[MR] bleaching black wool fabric

[Kerri Martinsen]

Giuliana  and all other interested:

The chemical reaction of bleach can be stopped by soaking in a solution of
water and White Vinegar.  The Acidic vinegar attacks the Basic bleach and
kills it.  I would recommend that WHENEVER beach is used it should be
followed by a vinegar soak (1 gal water + 1 c white vinegar).

Please note apple cider vinegar will work but it will also color your fabric
(which would defeat the point of bleaching).  Save that for cooking.

Protein fibers (wool and silk) are the most affected by bleach, but
cellulose fibers (cotton, linen, rayon) will also be broken down by the
bleach.  Ever wonder why your "bleached jeans" from the  80's fell apart so
fast?

Wolf - had not heard of "Anti-chlor".  Interesting...

Vitha
(who used to costume professionally and went thru a lot of bleach doing
wardrobe...and a lot of vinegar)

Vinegar is also helpful in "banging out" wrinkles in Linen.  And cleaning
coffee pots, but that is another story.


On 1/25/08, Jessica Maxson <jessica at maxson.com> wrote:
>
> Salve!
> Oh, dear. I'm afraid you may have a bigger problem than color - chlorine
> bleach is very damaging to wool, to the point of dissolving the fibers.
> (It
> has to do with the pH of the bleach, which is basic, vs. the pH of the
> wool,
> which is acidic.)  I would advise you to check your fabric for damage
> before
> going any further with your project. If there doesn't seem to be visible
> damage, I'd rinse the fabric well in clean water to make sure there is no
> ongoing chemical reaction.
>
> Sorry to be the bearer of bad news,
> --Giuliana
>
> On Jan 24, 2008 3:25 PM, Challe Hudson <challe at alumni.unc.edu> wrote:
>
> > Good gentles, I have a non-period problem: I can't get my black dye to
> go
> > away. I have a piece of black wool that I planned to use for an early
> > period
> > tunic. I know that black is an inappropriate color, and I don't care
> what
> > color it ends up (anything but black) so I tried bleaching it. Although
> I
> > started with a weaker solution, I eventually had more than a cup of
> > chlorine