should i bleach my white linen pants?

[GQgeek]

i got them back from the cleaners after my vacation and haven't worn them since. They have what seems to be some sort of ring stain on them. From a couple of feet away it's not really visible and my jacket hides it anyway, but it still bothers me because I can see it.

I'm thinking of bleaching them but that scares me a little because I paid full price for these and they weren't cheap. I should be ok if i bleach and then hand wash in cold water, right? After all, they are pure white and not ivory or anything. Altered fit is what worries me most. I once washed a pair of white cotton pants (after they had been shortened) and they shrunk a little making them TOO short.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Have you tried OxyClean or something similar? I have a pair of white linen trousers which had a seemingly unremovable stain, and this did the trick.

 

[Kappa Brandon]

personally i wouldnt bleach them, id be afraid that the bleach mite be too abrasive for linen....i generally only use bleach on undergarments and older white shirts, i agree with the poster above, oxy clean, or sometype of spray and wash, and if you really like the pants, a hand wash generally does the trick as well

 

[dopey]

I have had very bad experience doing exactly what you propose to do. Bleach worked to clean a favorite pair of white linen trousers but significantly degraded them to the point where they wore through in spots.

They were from a catalog called, I think, "Tweed" from the late 80s that was sort of a crunchy J.Crew and had lots of linen stuff. I had a shirt from them, two linen "jean" jackets and these white pants. They were very loose fitting, but trimmed like a pair of button fly 501s and had a drawstring on the inside. My live-in summer casual outfit was those pants, a J.Crew T shirt in a solid color and the navy or tan linen jacket. I think all are gone. I kept the pants around to have copied someday but I am sure my wife noticed the holes and threw them out.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by Kappa Brandon

personally i wouldnt bleach them, id be afraid that the bleach mite be too abrasive for linen....i generally only use bleach on undergarments and older white shirts, i agree with the poster above, oxy clean, or sometype of spray and wash, and if you really like the pants, a hand wash generally does the trick as well

Originally Posted by dopey

I have had very bad experience doing exactly what you propose to do. Bleach worked to clean a favorite pair of white linen trousers but significantly degraded them to the point where they wore through in spots.

They were from a catalog called, I think, "Tweed" from the late 80s that was sort of a crunchy J.Crew and had lots of linen stuff. I had a shirt from them, two linen "jean" jackets and these white pants. They were very loose fitting, but trimmed like a pair of button fly 501s and had a drawstring on the inside. My live-in summer casual outfit was those pants, a J.Crew T shirt in a solid color and the navy or tan linen jacket. I think all are gone. I kept the pants around to have copied someday but I am sure my wife noticed the holes and threw them out.

I didn't realize that bleach actually did damage to fabrics beyond changing their color. I just had my expensive white sheets sitting in bleach for a week to get out sweat stains (I had tried getting them out before to no avail).

I don't think a spray and wash will work because they came back from the cleaners with the stain. Consequently, they have been pressed and i'm sure whatever it was has been heat-fixed. I'll try oxy-clean first if there's a general agreement that it's gentler on fabrics.

And ya, it sucks to lose a favorite pair of pants, in the same way i dread that day my favorite cashmere sweaters wear through at the elbow. What would really annoy me is that I haven't had them that long. I can't stand that my white pants all get messed-up. I never get stains on my other pants.

 

[RJman]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

I just had my expensive white sheets sitting in bleach for a week to get out sweat stains (I had tried getting them out before to no avail).
You _know_ ed is going to have a field day with this.

 

[JoelF]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

I just had my expensive white sheets sitting in bleach for a week to get out sweat stains (I had tried getting them out before to no avail).


Really hope you had some substitute sheets available so as not to interrupt the fun.

 

[AlanC]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

I'll try oxy-clean first if there's a general agreement that it's gentler on fabrics.

Yes, use Oxy-clean. Let it soak for a couple of days, wash, hang to dry. Repeat if necessary. Don't use bleach.

 

[mbell]

i got them back from the cleaners after my vacation and haven't worn them since. They have what seems to be some sort of ring stain on them. From a couple of feet away it's not really visible and my jacket hides it anyway, but it still bothers me because I can see it.
/QUOTE]

I will also recommend Oxyclean for this situation.

Does anyone know what causes these ring stains in linen? I've gotten them a few different times on linen pants. Never on a linen shirt. The worst was on a pair of pants where I was caught in the rain. Dry cleaning actually made the stains worse. I soaked them for a day or so in Oxyclean and they were much better, but the stains did not come out completely.

mike

 

[bullitt440]

Originally Posted by mbell

I will also recommend Oxyclean for this situation.

I don't have much faith in Oxyclean anymore, not since they changed the formula and added those blue crystal things. The old formula was my best friend when I was in the Navy. It really did get whites whiter and brights brighter back then. Now it just seems give clothes a weathered look and make them stiff.

Originally Posted by mbell

Does anyone know what causes these ring stains in linen? I've gotten them a few different times on linen pants. Never on a linen shirt. The worst was on a pair of pants where I was caught in the rain. Dry cleaning actually made the stains worse. I soaked them for a day or so in Oxyclean and they were much better, but the stains did not come out completely.

I wish I knew the answer. I've also noticed that linen trousers are keen to pick up lint from other washes, which causes the colors of the lint to run onto the trousers. My off-white pair has little freckles of blue, green, and red at various spots if viewed close enough.


Some people say Barkeeper's Friend powdered cleanser is good at removing tough clothing stains but I would try it on a test garment first.

 

[JLibourel]

I used Oxyclean to get some horriible oil stains out of some white cotton trousers of mine. If took a fair bit of elbow grease, but, dammit, it worked.

 

[Bradford]

I know my wife has used Oxyclean with success on white garments.

The other thing that tends to work is lemon juice.

 

[Tomasso]

I'd give the best dry cleaners available one more chance.......... then Oxyclean.

 

[GQgeek]

Ok, I've got enough people with good experiences from oxy-clean that i'm gonna give it a try this week. Hopefully the stains will come out. If not...

mbell, they can be caused by water, but I'm not sure where mine came from. When I sent them to the cleaners they had dirt and stuff on them from my vacation, but I don't remember any ring stains.

 

[dmobile]

Well drycleaning is the best way to do for linen pants if its a set put them both through dry cleaning and good luck with it, if you wash them in bleach you will get water marks on the clothes the next time you try to dry clean them i hope this message helps.