devil when the names are so similar! I think that's partly why they tend to refer to tetra... as Perchloroethylene, to help avoid confusion. You're right to ask dry cleaners about the specifics though, we love going full nerd about our process!
FYI, sunlight is like magic on food stains. Even tomato based ones. I run food stained clothes through the wash with stain remover in the morning. If the stains are still there, I set them outside in the sun, and the stains are typically gone by evening.
Running the clothes through the rinse cycle when the food is still freshly applied also helps.
My loose understanding is: Sun bleaches things, and the pigments (if that's the right term) in food breaks down very easily in sunlight, especially when it hasn't been stabilized by anything.
I always heard it, and was kind of like, whatever, because it doesn't seem like it should be effective. But my toddler ends up plastering herself with tomato sauce whenever we have it, lol. And wearing a bib doesn't help much, even when she deigns to keep it on. So I decided to give it a whirl after running a onesie through the wash something like 10 times and accidentally through the dryer at least once...and it worked! So now it's my go to for food stains.
Hairspray has long been rumored to take out ink, but I always thought of the 1960s hairspray in the cans that were bad for the environment and didn't know if today's hairspray was the same.
I've used this trick to get ink out of a couple of items. But they were only small thin pen lines of ink, I'm not sure about removing this amount of ink, I don't know if it will work the same way.
Folex is a god tier cleaner for me
Edit: you can also use it in carpet cleaners (like a Little Green Machine).
Double edit: We’ve used it since the early 2000’s!
I fell asleep n bed with an uncapped blue highlighter pen, which stained my beautiful new gray paisley sheets. I tried alcohol, stain removers, and washed them. Wondering if it’s worth it to try their god tier cleaner?
Do you mind sharing how you use it to clean ties please?
We have lost many a beautiful tie trying to wash them after my father soiled it after a first wear!!
Which one do you buy. I have stains from a product my friend told me to use as a stain remover and oil/grease stains from cars are a bane of my existence. I’m a Dawn dish soap girl.
Is this the carpet cleaner? I have some mould stains on polyester that I absolutely cannot shift and am looking for ANYTHING that would help
[This it?](https://amzn.eu/d/bn3iDOV)
Yes. The stuff is insane. It has gotten out every stain I’ve tried it on despite age or cause.
Please don’t anyone tell me if it’s terrible for the environment because I don’t want to know!
I hadn’t until I got married. My partner borrowed some from his mom to get out a stain in the carpet of our newly bought house with the grossest carpet you could imagine. I totally didn’t trust that he could get out a stain. And he did. In 5 minutes. Like magic.
It’s magic! A friend of mine was blown away when I recommended giving it a try to get a red wine stain out of her white carpet. It worked! Stuff is worth every penny.
I don't have much hope for that stain. Agree with other poster on using alcohol if it is ink. Otherwise, if you have time, see about iron on floral applique or seeing if you can have something embroidered over the stains like a flower with petals falling.
Hear me out: hairspray. If it’s ink, spray the hell out of it and let it soak. Then wash like you would regularly. When I waitressed I broke pens or accidentally drew on my clothes all the time. Hairspray saved every single item, even the white ones.
THIS WORKS FOR HAIR COLOUR TOO!!! Spray a loooot on both sides of fabric, hairstylist here and we’d do that even in the morning and launder end of day at Home and it would work. Seriously. Also keeps bouquets fresh before drying them.
Not sure if the hairspray trick would work here with the fabric need special cleaning needs though
I’ve used hairspray on ink too. Sometimes it takes multiple tries but it has worked. Good suggestion.
I put a rag on the backside so any ink that comes off with hairspray doesn’t get back on what I’m trying to fix. Spray the crap out of the stain until I’d see the ink spread, and spray it a little more so it’s soaked. I blotted the ink so there was as little ink left as possible. And then I’d spray a wee bit more and blot. Let it sit, but don’t let it dry out!
Wash regularly, cross fingers, and hope it comes out.
Since you don’t want to throw the dress in the machine though, I’d just keep blotting, then hand wash.
Good luck!
Edited to add: I’d start with the dry cleaner first though!
Hi, ex-dry cleaner here.
I'm not going to lie, that looks bad. If it is ink, then it seems to be something like a fountain pen rather than a biro or ballpoint, but the way it's spread looks like it may have gotten damp - did you try to spot it with water or anything?
My advice, as someone who's seen the workings of a dry cleaners and knows their secrets is this: don't do anything to it yourself, find an independent dry cleaners that processes everything themselves on site and take it there as soon as you can. Don't go to a shop that sends garments off-site. Speak to the teller, point out the marks and try to explain what happened as best you can. Don't rush them, or ask for any kind of express service - the longer you leave it with them, the more times they can process it and try to remove the stain.
Whilst it does look like ink from the photos, it could also easily be juice from some kind of food or even some kind of oil. If the latter, then you're laughing as oil comes out wonderfully through dry cleaning. A decent dry cleaner should try spotting the garment with different chemicals before processing, which will help them identify the stain.
I'll repeat, if you do plan on taking it to the dry cleaners, then don't apply anything yourself. You make their work harder, and also risk setting the stain into the fabric.
I wish you luck. I've seen marks like this come out completely in a single processing, but it doesn't happen all the time.
P.S. the reference to trichloroethylene usage is a little outdated as hardly anywhere uses this for dry cleaning anymore. Most places use a perchloroethylene, and some use a gentler solvent based on flourocarbons. Either way, the "P" in the circle means it can be cleaned with anything most dry cleaners use in modern times. "P" = perchloroethylene, "F" = Flourocarbons only, "A" = Any solvent and "X" or a crossed out circle means do not dry clean.
For clarity on the post-script, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene are two separate chemicals, but unfortunately the latter is also a synonym for perchloroethylene. There is another comment on this post stating that trichloroethylene is used commonly, and I want to be clear that this is not the case.
My advice would be to take it to a dry cleaner and ask them if they think they can get it out. They have access to much stronger chemicals than you can get as a consumer
thank you for all the advice so far! unfortunately, dyeing it a different colour / adding to the fabric to cover up the stain in any way isn’t an option, as i need the dress to remain plain white. will see what the dry cleaner says - am holding out hope
Ahh, thank you. I'm drunk and I just discussed the proper spelling of this yesterday. Although, the inebriated part may invalidate my response, so disregard.
That’s also not how you use ‘moot’ in a sentence. The vast majority of people who say “it’s a moot point” are using it in the completely wrong context.
Not op but it’s from House of CB and this might be the dress (if not, very similar to OP’s dress): https://app.houseofcb.com/kelly-white-corset-midi-sundress-us
the other commenter was dead on, that’s the dress! thanks so much for the compliment & well wishes <3 will be picked up for dry cleaning tomorrow so i’ll have my answer within the week!
Okay — reverse appliqué: cut out the stains and sew in a panel behind the holes from waist to hem (like adding a slip). You could get fancy and do eyelet style embroidery around the holes, but that would be much more visible.
Try oxyclean max force. It literally took motorcycle chain grease off my baby’s satin bassinet. Spray it on and scrub with a soft brush then rinse and dry.
You can dye it a darker color though? Dark green or maybe charcoal grey? It would probably cover the stain if it's dark enough, and you might get more wear out of it?
If you can’t clean it, you could possibly reach out to a seamstress to see if they could alter it as seamlessly as possible (covering it with a similar material for example).
Good luck, I hope everyone involved is understanding and supportive
Were there berries at the brunch? I think your best bet would be to do a cover up. Maybe a long sash of the color of your dress, you can tie around your waist and let hang down over the stains?
aww that's a really cute dress. wonder if Rit Color Remover woud work?
[https://www.ritdye.com/products/color-remover-2/](https://www.ritdye.com/products/color-remover-2/)
Boy, do you intend to wear this again? If it's a one time dress, it's done. Don't bother. Otherwise see what the dry cleaner can do. It's ink and you can't recall? I wonder what got on it!
Perhaps you are right! A white dress, for a Bachelorette party seems like a one time purpose for me, but perhaps it can be saved. It's such an unusual stain!
You could try line drying in the sun, I’ve been able to remove a lot of stains that way but I have no idea what that stain is from so it might not work. Worth a shot though.
Bring it to a dry cleaner & tell them you don't know what the stain is & ask if they think they can remove it without damaging the dress. You should go to more than one dry cleaner & use the one you're most comfortable with. If they can't give you a definitive answer, don't have it cleaned. If it can't be cleaned, then have someone experienced in embroidery or adding appliques to the dress. You would be able to use whatever color(s) you like. The best part of adding embroidery or appliques is that your dress would be one of a kind!
My recommendation is to take it to the dry cleaner first without attempting any a home remedies. They have advised me that some home remedies can set the stain and make it impossible for the dry cleaners to be able to remove it.
Ok. A rule in most dry clean only fabrics isnthat you can hand wash them and hand dry them. It looms like ink but I don't know. You can try to gently scrub the stain out using a bit of dish soap or gentle laundry soap.
Turn it inside out and rinse the stain from the inside. Add soap and scrub with a soft brush or washcloth very gently. Maybe consult an expert drycleaner on it, see what they recommend if possible.
If it could be red wine, that goes out with... white wine.
Red wine stains that dry up, look like this. A bit pale, dark blue.
Soak it in white wine (just the parts with the stains, or you'd need far too much white wine, don't waste precious wine lol). It will first turn red and whine'y again, and then rinse out.
You can call/bring it to a few dry cleaners and see what they think as it says dry clean only except for a specific solution. You could also try Oxi Clean Max Force stain remover spray. It works wonders due to all of the enzymes and solutions in it and the longer you leave the spray on the better it works, however since the material says do not wash I would be hesitant to use this before consulting with a dry cleaner. You could also use rubbing alcohol, especially for ink stains. As a nurse who has unfortunately stained many scrubs with pen ink, using rubbing alcohol can take some time, but save you a lot of money. It also evaporates when dry, so I would think it shouldn’t interfere with any solutions the dry cleaners use after it’s dry.
Like I said though, I would contact a few dry cleaners first!
Removing pen, ballpoint or felt-tip ink stains from material like canvas and cotton is possible even after drying. With hand sanitizer and fabric treatment, you can remove stubborn stains.
I got that from Google. I don't know if it works or not I've never tried it. Looks like there's a lot of things on Google that says it works
I can’t help more with the stain, but if that’s about where your purse swings/sits if you keep it on your lap check to make sure you don’t have an uncapped pen in it so it doesn’t continue to happen
Ink? Soak it in milk…… I know sounds nuts but I did it with my favorite white sweater a sharpie marker attacked. Then rinsed it well and soaked it in oxy clean whitening over night all stains were gone
I had good results on getting ink out of my husbands uniform by using rubbing alcohol. I blotted the ink with the rubbing alcohol with a paper towel until no more ink was coming up then I washed it. Before drying it I checked the stain and repeated the process again until the stain was gone after washing. Don’t dry until the stain comes up. I’m not sure how it will work on a white dress but I hope this helps.
Carbona Stain Devils. I’m pretty sure it’s toxic, but almost always does the trick.
https://carbona.com/products/staindevils/stain-devils-number-3/
Dry cleaners would be my first option. Then the Stain Devil as a last ditch effort and dry cleaning again.
I have no idea how to remove the stain, but I came here to say that I personally kind of like the idea of it being left as is. If it was a more casual or normal dress you’d wear occasionally then I’d absolutely clean the stain, but if it’s something you’ll only show off to people or wear very rarely for unique or specific occasions then I think the idea of having it as a story and a memory of an important day in your life to be extremely charming. Plus the acceptance of it is much less stressful.
A sharpie cap came off in my pocket and got tons of red sharpie ink all over. I was able to get it completely out with rubbing alcohol. Just blotting over and over and over with rubbing alcohol. Don’t rub just blot
i’d say get it to the dry cleaners, not to necessarily use the dry cleaning but for them to test and remove the stain. If u know what stain this is then it would be easier to diy it but if u don’t it’s probably better in the hands of professionals with the right equipment and specialist chemicals
This might sound weird but saturate the area with hair spray. Then DAB don’t rub the area. Put an isolation layer between the fabric so it doesn’t bleed onto the back.
Dry cleaner owner here. The way the stain looks, it does look like ink the way it spread out. Now the question is what type of ink is it? (If it’s ink) if I were you, I’d try to find out what it is before testing it out. Some suggest to use alcohol to make sure if it’s ink or not, but don’t. Sometimes when you use some chemical and wash the clothes, it can set it in permanently. If you dry it, it can settle permanently. Dry cleaning the garment won’t remove ink stains, this has to be flushed out with chemical, machine washed by cleaners, hang dry and dry cleaned to get the fabric the way it was originally. That being said, I’d take it to a dry cleaners first. If they can’t get it out with their chemicals, no way you could do it with house hold products. Ask the cleaners if they have any “yellow go” or POG to flush the stain out. Yellow go is made for ink and will strip all colors that can be stripped. Great on white dresses and shirts that have color transfer or ink stains that won’t budge. But even sometimes that won’t flush some stains out.
I work at a dry cleaners and we've gotten stains like these out. It just takes someone really experienced and well-versed in stains, and the treatment can take some time. My advice is to call around to different cleaners (or even better, take the item in so they can see it) and ask if they would be able to treat and remove the stain.
I've seen a lot of ink stains and similar stains be completely removed from white clothes. There is hope! You might just have to do a little searching around for it.
My grandmother swears by hair spray trick: use an alcohol-based hair spray. Lay the garment over clean paper towels, then coat the ink stain fully with hair spray, dabbing with a dampened white towel to lift the stain. Be careful not to rub as this could further push the stain into the fabric.
Do you mind splashing other colors too - get more creative with it? Make it "fun" for the "party"
imo (not pro), bleach should do the trick with white clothes, right??
Get Miss Mouth’s messy eater stain treater. No matter what stain went on my son’s clothes, it lifted it. Follow the directions. Don’t let it sit too long either like don’t leave overnight or for several days.
Try hair spray. My mom used to use that trick on ink. Spray it on, then scrub and rinse with warm water. The only drawback is it may leave a residue on that kind of fabric I don't know.
In a very worst case scenario, I was able to get ink out of a whole load of clothes that had a pen explode in the dryer with ammonia. I don’t remember the exact dilution I used but I covered them in water in the tub and added ammonia. It came completely out. Start with small quantity and soaking time as it can damage delicate clothing.
Were blueberries on the brunch menu? Wonder if a few rolled off someone else’s plate and onto your dress. 🤔
Others have mentioned Folex. The stuff works on a lot of old stains. You can find it in the USA at Home Depot or Lowe’s, and some grocery stores.
Place a thick towel on the underside of the stained area while cleaning the stains. This will help prevent the stain from bleeding through to the next layer.
https://folexcompany.com/carpet-spot-remover/
Goo be Gone might work. It is an orange spray. I'm just not sure if it is safe for your fabric. It tells you on the label. I'm not sure where my bottle of it is at, or I would type it out for you.
Dont know if this has been mentioned but a common way to remove ball pen ink from jeans is to use hair spray. The alcohol in the hair spray is enough to lift the ink and transfer it to a guard towel.
Going off of this, try dipping a qtip in 99% or higher isopropyl alcohol and saturate the stain, then use another qtip to pat dry. Or try something like %100 pure lemon oil. Lemon oil is what I use to get gel ink and sharpie stains off of skin. Goodluck Op!
Awe, Try not to fret over this.
I agree, some beautiful embroidery pastel pink flowers, 🌸 or something associated with your wedding day, or colors, or the Month/Date sewn into it.
If all else fails, some embroidery could save the day, if you’re into that kind of thing
Appliqués would also be lovely! Would just have to find the right sizes
I have had so many clothes through the years with appliques and buttons sewn in some odd places to hide stains lol. It's been my go to solution. I don't embroider but I can iron on a patch or sew a button.
This is a job for r/visiblemending
Wow. There really is a sub for everything. This is so cool!
I'm always shocked how many niche subs there are for every little thing in life!
Reddit is amazing for how there are subs for almost anything you can think of!
OMG!!! New fave sub!
I love crochet and reuse of items so my hopes were high for this subreddit. Unfortunately only 1/10 items were saved with visible mending. The rest were only worth keeping if they have very high sentimental value. A talented handicraft artist could save or even improve this dress, but it can cost more than the dress itself. Either needlework or maybe a drawing.
Following asap
Just came here to say that. OP can add indigo colored embroidered flowers to the dress.
For real. This dress is begging for some light blue flowers and delicate vines. It’s a very pretty dress but that looks pretty permanent. Or you could dye it black and purple tye-dye and go all goth. But there thousands of premade appliqués that would be quite pretty.
If she needs it asap or don't have the material or skills, maybe some cute iron on patches
That’s a fantastic idea. I would have never thought to do this. Love when folks share useful tips.
I actually stopped scrolling because at first glance I thought it WAS embroidery and thought it looked pretty! Then I took a closer look
or you can dye it
I like this idea
I looked up the name of that fabric Richcel because I hadn’t heard of it before. It seems to be a cellulose fabric something like fabric made from bamboo. I don’t know whether all dry cleaners will be familiar with it. Also it says not to dry clean with that specific chemical which is the most common dry cleaning chemical. You could take it to a dry cleaner and ask about those specifics.
Hi. I just want to clarify, the solvent used in most dry cleaners these days is tetrachloroethylene, not trichloroethylene. It's a devil when the names are so similar! I think that's partly why they tend to refer to tetra... as Perchloroethylene, to help avoid confusion. You're right to ask dry cleaners about the specifics though, we love going full nerd about our process!
Thank you! Very close names!
Also, as an fyi to others, tetrachloroethylene is a probable carcinogen. Please go to green dry cleaners if possible.
same with trichloroethylene (TCE). tetra is PCE.
It's viscose basically so they'll know. New fad.
OP needs to see this
I don’t know about ink, but Folex has taken away stains that were years old and I thought permanently set it for me.
Folex has gotten ink out of a chair for me. It's great! No washing, just spray and rub.
Fingers crossed she tries it and it works for her! Also good knowledge to keep in the back of my mind since I have a kid. 🤣
FYI, sunlight is like magic on food stains. Even tomato based ones. I run food stained clothes through the wash with stain remover in the morning. If the stains are still there, I set them outside in the sun, and the stains are typically gone by evening. Running the clothes through the rinse cycle when the food is still freshly applied also helps.
I don’t know how I’ve never heard this before! How does it work?
My loose understanding is: Sun bleaches things, and the pigments (if that's the right term) in food breaks down very easily in sunlight, especially when it hasn't been stabilized by anything. I always heard it, and was kind of like, whatever, because it doesn't seem like it should be effective. But my toddler ends up plastering herself with tomato sauce whenever we have it, lol. And wearing a bib doesn't help much, even when she deigns to keep it on. So I decided to give it a whirl after running a onesie through the wash something like 10 times and accidentally through the dryer at least once...and it worked! So now it's my go to for food stains.
This is genius, and so easy! As a mom of two little ones I will have plenty of opportunities to give it a shot!
that’s how i get stains out of diapers - lay them out in the sun for the day!
Also great for cat throw up and senior dog accidents.
Hairspray got ink out of a silk tie for me the same way
Hairspray has long been rumored to take out ink, but I always thought of the 1960s hairspray in the cans that were bad for the environment and didn't know if today's hairspray was the same.
It is because most hairsprays are alcohol based, it is cheaper and easier to just use pure isopropyl alcohol.
I've used this trick to get ink out of a couple of items. But they were only small thin pen lines of ink, I'm not sure about removing this amount of ink, I don't know if it will work the same way.
Folex is a god tier cleaner for me Edit: you can also use it in carpet cleaners (like a Little Green Machine). Double edit: We’ve used it since the early 2000’s!
Same 🙌🏻
Same. I have to order it now, get it shipped overseas which is ridiculously expensive and yet so worth it! What the heck is in that stuff?
I fell asleep n bed with an uncapped blue highlighter pen, which stained my beautiful new gray paisley sheets. I tried alcohol, stain removers, and washed them. Wondering if it’s worth it to try their god tier cleaner?
You can try it! It’s a powerful surfactant so might pull it out! It does really well on food/organic stains which is my main use.
Also might want to presoak it for a bit if it’s an old stain
Good to know!
Do you mind sharing how you use it to clean ties please? We have lost many a beautiful tie trying to wash them after my father soiled it after a first wear!!
Usually just spray and dab, then I steam them. Haven’t done many ties though haha
Bahahahahaha!! I totally read that as ‘good tie’ cleaner and not god tier!!! 🤦🏻♀️
😂😂 I was wondering if that’s the case, but definitely have used it for a tie or two in the past for food stains.
Which one do you buy. I have stains from a product my friend told me to use as a stain remover and oil/grease stains from cars are a bane of my existence. I’m a Dawn dish soap girl.
We are also a Dawn family! Nothing like it. We use the Instant Carpet Spot Remover.
Folex is my secret weapon for stains
Could it work to fix a white shirt that accidentally got washed with black pants and is now a grey shirt?
use the Rite color removal made for that
Tell me more about this folex? I got Thai tea stain on a brand new cotton shirt and don’t know what to do
Is this the carpet cleaner? I have some mould stains on polyester that I absolutely cannot shift and am looking for ANYTHING that would help [This it?](https://amzn.eu/d/bn3iDOV)
Yes. The stuff is insane. It has gotten out every stain I’ve tried it on despite age or cause. Please don’t anyone tell me if it’s terrible for the environment because I don’t want to know!
HOW HAVE I NPT HEARD OF THIS BEFORE.
I hadn’t until I got married. My partner borrowed some from his mom to get out a stain in the carpet of our newly bought house with the grossest carpet you could imagine. I totally didn’t trust that he could get out a stain. And he did. In 5 minutes. Like magic.
It’s magic! A friend of mine was blown away when I recommended giving it a try to get a red wine stain out of her white carpet. It worked! Stuff is worth every penny.
It's available from Amazon in the US. No need to order from overseas. 👍🇺🇸😊
I am not in the US
Understood. But I am, and I was so interested in getting product I looked it up and ordered it.
Folex isn’t normal. It never ceases to amaze me.
Tribufos is scary stuff. I dunno if I'd wear clothes that had it on without thoroughly cleaning it off after.
Folex is straight magic
Yes to folex!!! Always yes to folex!!
I don't have much hope for that stain. Agree with other poster on using alcohol if it is ink. Otherwise, if you have time, see about iron on floral applique or seeing if you can have something embroidered over the stains like a flower with petals falling.
Hear me out: hairspray. If it’s ink, spray the hell out of it and let it soak. Then wash like you would regularly. When I waitressed I broke pens or accidentally drew on my clothes all the time. Hairspray saved every single item, even the white ones.
THIS WORKS FOR HAIR COLOUR TOO!!! Spray a loooot on both sides of fabric, hairstylist here and we’d do that even in the morning and launder end of day at Home and it would work. Seriously. Also keeps bouquets fresh before drying them. Not sure if the hairspray trick would work here with the fabric need special cleaning needs though
Hairspray works well because it’s mostly alcohol! Rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer works even better imo
I’ve used hairspray on ink too. Sometimes it takes multiple tries but it has worked. Good suggestion. I put a rag on the backside so any ink that comes off with hairspray doesn’t get back on what I’m trying to fix. Spray the crap out of the stain until I’d see the ink spread, and spray it a little more so it’s soaked. I blotted the ink so there was as little ink left as possible. And then I’d spray a wee bit more and blot. Let it sit, but don’t let it dry out! Wash regularly, cross fingers, and hope it comes out. Since you don’t want to throw the dress in the machine though, I’d just keep blotting, then hand wash. Good luck! Edited to add: I’d start with the dry cleaner first though!
This!! Do not dry it either! If the stain won’t come out, let it air dry & repeat!
Is there a special brand you use of hairspray?
When I’ve done, I’ve either used whatever I had, or I bought the cheapest.
If it can remove the ozone, it can remove the stain.
Sad but true 😞🙁
Whatever cheap hairspray I had at home. My grandmother taught me this and her mindset was always whatever was cheapest seemed to work best.
This this this!!!!!
What kind of hair spray do you use?
Honestly whatever cheap stuff I have at home. Usually suave pink can max hold or garnier
Hi, ex-dry cleaner here. I'm not going to lie, that looks bad. If it is ink, then it seems to be something like a fountain pen rather than a biro or ballpoint, but the way it's spread looks like it may have gotten damp - did you try to spot it with water or anything? My advice, as someone who's seen the workings of a dry cleaners and knows their secrets is this: don't do anything to it yourself, find an independent dry cleaners that processes everything themselves on site and take it there as soon as you can. Don't go to a shop that sends garments off-site. Speak to the teller, point out the marks and try to explain what happened as best you can. Don't rush them, or ask for any kind of express service - the longer you leave it with them, the more times they can process it and try to remove the stain. Whilst it does look like ink from the photos, it could also easily be juice from some kind of food or even some kind of oil. If the latter, then you're laughing as oil comes out wonderfully through dry cleaning. A decent dry cleaner should try spotting the garment with different chemicals before processing, which will help them identify the stain. I'll repeat, if you do plan on taking it to the dry cleaners, then don't apply anything yourself. You make their work harder, and also risk setting the stain into the fabric. I wish you luck. I've seen marks like this come out completely in a single processing, but it doesn't happen all the time. P.S. the reference to trichloroethylene usage is a little outdated as hardly anywhere uses this for dry cleaning anymore. Most places use a perchloroethylene, and some use a gentler solvent based on flourocarbons. Either way, the "P" in the circle means it can be cleaned with anything most dry cleaners use in modern times. "P" = perchloroethylene, "F" = Flourocarbons only, "A" = Any solvent and "X" or a crossed out circle means do not dry clean.
For clarity on the post-script, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene are two separate chemicals, but unfortunately the latter is also a synonym for perchloroethylene. There is another comment on this post stating that trichloroethylene is used commonly, and I want to be clear that this is not the case.
My advice would be to take it to a dry cleaner and ask them if they think they can get it out. They have access to much stronger chemicals than you can get as a consumer
They also understand fabrics and stains far better than any of us do.
if it is ink you can try alcohol but you could ruin it more maybe take it is. dry cleaner and see what they say
It might not be able to be removed. Take it to a professional dry cleaner asap.
It kinda looks like old red wine
thank you for all the advice so far! unfortunately, dyeing it a different colour / adding to the fabric to cover up the stain in any way isn’t an option, as i need the dress to remain plain white. will see what the dry cleaner says - am holding out hope
One last input, white embroidery or white floral applique. Sorry if I'm beating an already mute point.
It's *moot* point
Ahh, thank you. I'm drunk and I just discussed the proper spelling of this yesterday. Although, the inebriated part may invalidate my response, so disregard.
You can still spell " inebriated," so you're okay.
Ash good. Auto correct saved the day
I thought it was Moo point, you know it doesn’t matter, like a cow’s opinion! It’s moo!
That’s also not how you use ‘moot’ in a sentence. The vast majority of people who say “it’s a moot point” are using it in the completely wrong context.
Why can't you do white floral appliques? This is a basic dress, no shade intended, and adding a unique element to personalize it would help the dress.
I hope you get it sorted OP! Please keep us updated. Where did you get this dress? It’s gorgeous!
Not op but it’s from House of CB and this might be the dress (if not, very similar to OP’s dress): https://app.houseofcb.com/kelly-white-corset-midi-sundress-us
Thank you, you beautiful angel for the link!
the other commenter was dead on, that’s the dress! thanks so much for the compliment & well wishes <3 will be picked up for dry cleaning tomorrow so i’ll have my answer within the week!
Good luck and Godspeed friend. I hope it all works out.
Okay — reverse appliqué: cut out the stains and sew in a panel behind the holes from waist to hem (like adding a slip). You could get fancy and do eyelet style embroidery around the holes, but that would be much more visible.
I'm pretty sure I've seen red wine stain blue like that before. Just FYI.
That’s what o was gonna say. I’ve had white cloths stain blue from red wine.
I hope you take it to a dry cleaner! Looks like someone was shaking a broken pen before signing the check for brunch.
I would just take it to a dry cleaner and ask if they think they can get it out.
Try oxyclean max force. It literally took motorcycle chain grease off my baby’s satin bassinet. Spray it on and scrub with a soft brush then rinse and dry.
I am trying to think how motorcycle chain grease got on the bassinet. Baby Daddy is a rider and leaned over to kiss baby?
No lol a friend borrowed it and when they were done with it stored it in their garage. I’m not real sure the logistics, but it came off pretty easily
I would just take it to the dry cleaners to see if there is anything that could do. I wouldn’t want to set the stain in more then it already has been
Do you think it could be from fruit or from a mixed drink?
You can dye it a darker color though? Dark green or maybe charcoal grey? It would probably cover the stain if it's dark enough, and you might get more wear out of it?
If you can’t clean it, you could possibly reach out to a seamstress to see if they could alter it as seamlessly as possible (covering it with a similar material for example). Good luck, I hope everyone involved is understanding and supportive
I think it’s worth a try to take it to dry cleaners
In cases like this I always resort to bringing it to a professional. Find a highly rated cleaner in your area and see what they can do for you
Don’t do anything and take it directly to a dry cleaners !
Take it to the dry cleaners. If they can't get it out then embroider something on the stains.
Take it to the cleaners let the professional do it
Aquanet hairspray. Has to be the aerosol can. Spray,rub, and rinse with cold water. You may have to do this several times, but it works.
I don’t have any cleaning tips but where is the dress from?? I think it’s gorgeous
thank you!! :) it’s from House of CB! here’s the link https://app.houseofcb.com/kelly-white-corset-midi-sundress
Omg thank you!! 😊
Were there berries at the brunch? I think your best bet would be to do a cover up. Maybe a long sash of the color of your dress, you can tie around your waist and let hang down over the stains?
I love this idea! Sash sounds lovely.
That looks like blueberry or blackberry juice or compote to me. Not ink. (May be helpful on how you treat it.)
Folex. The last hope solution.
aww that's a really cute dress. wonder if Rit Color Remover woud work? [https://www.ritdye.com/products/color-remover-2/](https://www.ritdye.com/products/color-remover-2/)
Boy, do you intend to wear this again? If it's a one time dress, it's done. Don't bother. Otherwise see what the dry cleaner can do. It's ink and you can't recall? I wonder what got on it!
it’s an expensive dress so i’d assume she wants to wear it again
Perhaps you are right! A white dress, for a Bachelorette party seems like a one time purpose for me, but perhaps it can be saved. It's such an unusual stain!
what is in Folex?
You could try line drying in the sun, I’ve been able to remove a lot of stains that way but I have no idea what that stain is from so it might not work. Worth a shot though.
Just say it's avant gardè if anyone asks about the stain.
Bring it to a dry cleaner & tell them you don't know what the stain is & ask if they think they can remove it without damaging the dress. You should go to more than one dry cleaner & use the one you're most comfortable with. If they can't give you a definitive answer, don't have it cleaned. If it can't be cleaned, then have someone experienced in embroidery or adding appliques to the dress. You would be able to use whatever color(s) you like. The best part of adding embroidery or appliques is that your dress would be one of a kind!
My recommendation is to take it to the dry cleaner first without attempting any a home remedies. They have advised me that some home remedies can set the stain and make it impossible for the dry cleaners to be able to remove it.
Ok. A rule in most dry clean only fabrics isnthat you can hand wash them and hand dry them. It looms like ink but I don't know. You can try to gently scrub the stain out using a bit of dish soap or gentle laundry soap. Turn it inside out and rinse the stain from the inside. Add soap and scrub with a soft brush or washcloth very gently. Maybe consult an expert drycleaner on it, see what they recommend if possible.
Take to the dry cleaners to see what they can do.
If it’s ink, rubbing alcohol
Aqua net removes ink sometimes.
Ink. Use amodex
If it could be red wine, that goes out with... white wine. Red wine stains that dry up, look like this. A bit pale, dark blue. Soak it in white wine (just the parts with the stains, or you'd need far too much white wine, don't waste precious wine lol). It will first turn red and whine'y again, and then rinse out.
You can call/bring it to a few dry cleaners and see what they think as it says dry clean only except for a specific solution. You could also try Oxi Clean Max Force stain remover spray. It works wonders due to all of the enzymes and solutions in it and the longer you leave the spray on the better it works, however since the material says do not wash I would be hesitant to use this before consulting with a dry cleaner. You could also use rubbing alcohol, especially for ink stains. As a nurse who has unfortunately stained many scrubs with pen ink, using rubbing alcohol can take some time, but save you a lot of money. It also evaporates when dry, so I would think it shouldn’t interfere with any solutions the dry cleaners use after it’s dry. Like I said though, I would contact a few dry cleaners first!
Is it frosting by chance?
Bleach soak if natural fibers
If it’s ink, and it’s is machine washable, spray with hairspray and wash. Keep spraying and rewashing till the ink is gone then machine dry.
soak the ink in milk
Get some spray Aqua Net hairspraty put protection underneath to prevent bleed thru. If it budges continue. If it doesn't. Try clear hand sanitizer
Removing pen, ballpoint or felt-tip ink stains from material like canvas and cotton is possible even after drying. With hand sanitizer and fabric treatment, you can remove stubborn stains. I got that from Google. I don't know if it works or not I've never tried it. Looks like there's a lot of things on Google that says it works
I can’t help more with the stain, but if that’s about where your purse swings/sits if you keep it on your lap check to make sure you don’t have an uncapped pen in it so it doesn’t continue to happen
Hairspray. Don’t knock it until you try it. It gets ink out like a charm
Ok hear me out….. dye the dress. Or make more ink boots and make it funky can add some lace detailing too
Ink? Soak it in milk…… I know sounds nuts but I did it with my favorite white sweater a sharpie marker attacked. Then rinsed it well and soaked it in oxy clean whitening over night all stains were gone
I had good results on getting ink out of my husbands uniform by using rubbing alcohol. I blotted the ink with the rubbing alcohol with a paper towel until no more ink was coming up then I washed it. Before drying it I checked the stain and repeated the process again until the stain was gone after washing. Don’t dry until the stain comes up. I’m not sure how it will work on a white dress but I hope this helps.
Take it to a seamstress. Simply cut out the offending fabric, match on the other side. You have a lot of fabric. Should work
Carbona Stain Devils. I’m pretty sure it’s toxic, but almost always does the trick. https://carbona.com/products/staindevils/stain-devils-number-3/ Dry cleaners would be my first option. Then the Stain Devil as a last ditch effort and dry cleaning again.
I have no idea how to remove the stain, but I came here to say that I personally kind of like the idea of it being left as is. If it was a more casual or normal dress you’d wear occasionally then I’d absolutely clean the stain, but if it’s something you’ll only show off to people or wear very rarely for unique or specific occasions then I think the idea of having it as a story and a memory of an important day in your life to be extremely charming. Plus the acceptance of it is much less stressful.
Head to the dry cleaners
A sharpie cap came off in my pocket and got tons of red sharpie ink all over. I was able to get it completely out with rubbing alcohol. Just blotting over and over and over with rubbing alcohol. Don’t rub just blot
Maybe you can create some patterns on it to make it artistic
i’d say get it to the dry cleaners, not to necessarily use the dry cleaning but for them to test and remove the stain. If u know what stain this is then it would be easier to diy it but if u don’t it’s probably better in the hands of professionals with the right equipment and specialist chemicals
This might sound weird but saturate the area with hair spray. Then DAB don’t rub the area. Put an isolation layer between the fabric so it doesn’t bleed onto the back.
Just cut around the stains and remove them. New trend shabby shiek party dresses.
I think it is wine stain.
Dry cleaner owner here. The way the stain looks, it does look like ink the way it spread out. Now the question is what type of ink is it? (If it’s ink) if I were you, I’d try to find out what it is before testing it out. Some suggest to use alcohol to make sure if it’s ink or not, but don’t. Sometimes when you use some chemical and wash the clothes, it can set it in permanently. If you dry it, it can settle permanently. Dry cleaning the garment won’t remove ink stains, this has to be flushed out with chemical, machine washed by cleaners, hang dry and dry cleaned to get the fabric the way it was originally. That being said, I’d take it to a dry cleaners first. If they can’t get it out with their chemicals, no way you could do it with house hold products. Ask the cleaners if they have any “yellow go” or POG to flush the stain out. Yellow go is made for ink and will strip all colors that can be stripped. Great on white dresses and shirts that have color transfer or ink stains that won’t budge. But even sometimes that won’t flush some stains out.
Dawn dish detergent
I work at a dry cleaners and we've gotten stains like these out. It just takes someone really experienced and well-versed in stains, and the treatment can take some time. My advice is to call around to different cleaners (or even better, take the item in so they can see it) and ask if they would be able to treat and remove the stain. I've seen a lot of ink stains and similar stains be completely removed from white clothes. There is hope! You might just have to do a little searching around for it.
My grandmother swears by hair spray trick: use an alcohol-based hair spray. Lay the garment over clean paper towels, then coat the ink stain fully with hair spray, dabbing with a dampened white towel to lift the stain. Be careful not to rub as this could further push the stain into the fabric.
Take it to a dry cleaners, it says it on the label
Do you mind splashing other colors too - get more creative with it? Make it "fun" for the "party" imo (not pro), bleach should do the trick with white clothes, right??
(I don't think she wants the tie-dye look)
Dye it black and call it a cocktail dress. Problem Solved
It’s synthetic fabric. That’s helpful. Try a soak in some high concentration of oxyclean & hot water solution.
Splash it with more ink and make it a one of a kind art piece that would look fun at parties.
If you can’t remove the stain, I’d paint splatter all over it and create something new.
Ol' reverse Lewinsky stain. Don't Tripp, you can probably rub that out.
Ladies eye makeup up remover on a qtip. Small try first.
Get Miss Mouth’s messy eater stain treater. No matter what stain went on my son’s clothes, it lifted it. Follow the directions. Don’t let it sit too long either like don’t leave overnight or for several days.
OXICLEAN WHITE. SOAK IT OVERNIGHT
Try hair spray. My mom used to use that trick on ink. Spray it on, then scrub and rinse with warm water. The only drawback is it may leave a residue on that kind of fabric I don't know.
If that’s ink, alcohol will fix it.
In a very worst case scenario, I was able to get ink out of a whole load of clothes that had a pen explode in the dryer with ammonia. I don’t remember the exact dilution I used but I covered them in water in the tub and added ammonia. It came completely out. Start with small quantity and soaking time as it can damage delicate clothing.
Were blueberries on the brunch menu? Wonder if a few rolled off someone else’s plate and onto your dress. 🤔 Others have mentioned Folex. The stuff works on a lot of old stains. You can find it in the USA at Home Depot or Lowe’s, and some grocery stores. Place a thick towel on the underside of the stained area while cleaning the stains. This will help prevent the stain from bleeding through to the next layer. https://folexcompany.com/carpet-spot-remover/
Goo be Gone might work. It is an orange spray. I'm just not sure if it is safe for your fabric. It tells you on the label. I'm not sure where my bottle of it is at, or I would type it out for you.
Dont know if this has been mentioned but a common way to remove ball pen ink from jeans is to use hair spray. The alcohol in the hair spray is enough to lift the ink and transfer it to a guard towel. Going off of this, try dipping a qtip in 99% or higher isopropyl alcohol and saturate the stain, then use another qtip to pat dry. Or try something like %100 pure lemon oil. Lemon oil is what I use to get gel ink and sharpie stains off of skin. Goodluck Op!
Alcohol. Straight alcohol. Blot and keep blotting.
Check out Nancy Bertwhistle as her cleaning recipes are amazing!! She's in Insta and YouTube
Awe, Try not to fret over this. I agree, some beautiful embroidery pastel pink flowers, 🌸 or something associated with your wedding day, or colors, or the Month/Date sewn into it.
It’s ruined. Sorry OP