Author Topic: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips  (Read 3136 times)

Offline Blotbot

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Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« on: June 03, 2014, 07:38:25 PM »
Like Lady MacBeth, I am plagued by spots that will not come out.  After trying to find some decent clothes for a doctor's appointment, I vowed that this will change.  So, I investigated the wash-ability of several common inks on a white cotton T-shirt. 
1.  Noodler's Heart of Darkness, a "bulletproof" fountain pen ink
2. Higgins Eternal
2.  Sumi Moonpalace
3. Walnut ink, from crystals
4. Iron gall ink (my own pomegranate ink)
5.  Chesterfield archival, a iron gall ink with blue dye for fountain pens.

First pic-
after ink dried for about 30 minutes.
Second pic-
After standard wash in washing machine, warm water, detergent was All with Stainlifters
Third pic-
After 5 hour soak in Oxiclean, 3 scoops to 1 gallon, run through a washing machine with no detergent
Fourth--
Run through washing machine, small load, with 1/2 c bleach

Results-
Avoid HOD, Higgins Eternal and Sumi if you want to get it out of your clothes.  Really permanent. 

Iron gall and walnut crystals will come out a bit with Oxiclean, but not all. 

If you can bleach, then walnut crystal ink is your best bet.

Still, I am not happy with this.  I have ordered Winsor and Newton black ink and Manuscript black ink.  Both are claimed to be water soluble and washable.  We shall see, on the other side of the T-shirt. 


« Last Edit: June 03, 2014, 07:49:56 PM by Blotbot »

Offline joi

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2014, 08:01:25 PM »
OMG this is AWESOME!!!
and my entire wardrobe is from Old Navy anyway, as i already get smeared with food, boogers, crayola, etc everyday so what's a little ink anyway :)

Offline Moya

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2014, 08:19:20 PM »
That is an awesome experiment!!!

I think the moral of the story is "wear an apron" ... I never wear an apron :-[ I have already ruined some nice office clothes, but I just don't learn. 

Offline Nickkih

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2014, 08:33:28 PM »
Wow how cool are you. Great work!
« Last Edit: June 03, 2014, 08:54:16 PM by Nickkih »
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Offline Roseann

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2014, 08:46:26 PM »
Thank you for sharing the results of your experiment with us. 
So good to know!
Roseann

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Offline Moya

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2014, 08:49:31 PM »
Haha, Nikki, me too :) Black is great. But I kind of have to ... I live here:  http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/society-and-culture/wear-black-and-were-proud-20100914-15a6n.html

(goodness, the title of that article is a bit off!)

I think I'm just too lazy to change when I get home?  I usually get home, throw my bag somewhere, make tea, and sort of inevitably drift towards my desk and my pens ... ;)

Offline Nickkih

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2014, 09:32:09 PM »
@moya that's awesome. I would fit right in there! I swear Black is just easier for me. I'm lazy in the sense that I don't want to have to figure out what color goes with what. Black skirt or pants with a white shirt are perfect. Always classy and always professional. And it hides almost everything. I'm very clumsy so I will spill things on me or whatever so I just try to take the stress out of dressing and go with black. The black labs I got because I always wear black and a friend of mine had a yellow lab and every time I would visit her I would get blonde dog hair on me. So I thought black dog, problem solved. The black car was a accident. Lol

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Offline schin

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #7 on: June 03, 2014, 10:16:27 PM »
This is like the best thing ever! Once I spilled a full bottle of Old World iron gall all over my white walls. Can't get the stain out.. now I just put a table in front of it, if I don't see it, it doesn't exist right?
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Offline JanisTX

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2014, 11:55:24 AM »
Higgins really means it!

Offline inkcatcher

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Re: Out, damned spot! out, I say! -- Laundry Tips
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2014, 12:51:35 PM »
That is a very cool and informative experiment!  ;)
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