Now that I've stopped giggling, Robin, would all the holdouts who have been reading my warnings from the very beginning of _Arachne_ (mailto:Lace@Arachne) hear loud and clear: Learn how to take care of precious textiles - you'll find many of my memos in our archives: _http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html_ (http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/index.html) A search of just my name will bring up over 1,000 entries. Refine this by searching "Jeri Ames conservation advice", which has about 18 entries.
Any suspect washing solution should be tested on a like-textile bit of thread or an inconspicuous inside seam allowance of a garment. If putting even a drop on lace, choose to put it on some thread that has not been made into lace. On old items, you can often find a thread somewhere to isolate and test. Conservators start with plain distilled water, a drop at a time (or dab with a Q-tip - small wand with cotton on both ends - cotton swab that is sold in pharmacies). If distilled water makes a color bleed, it is likely that all additives to the water will bleed that much, or worse. For example, I tried this method on each thread color in an 1838 embroidered sampler. One green dye ran in one part and not in another! Perhaps the green threads were from two different dye lots that looked the same when new. The next test is to add some Orvus to water and test again with the drop method. Then, the decision to be made is whether to wet clean, or not. This is what a responsible conservator will do -- make sure before taking drastic steps. Sometimes it is best to let well enough alone. If a gentle wash in Orvus (see archive) does not remove a stain, do not follow it with a heat treatment of any kind (such as putting in a hot dryer or pressing with a hot iron). Avoid sun. If you shouldn't expose your complexion to sun, why would you trust your lace to it???? It was an old method, discredited by today's museum conservators because today's sun rays contain more damaging UV. Do not take advice from old books and old cleaning recipes. If you want to take further steps, consult a local curator at a museum that has a collection of textiles. Have a professional conservator tackle it. (I do not mean a dry cleaning establishment.) Not just in this stream of memos, but another recently, I saw specific product names given. The only one I recommend for cotton/linen is Orvus - a Procter & Gamble product available in many parts of the world - used for wet cleaning fine rugs and upholstery by professionals, for washing sheep and other animals that will be displayed at fairs and the like, and hand washing delicate fabrics. Orvus is the product that museums use, always in a conservative way. It has just 4 ingredients: Sodium lauryl sulfate, lauryl alcohol, sodium sulfate, and water. Incidentally, I call Proctor & Gamble every few years to reconfirm that the ingredients have not changed! All these different manufacturers with their high-blown advertising claims are free to change formulas at any time. They also have not stood the test of time --- old containers of cleaning solutions may chemically change over time. Museums have sorted this out and recommend Orvus. Orvus used to be hard to find in shops women frequent. Quilting shop owners now often make up small bottles for sale (from the big industrial-size container it comes in). If you are located in a farming area, tack shops (shops where animal supplies are sold) often carry this product. You could get a group of ladies together and buy the large container and re-bottle it. Please use some common sense. No perfumes which may discolor over time. No lanolin (leaves residue behind that microcosms like to eat). Colorant/Pigment/Dye(s) - come on, whom are we kidding????? -- memo below of one product's claims! Always remember that whatever liquid cocktail you put your textile into, not all of it will ever be rinsed out. It stays in fibers. Forever. It just reached midnight in Maine. Happy New Year to all our lace lovers. Jeri Ames in Maine USA Lace and Embroidery Resource Center ------------------------------------------------------------ 12/31/2011 4:04:18 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes: ------ Jean Nathan <[email protected]> wrote: What is particular about Cheer that it will avoid bleeding? Cheer brand laundry detergent makes the claim and (I assume) Sue has tried it if she endorses it. I'm sure whatever allows the company to make this claim is part of its proprietary formulation and we may never know what it is. We also won't know if/when they decide to change it, which is why I'm sure it won't get an endorsement from Arachnean textile watchdog, Jeri Ames. Even if it's been tested for safety and effectiveness by professional textile conservators (unlikely), there's no knowing how long it will remain safe and/or effective. [I'm really not calling you a dog, Jeri, honest! But you're the one with the most conservation knowledge on the list and the one that usually has to reiterate your warnings.] Robin P. --------------------------------------------- Cheer brand detergent contains: Fragrance(s)/perfume(s), Color protection/processing agent, Color safe oxygen bleach (sodium perborate and bleach activator),Sodium sulfate anhydrous,Cleaning agent(s),Colorant/Pigment/Dye(s),Fabric whitening agent(s),Sodium silicates (unspecified), Soil suspending agent(s), Water softeners (complex sodium phosphates/sodium carbonate) Could be the sodium perborate prevents colour bleeding. Bev in Shirley BC Canada - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
