Bleach on a Shirt

[AbbyK9]

Okay, stupid question.

I was using Tilex Mold & Mildew to clean our bath tubs the other day and it seems I may have leaned over the edge of the tub and gotten bleach on my shirt. It has a bleached stain right on the front in my stomach area. XD

This is a shirt I really like ... a Mountain Hardwear underlayer. It's a light purple color and now has a big bleach stain.

Is there any way to "rescue" this shirt short of just wearing it underneath something? Could I bleach the whole thing, or would that not come out uniformly? How about dying? (It's polyester / elastane ... so don't think it would hold dye well.)

Suggestions?

[Jax08]

You could dye it. Go to any a material shop and someone should be able to help you. I would think you would have to die it a darker color maybe?

[GSDGunner]

Well, let me preface this suggestion with a warning. I am NOT a laundry expert.....but.
My guess would be that if you attempt to dye it a darker color, the already dark fabric will be darker and the bleached part will be lighter (since it's white).

So here is my thought (and where the warning comes in to play). I would try putting the shirt in bleach and get it completely white (or a uniform color) and then dye it.
Does that make sense?

[doggiedad]

don't worry about it. wear it with the bleach stain.
can you find another one?

[AbbyK9]

Jax - I am not sure dying would be an option because it's a synthetic material (polyester) and not a natural material. Naturals dye nicely ... given that they're a uniform color before dying (as GSDGunner pointed out), but synthetics tend not to.

Sadly, the only "material shop" around here is JoAnn Fabrics and they're about useless when it comes to asking for help. They didn't even know what "houndstooth" fabric was when I went there before Halloween to buy materials for my costume! Most of the girls who work there have never sewed or dyed a thing in their lives!

I am thinking I may go GSDGunner's route and try to bleach the whole thing, but I am worried about deterioration of the fabric and thread with the bleach. I guess I couldn't make it any worse than it already is.

[AbbyK9]

wear it with the bleach stain.

Uh ... I'll pass on that. That's a little too redneck for my taste. If this were, say, my Carharrt coveralls ... sure. But this is a nice shirt, not a shlepping-around-the-barn shirt. And I'd hate to turn a $60 shirt into a shelepping-around-the-barn-shirt if there's any chance I could just make it wearable (and look nice) by bleaching or dying it.

can you find another one?

Yeah ... two hours away in Syracuse at Eastern Mountain Sports. For $60 plus tax. And it won't be the same one as they change their styles all the time. They don't make the same ones continuously.

[doggiedad]

1>>>> i knew us blacknecks and rednecks had something in common.
i would wear it with the bleach stains.

2>>>> did check with EMS to see if they have the same one.
call around and see what you can find.

Originally Posted by doggiedad

don't worry about it. wear it with the bleach stain.
can you find another one?

Originally Posted by AbbyK9

1>>>> Uh ... I'll pass on that. That's a little too redneck for my taste.



2>>>> Yeah ... two hours away in Syracuse at Eastern Mountain Sports. For $60 plus tax. And it won't be the same one as they change their styles all the time. They don't make the same ones continuously.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Polyester is not going to hold up well to bleach, so be careful. You'll have to dilute it, but I have no idea by how much.

[Jax08]

How to Dye Polyester Fabric | eHow.com

Fabric Dyeing