Tutu cleaning help please

[Karen]

Dd has just informed me that she is coming home on Friday with the tutu she will be wearing at the end of year show. It requires alteration to fit and thankfully I have a friend who can help with this (I am useless!) but it also apparently has make up marks on it and if possible, we are required to clean it. Baby wipes have been suggested but I have no idea if this is a good or bad idea! Any hints and tips for cleaning would be most welcome, please. 

[Anna C]

I think @Sheila Beelam is who you need! 

[alison]

Click  the "tutus" tag which I've just added, and it will bring up a couple of threads which may be of help to you.  Best of luck!

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Bit cheeky of them expecting you to get it altered and cleaned. 

[Picturesinthefirelight]

But back to topic, I’ve never attempted to clean a tutu but my first port of call with anything tends to be either carpet cleaner mousse or soaking in the bath in cold water and Vanish. 

 

For alterations i tend tend to just safety pin stuff and hope for the best. 

[SissonneDoublee]

I’ve used miscellar wipes very successfully... definitely try somewhere less visible first though!

[Sheila Beelam]

How you tackle it depends on the fabric and decoration. It’s generally ok to dunk the pants section of a tutu in a washing up bowl to clean, avoiding getting the net wet.

 

For bodices if you clean sections (especially if you have to scrub) you can get water tide marks as it dries and the fabric can distort if it’s delicate. Sometimes it’s better to wet the whole bodice or if it’s panelled, then wet a complete panel. Use of an oxidising spray before gently hand washing is good for makeup/tan. With any process try on a hidden part if possible first - eg the internal basque, inside seams, the hook and eye under flap etc 

 

If water’s not an option then vodka sprayed on it can get rid of smells and hairspray is good for removing lipstick. 

 

Always allow to air dry slowly, never use a hairdryer etc

 

Our tutus are much more resilient than people think, but not sure what you’re dealing with! X

[Karen]

Thank you all for your advice. I will examine the beast at the weekend and see what I’m dealing with. I do know it’s a dark colour, but not sure of the fabric type, so will make some decisions and do some out of sight testing. I learned my lesson on watermarks when trying to remove a hair product mark from my fabric headboard. 

Never heard the vodka idea before! 

[Cara in NZ]

I had some success with a pink tutu that had a slub silk bodice with grease marks at the waist (probably from hands/fingers). Just part-filled bath with warm water and 'delicates' washing liquid then dunked the whole thing and rubbed the marked bits gently. Erected clothes airer outside and laid it on there upside down so the bodice was hanging down through the gaps. It was fine (and I echo Sheila's 'tougher than they look' comment!)

[Crystaltips]

I had some silk flower cleaner that I bought from Lakeland Plastics. I hung the tutu over the bath and sprayed it. It cleaned up quite well ( although I would test on an inconspicuous bit first). My dd is very tiny so always seemed to get the oldest costumes from the back of the cupboard. Good luck 

[Karen]

My friend and I tackled the tutu today! The bodice is heavy, possibly brocade, with lots of sparkly silver woven in. We used vanish oxy spray, warm water and a soft cloth and it looks much cleaner, with the make up marks coming out pretty well. It certainly looks less grimy overall. The worst bits now are the translucent sequins, which look yellowed, but they are clean!  My lovely friend is going to do the sewing bits and give it a second clean in the same way, so hopefully all will be well on stage. 

Thanks to everyone for the advice, and hopefully explaining what worked for us will help someone else in the future.