STAIN AND SPOT REMOVAL FAQs
(Back to FAQ Topics) • Before & Afters of Bridal Gown Stains
The simple answer is YES for most types of stains...butter, salad dressing, lipstick, even wine.....UNLESS the garment has already been washed at home and the stain has "set" into the fabric. In general, for ALL spots on garments...if you do NOTHING yourself, we can usually get the stains out. If you have a fresh wet stain, the MOST you should do is simply BLOT it. NEVER RUB A STAIN...then get it to Margaret's as soon as possible!
Let's get technical here. STAINS are permanent and in some cases can be lightened or improved. SPOTS normally can be removed. We tell every customer "if you are not 100% sure you can remove that spot, DO NOTHING and get it to us as soon as possible" otherwise you'll turn that spot into a stain!
The stain is mostly likely caused by bacterial growth not the antiperspirant itself. Antiperspirant is an aluminum chloride salt which is an inorganic compound. There is some information available that antiperspirants can promote bacterial growth which will result in common yellow underarm stains. Even if the antiperspirant isn't promoting the bacterial growth, it also doesn't appear to be stopping the perspiration which ultimately is causing the stain.
Some deodorants have a bacteria inhibitor to curb the bacterial growth. Try switching to a deodorant rather than an antiperspirant. Be sure the deodorant inhibits bacterial growth and is not just a fragrant mask.
Dry cleaning does an unsatisfactory job by itself on perspiration. Your dry cleaner will need to pretreat the perspiration before cleaning in order to remove it. There are a number of agents that can be used. Please inform your cleaner when you take it in.
One of the dry cleaners worst enemies are "invisible stains" like spray from a grapefruit or apple, hair spray or perfume. It is normally these stains that a consumer sees on their freshly cleaned garments and exclaim "That wasn't there when I gave it to you!"
What has happened is that these types of stains are not visible until affected by the heat associated with the drying cycle or pressing. With the application of heat, the sugar of the apple stain carmelized and the oil stains oxidized making them visible.
Dry cleaning in and of itself will not remove these stains and, depending on the material, some can be removed after they show up with the treatment of an expert technician. Some may never be removed.
If you know of any possible invisible stain conditions on a garment, please point them out to the dry cleaner that he may flush them out before the dry cleaning process sets the stain.
