Ink stains and when to replace garments


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I have two questions requiring advice:

 

1.  Does anyone have any tips for removing ink stains from clothing?

 

and

 

2.  When would you replace a garment?

 

The other day I was doing laundry.  My husband had a drill weekend, has an upcoming 2-week training, and therefore needed his Army stuff washed.  I was lazy and chose not to separate the military garments from his uniform.  Anywho, I missed a pen in the pocket and it exploded...

 

The uniform is fine, but his garments have ink splatter.

 

The rest of his military garments are already packed at the other side of town awaiting departure for training, so we either need to get the ink out or just replace them.

 

Note:  I have already blotted it quite a bit with some rubbing alcohol, but still ink remains...

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I use Zout - it is almost impossible to get Aerosol hairspray in my neck of the woods. Zout doesn't get all of the ink from a Sharpie,or the gel pens, but it does with ball point pens.  I also use White Brite on the non-bleach-able whites. You cannot use Oxi type detergents with White Brite. So, I pre-wash first. White Brite, and 1/4 normal amount of detergent. Let go through a full cycle (15-20 min. in the hottest water for the fabric). When it is done, set for another full cycle with 1/2 normal amount of detergent, full amount of powdered all color bleach. When it is done, reset for one more COLD rinse.

 

This gets the dress shirts, and white cotton blend garments WHITE. I wish I had a private yard big enough for a significant sized clothes line. Then I would put ALL the clothes out. Nothing like the sunshine to whiten up white clothes. 

 

As for when to replace your garments - when the elastic is shot, when there are un-repairable runs/holes. When the elastic band separates from the fabric and you have no means to repair it. In the 13 years that I have been endowed, I have not had to toss any of my garments. Replace them because I gained weight. The too small ones I gave to my Sis-In-Law as she had gained weight and could now wear them. 

 

I have lost weight and my tops won't stay up on the shoulders, plus there is too much bunch under my bra - so those will get set aside in another drawer and I will bring out the smaller ones that I didn't send on to Sis. 

 

My husbands garments are another matter. When we first married (2004) the ones he had were in very sad shape. Yellowed, dingy, and thread bare. The first thing I did was to order new ones. AND more than just 6 pair. He told me that he always used chlorine bleach on them. Well, they are the cotton blend and it states very clearly NOT to use chlorine bleach. 

 

He has gained a lot of weight and blew out the elastic and a few seams - plus he really didn't know his size. Once we got him the correct size, and quit using chlorine bleach - they look good, fit good and are WHITE.

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Thanks, y'all!

 

I would have a better approach if these garments were white, but his military ones are the camel color.  Since he only wears them a couple of times a month, usually, they still look so nice and are in such good condition and I'd hate to replace them without trying to get the ink out.

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I had a shirt that I had a stain on it.  Tried Zout and Spray and Wash and washed it a few times. Would not come out.  I hated getting rid of the shirt because I really liked it. It sat in my closet for a couple of years.

 

Started working at Hobby Lobby and quite a few customers raved about this Grandma's Secret Spot Remover so I bought some. Decided to try it on this shirt and it came right out.

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If you're known me long here on lds.net you know that the subject of garments is near and dear to my heart.  :)

 

I have removed ink stains from a lot of things.  I start with Aqua Net hairspray because its least expensive and I've sometimes used the whole can.  Spray the stain with the hairspray and work it through until all the stickiness of the ink is gone.  You'll be left with a black, blue or brown stain.  Next soak in hot water and Oxiclean as many times as needed.

 

My husband put a black Bic pen without a lid in my "mary poppins" bag.  In the bag was a crocheted table cloth that I had spent about 3 years working on and it was almost finished.  The ink went everywhere.  This was not a case of cut it out and fill in.  This was crocheted lace.  So . . . I did the hairspray and then the Oxiclean.  The hairspray worked fast.  The Oxiclean took a couple of times and I had to let it soak for hours/days.  The second time I soaked it I just filled my largest bowl (holds 50 cups) with hot water and two scoops of Oxiclean and then I left it and forgot about it until I had time to get back to it.  All signs of the ink stains were gone.  This tablecloth now covers my sweet neighbors table and unless she reads lds.net and knows this is me, she has no idea there were once bad ink stains on that tablecloth.

 

As for ink on garments or other stains.... as I've stated in other threads, my husband works construction.  He has work garments and church/temple garments.  I try hard to keep the work garments free of stains and as white as I can get them.  I soak them in Oxiclean and the Rit whitener at least once a month.  I also mend them.  He doesn't wear the work garments to church and the temple because they aren't perfectly white and sometimes it shows through a white shirt.  But .... if we think about it what are garments for?  They are to remind us of our covenants.  I do not think the Lord intended for our garments to be something that derails us because they become stained.  I can't afford to buy new garments every month.  I know the Lord understands.

 

(When we were newly endowed I accidently turned all our garments pink.  Something red ended up in the washer with them.  I cant' even remember what it was.  This was before Oxiclean.  We wore our pink garments because we couldn't afford to replace them.  I truly believe the Lord didn't judge us harshly for that.)

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Thanks, y'all!

 

I would have a better approach if these garments were white, but his military ones are the camel color.  Since he only wears them a couple of times a month, usually, they still look so nice and are in such good condition and I'd hate to replace them without trying to get the ink out.

Oxiclean doesn't usually take the original color out of clothes but when I used it on coloreds I don't soak as long.

 

The table cloth was not white, it was ecru.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Pam, I've been meaning to mention the  Secret  Spot Remover was awesome. It got everything out save one big stubborn spot, which I then soaked in Oxiclean. I think it's on it's way to getting out.

 

Yeh I love the stuff.

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