Man vs. Food...Stay Fresh Edition

After celebrating DENA's birthday at TASTE lounge (shout out to Chris), the birthday cake and I had a MAJOR disagreement (some say the cake won). Removing the icing from my face and hair consisted of the minor (and daily) task of taking a shower. But my precious herringbone vest was ruined with splotches of green, red, and white icing. With a wi-fi connection and a prayer, I frantically searched for solutions to remove the icing from cotton. After sifting through a few articles, I may found a way to remove the stains safely and completely. I am sharing the experiment with you--win or lose.

I made the fatal error of allowing the icing to sit and dry on the raiment for a day...BIG mistake! Since icing is a oil/fat based stain, allowing it to settle into the fabric was the equivalent to fortifying the Great Wall of China. You want to begin treating the stains immediately.


To weaken the oil/fat's grip on the cotton, pre-treat the affected areas by working in dish detergent into the stains after rinsing them with cool water. [FYI dish detergent is a great vanquisher of all fat/oil stains, including sweat stains]. After the rinsing, I filled a large bowl with a mixture of dish detergent, laundry detergent, and luke-warm water. The vest soaked in the solution for at least 3 hours. Some sites suggest allowing the garment to soak overnight, but I did not want to run the chance of the vest mildewing.


I Inspected the waist coat to determine if the excess stains were removed. Afterwards, I washed the vest in the washer machine using TIDE, cold water (hot water 'cooks' the food stain into the cotton), and the label garment care instructions. Dump the dirty water from the bowl into the sink or down the toilet.


The waist coat will hang dry once the wash is complete. I will inspect the vest for any signs of left over stains once it is completely dry. If the stains persist, I will repeat the entire process.








AAAHHHHHH SUCCESS!! The vest is clean and has retained its original shape. The only thing left to do is iron and wear. Looks like I won after all! Victory is sweet!!

-yetm-