Help! Laundry mishap: Talk me off the ledge

I'm trying not to hyperventilate or panic. Last minute laundry run before the move, and I accidentally toss my red and white coral-patterned Tahari wrap dress into the wash with a dark brown pillow sham that had apparently not been laundered before.

*Insert cussword of choice*

Thank goodness, it was being laundered on cold wash, and the wrap dress is one of the items that doesn't go in the dryer so I discovered it right away - but the white is noticeably now more of a beige.

I've got it soaking in a bucket full of Oxy-Clean and will leave it there overnight. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can rescue it. I feel a little ill at the thought.

Just how bad would it be if it still comes out with the white being a bit beige-ish? Aside from Oxy-clean, any other remedies I should try?

The dress (pre-laundry incident):
http://pencilskirtlife.lookfab.....ress-again

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11 years ago

Mama Susie

Active Member

Hmmmm I have no tips on laundry. I'm terrible at it myself. I know vinegar can help with smells but not too sure how it works with stains. Good luck with the laundry mishap! But I was thinking that it might not be too bad with beige. I think it depends on the level of beige and whether or not it ends up uniformly beige on all the white spots.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Gulp.

I have no words of wisdom, only commiseration.

and hope. Freckles managed to get rid of a major mess on her son's shirt last week thanks to the wonders of YLF.

Crossing fingers for you.

Sveta

Oh no! This is such a pretty dress! I hope you can rescue it.
Zap suggested to use boiled egg shells. I don't think you can boil the dress with them but you can boil the shells and pour the water over the dress when it is the right temperature.
If everything else fails beige is not that bad with the red...:-)

LadyBirdK

I second the vinegar suggestion! With three kiddos, I have used much more often than I care to think about to restore clothes I thought were ruined - even weeksvafterbthe fact! Soak for two hours at most then rinse, rinse, rinse and repeat. You know, like shampoo

Good luck! (and that dress is awesome on you by the way.)

(edited for double post)

christy

Ack! I'd be feeling a little ill too...no helpful hints, just commiseration and letting you know my fingers are crossed that the Oxyclean does the trick!!!

goldenpig

Oh no! I hope the Oxiclean works! Crossing my fingers for you!

MNsara

Gaah!! I imagine the pit in your stomach! I hope the tricks and tips bring it back to it's former glory. Why does it happen to the things we love?

(If it does stay a little beige though, I think reds and beige are a match made in heaven - really!! Then add some taupe and I'm over the moon.)

Scarlet

Oh no! I hope you can fix it, but if not post it and we'll see what we can come up with as a rescue.

Kari

Knock on wood. So far I think it may be ok! We'll see in the morning but it looks like much of the stain came out.

Jjsloane

Fingers crossed - I'd try the vinegar next too. There is also something called color catcher from Tide I think, but that might be for before they went in the laundry together.

Deborah

Kari I have no advice but I am trusting the oxiclean works and the dress is good as new!

Tanya

What's the verdict...???

ps: i cannot deal with how fun those shoes are.

lynne

Crossing my fingers that it works!

Angie

Fashion Stylist

Try washing it in Clorex for Colours.

Whew! A night of Oxy Clean really did the trick. It's still drip drying and the optic white always looks darker when it's wet, but it looks MUCH brighter than last night. Big relief!

Parsley

Phew, what a relief! That dress is so beautiful on you, it would have been SO sad if it had been ruined.

For future reference, Color Catchers are the greatest thing ever to put in the wash with anything that is multi-colored with white in it. They really do catch all the stray dye and keep your clothes from getting discolored.

christieanne

I love the Color Catchers now that I have discovered them. Wouldn't help after a near tragedy but they are great sheets you just put into the washer before a load.
Hope it turns out well.

Cool! I have never heard of color catchers, but will certainly add those to my laundry-purchase list - we're moving to a place with communal washing machines, so I'm going to be extra cautious!

Anonymous

Hooray for the happy outcome!

Yay! Dress is saved

I need to check out Color Catchers too!

*adds Color Catchers to the shopping list*

I'm so glad this is working out for you, Kari!

ElleH

I'm glad it worked out but FYI for you & others in the future do not use vinegar as vinegar will set the dye.

Hooray! I love happy endings...:-)

Gaylene

Elle, I used to think that, but, I found that vinegar took the red wine stains out of my white denim jacket after I had tried everything else and was left with a purplish mess. I soaked the jacket overnight in a solution of vinegar and water, and the jacket came out without a mark. It was like magic!

I think stain removal is tricky. Although cool water is almost always recommended, I've found that boiling water poured on blueberry or peach stains totally removes the stain, while soaking in cool water, or using regular stain removal methods, won't touch either of these stains.

Thank goodness!!!

Transcona Shannon

Relieved you saved that dress Kari - it's so crazy gorgeous on you.

Also adding colour catchers to my shopping list - thanks for the tip Parsley!

Joy

So glad that the dress is saved! I'd not heard of Color Catchers and need to get some. If the beige hadn't come out, the dress might still be perfect that way for going into Fall.

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