Water damage can be a real nuisance, especially when it comes to clothes and other fabrics. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take to restore your items and remove water stains. Re-washing clothes or bedding with water stains with your normal laundry detergent on a normal cycle will often do the trick. You can also hand wash a single garment with distilled water and a little detergent.
If your washing machine is not damaged, you may be able to restore slightly damaged clothing by washing it in hot water. Add bleach or another disinfectant, such as pine oil, to remove mold. Wash washable clothes in the hottest water recommended for the fabric. To disinfect, for white cotton fabrics, add a cup of chlorine bleach in the wash cycle. For fabrics that cannot be washed with chlorinated bleach (spandex, wool, silk, colored clothing), add a cup of pine oil disinfectant (Pine-Sol) or a cup of phenolic disinfectant (Lysol) to the wash cycle.
Water can be removed from most fabrics by simply re-wetting or re-washing the fabric. You can even use an iron to remove water stains in some cases. However, fabrics that get stained due to something in the water may require a little more work. If your washing machine was exposed to flood water, you should ask a catering company to make sure it is safe to use it to restore your items. If the fabric has a colored water stain or brown, yellow, or orange streaks, this could be due to iron or other minerals in the water. After removing the silk from the water, rinse off the soapy water and refill the bucket with clean warm water.
Ironing works with any iron-on fabric and only stains with water and not with chemicals or minerals found in water. Water is particularly harmful to leather dresses or sports shoes, bags, hats and clothing, and flood waters full of mud and bacteria are even worse. If minor damage is detected in time, you may be able to rescue leather goods damaged by flooding. Some people make the mistake of keeping items that were damaged by water together in a drawer or bag, but this causes the colors to come together and prevents clothes from drying out. In addition, large water stains from a leak or storm should be cleaned quickly to prevent permanent damage or mold. Silk is one of the fabrics that is most likely to show water stains and the best way to remove them is by washing the fabric.
Water restoration professionals have a lot of experience assessing water damage, which means they can help you determine what items they could restore. But how easy it will be to remove it depends on whether the stain is just a water stain or a water stain that caused discoloration. If you have questions about the condition of your items, ask a water damage restoration company to assess the damage. If you're dealing with water damage on clothes and other fabrics, don't despair! With these simple steps you can restore your items and remove any unsightly stains. Re-washing clothes or bedding with normal laundry detergent on a normal cycle will often do the trick.
You can also hand wash single garments with distilled water and detergent. If your washing machine isn't damaged, you may be able to restore slightly damaged clothing by washing it in hot water with bleach or another disinfectant like pine oil. For fabrics that cannot be washed with chlorinated bleach (spandex, wool, silk, colored clothing), add a cup of pine oil disinfectant (Pine-Sol) or a cup of phenolic disinfectant (Lysol) to the wash cycle. You can even use an iron to remove some types of water stains. If your washing machine was exposed to flood waters, contact a catering company for advice on restoring your items. If minor damage is detected in time, you may be able to rescue leather goods damaged by flooding.
Keep items that were damaged by water separate from each other so they can dry out properly and prevent colors from running together. Large water stains from leaks or storms should also be cleaned quickly to prevent permanent damage or mold. Silk is one of the fabrics most likely to show water stains and should be washed as soon as possible. Water restoration professionals have experience assessing damage so they can help you determine what items can be restored. But how easy it will be to remove it depends on whether the stain is just a water stain or caused discoloration. If you have questions about restoring items affected by water damage, contact a water damage restoration company for advice.
