Your wedding gown is definitely a keeper. At least, this is what most brides feel. They want to preserve the memory of their most important life event and maybe to see their own daughters wearing it at their own wedding. However, time, heat, light radiation, and improper storage conditions could make even the whitest and the brightest wedding gown turn yellow. This is sad, because it makes it impossible for other brides to use it. Fortunately, there is a way to restore your yellowed wedding gown.
This article shares a few tips and a surefire method to bring your old wedding dress to life again.
The first step is to learn which substances and cleaning methods are safe and which ones might harm the fabric.
The biggest problem of lace, silk or sheer fabrics is that they are extremely delicate. Even a regular detergent can damage them. If you do care about your wedding gown, you should definitely avoid using any harsh substances to clean and revive it. You risk to ruin it for good, if you don't pay close attention to this detail.
The good thing is that you have free access to information about different cleaners, so you can inform yourself on their risks before trying them out on your old wedding gown. All that you need to do is to search for these cleaning substances online and to read about their effects on different types of fabrics. Such information is readily available on many websites and blogs.
Make use of it to understand how and when to use the different cleaning agents and stain removal substances.
Bleach, for instance, does a great job at removing old stains and the yellowish hue. However, it can easily kill delicate fabrics such as silk and lace. If your wedding gown features some adornments, you shouldn't use bleach, because it will probably destroy them for good.
If the fabric fibers are fray, you should refrain from using bleach, as there's a very high risk of damaging them. Besides, bleach can't remove all known stains, so it may not have the expected effect, anyway.
Scrubbing may help you remove stubborn stains. However, this is also a surefire way to destroy sheer fabrics. If you're keen on cleaning and restoring your wedding gown by yourself, avoid scrubbing.
Soak it and allow it to sit for a while, until the active substance in the laundry detergent does its job. This is the only way you can avoid fraying or damaging the fabric. However, the results may not be the ones you expect. As a general rule, scrubbing can damage even more solid fabrics, so you should avoid it by all means.
The type of fabric and the actual condition of the dress will determine the kind of cleaning agent to use. Non-silk fabrics are more permissive when it comes to using stain removers and laundry detergents.
If your wedding gown is made from a non-silk fabric and it is only yellowish and not stained, you may be able to restore it yourself without problems and without the risk of damaging it. However, if your dress is made from silk or if it has deep set stains such as reed wine and oil, you'll probably need to take it to a professional cleaning service to restore its initial beauty.
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When in doubt, it's better to give up than to take a chance on it. Since you only have one chance to restore your dress without damaging it, it's best to proceed with care. Consider whether you prefer to have a yellowed wedding gown or no gown at all. The choice is all yours, so choose wisely. Always seek for expert advice, as this is the best way to avoid damaging your dress by using the wrong cleaning methods or substances.
You can restore your yellowed wedding gown by using a wedding dress preservation kit.
This is one of the most modern and effective methods to restore this type of garment. It is also a 100% safe and guaranteed method. The only thing you need to do is to find a reliable service provider to help you. These service providers know exactly how to evaluate the condition of your wedding gown, in order to determine the best methods to clean and whiten it.
They know when to avoid using powerful agents on decayed fabric, and when to treat stains more aggressively. In order to do this, they evaluate and grade each and every stain on your wedding gown.
They also identify and evaluate the fabric with the greatest possible care. Next, they proceed to cleaning the dress and to restoring it to a condition as close to the original one as possible. The results can be truly impressive.
When purchasing a wedding gown preservation kit, you benefit from a complete package of services. You can the initial assessment of the condition of the fabric. You get the cleaning of the dress and the removal of all stains.
Furthermore, you get the ironing of the dress. Should you intend to preserve your wedding gown rather than to offer it to one of the brides to be in your family, you'll also get a very beautiful package with a layout of your choice.
You can personalize this package with a custom headline and graphics. The result is so beautiful that you'll be able to showcase it in your living room for all your guests to see and admire it.
In conclusion, the first step to restore your yellowed wedding gown is to inform yourself on the different types of fabrics and on the safest and the most effective cleaners to use. Should you choose the easier way to restore the glamor of your garment, go straight for a wedding dress preservation kit.
Some of these companies offer a 100 year guarantee on their services. This should be long enough for several generations of brides to get married in this gown. For your own peace of mind, choose to trust professionals.
You'll be glad you've done it.