What went wrong

Stains

2 April 2008



Richard Neale explains the procedures for treating some common stains


Stain removal skill, a sign of the best cleaners

Drycleaning chemical suppliers can provide the cleaner with products that can remove most everyday staining.

The cleaner’s main problem is deciding if the stained item will withstand the effect of the required reagent without losing its colour and creating a white patch that is larger than the original stain.

Pre-testing usually involves applying a tiny droplet of the correct reagent for the stain to a hidden seam, leaving it for a few minutes and then flushing off and feathering dry.

If this test does not leave a mark, then the cleaner can be 95% certain that the reagent will not damage the garment.

Most types of common stains require pre-treatment for complete removal. This means following the procedures set out in the Guild syllabus. Simply applying a little pre-treatment detergent and hoping for the best is no substitute and can often cause colour damage.

Pre-treatment detergent is designed for grubby collars and cuffs, not gravy splashes or red wine marks.

Removing rust stains requires the use of hydrofluoric acid or ammonium bi-fluoride. These are dangerous chemicals and their use requires specially trained staff, who must take the correct precautions. If you do not use these chemicals, and you take in a garment with rust staining, it is best to tell the customer at reception that you cannot remove this, because nothing else will work.

Ink needs special treatment

Fault: The cleaner told the customer there was little hope that this ink stain could be removed from the cashmere cardigan. It was put through the drycleaning machine three times but at this point the garment was starting to take on a grey tinge and the stain was barely reduced.

Cause: Drycleaning solvents do not dissolve ink very well.

Responsibility: The wearer is responsible for staining the garment, but the cleaner is responsible for using an ink-remover (or a dry-side spotter) to remove the stain before cleaning. Special techniques are needed for ink, including pre-testing the reagent and preventing the stain from enlarging during removal.

Rectification: It is usually possible to post-treat an ink stain to reduce it after cleaning, but the overall greying of the garment during its three cleans is not reversible.

Remove stain before cleaning

Fault: A wedding guest spilled some double cream onto his sleeve and then made the problem worse by rubbing it well in with a napkin.

The cleaner did not guarantee success, but drycleaned the garment twice to see if this would remove the mark. Unfortunately, the stain was darker and harder stain than before.

Cause: Drycleaning solvent does not dissolve double cream, which contains fatty animal proteins that require pre-treatment and total removal with a protein remover before the garment is cleaned. If this is not done, the proteins “set” during the drying stage, hardening and darkening in the process.

Responsibility: The wearer is responsible for the stain, but the cleaner is responsible for using the correct treatment, which this cleaner did not do. Double cream is a fairly easy stain to remove, so if the protein remover was safe to use, the cleaner is responsible for the hardening and darkening.

Rectification: Once a protein stain has set in this way it is almost impossible to soften and remove. There are post-treatment reagents for this, but it is far easier get it right first time.

Beetroot marks jacket

Fault: The beetroot stain on this designer jacket was pre-brushed with neat pre-treatment detergent, but the garment was still stained after cleaning.

Cause: Beetroot contains the vegetable dye tannin which must be de-coloured (bleached) with a tannin remover before cleaning,

Responsibility: The customer is responsible for getting the stain onto the item in the first place.

The cleaner is responsible for using the correct sequence of treatments, starting with pre-testing. In this case, the cleaner is responsible for omitting this step.

If the pre-testing indicates that the tannin remover will damage the garment, then the cleaner’s responsibility ceases at that point.

Rectification: Tannin stains are not “set” by drycleaning. There are special post-cleaning stain removers available but these must still be pre-tested on a hidden seam in the usual way.


Double cream Double cream
Ink on cashmere Ink on cashmere
Beetroot stain Beetroot stain


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