Help! American Girl/stain gurus!

[Mom2Ben02]

So....my lovely 5 year old borrowed a white satin American Girl dress from her friend. I did not know this occurred. I learned of it when I was talking to the mom and she casually mentioned my daughter had not returned it. I asked where it was - and she pulled it out from under her bed, with a huge pink marker stain on it. I have it soaking in OxyClean right now, but it does not appear to be lightening. Any other ideas???

If it does not come out - I will need to replace it. Of course, my camera is not working....but it is a long, white satin dress trimmed in light pink. Any ideas of the name or doll this belongs to? This is SO not in the budget - I am pregnant, hubby is out of work...UGH.

 

[patsal]

Unfortunately, the dress you describe sounds like Samantha's Party dress. She and her things were discontinued around Christmas 2008.

Could it be this night gown? http://store.americangirl.com/agsho.../webTemplateId/3/uniqueId/209/saleGroupId/144

 

[OceanAnnie]

I got this tip from the DIS. I don't remember who it was, but it worked for me. Douse the spot in lemon juice. Let it sit for 30 min.. Then douse the spot in white vinegar. Again let it sit for 30 min., then wash. On tough spots I have had to do this several times, but it works well. Just don't get the lemon juice or vinegar near the pink trim.

HTH.

OH, it's satin. I don't know how it would do on satin. I've only used this method on cotton. Be cautious.

 

[tommya60]

Try rubbing alcohol. I'd dunk a Q-tip, then lightly rub it on the stain. Check the q-tip to see if the pink is coming off. You may have to repeat this a lot, gently, to not snag the satin.

You could try hair spray. Lots of hairspray on the spot--maybe make a shield sorta thing out of a paper plate or foil or something--just cut a small hole for the hair spray to hit the spot, protect the rest of the dress. Spray till damp, gently rub with your finger (not fingernails), they wash.

Hope this helps.....

 

[MomToOne]

So....my lovely 5 year old borrowed a white satin American Girl dress from her friend. I did not know this occurred. I learned of it when I was talking to the mom and she casually mentioned my daughter had not returned it. I asked where it was - and she pulled it out from under her bed, with a huge pink marker stain on it.

If it does not come out - I will need to replace it. .

Are you sure the stain wasn't there already when your daughter borrowed it??

 

[jgraney106]

Would a acne product with benezol peroxide work? I know it will take ink spots off a vinyl doll if you put it on the spot and set it in the sun for a few days. And I know a lot of the time ,those kind of products tell you to not get it on clothes, because it will remove the dye colors in clothing. Just be careful not to get it on the pink part, and rinse it out really good.

 

[DVCBELLE]

is this the dress? It is a flower girl dress

http://cgi.ebay.com/American-Girl-F...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439e7cd31b

 

[thebeesknees]

I'd try the alcohol first - the reason hairspray works is because of the alcohol content. Put a clean cloth under the fabric before you put the alcohol on so it doesn't bleed through to the back of the dress. Pour rubbing alcohol over the stain, then blot with a clean white cloth. You may need to do this several times, moving the cloth underneath the stain to a clean spot every time. If that doesn't work, perhaps the Clorox bleach gel pen would work, but you would need to be extremely careful not to get it on any of the pink part, and don't let it sit too long on the stain. Do not put the dress in the dryer unless all of the stain is gone - it will set the stain! Good luck - at last resort, that ebay dress wasn't too horribly expensive.

 

[mickeytattoo95]

Oxyclean has this in it, but you could try hydrogen peroxide. I used it to get a pink stain out of my off-white carpet. Poured it straight on there, let it sit for 60 sec, then dabbed it with paper towels. I just kept replacing the towels as they turned pink. Eventually it all lifted out.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

That flower girl dress it is - I love this board!!!!

I am, of course, going to try to get it out first - but $16.99 with shipping is much better than I had feared She has Easter money that will be covering it...little stinker.

And, no - it did not have a stain on it when she got it. That is why she hid it, and she told me it was an accident. Just like the marker on her walls was an accident. Those crazy markers - jumping out of the box and taking off the caps themselves.

 

[ceecee]

Watch if you use hairspray, I melted a dress by doing that. You could check Ebay as well.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I amn so glad that is the right dress - I was glad to see it wasn't that much!! It is a really pretty dress!!

You and I must use the same brand of markers - they write on the walls here sometimes all by themselves as well!!

 

[kelleyrn2000]

There is a product called Linen Wash. It has gotten about 95% of my stains out, and it's meant for delicate linens, so it would be safe. Unfortunately it's only available at a limited number of places (they have a website with listings or you can buy it on Amazon). And it's expensive, but it works great, so it was a good investment for me...cheaper than replacing clothes. GL!


ETA I just saw you can get the dress for $16.99...that's not bad! But for those of you who freak about stains like me, you may want to try the Linen Wash if you can find it.

 

[WeLoveLilo05]

I just wanted to add the American Girl will soon drive me to bankruptcy .

 

[Mom2Ben02]

I kept it soaking in OxyClean all day and night. It looked the same as when I put it in, but when I rinsed it in clear water, it came almost completely out!! It still has a teeny bit on the pink bottom part of the skirt, but I am going to let it dry to see how much you can really see it. It may be a case of "I know it's there, so I can see it". Thank you all so much for calming me down and helping yesterday!!!

 

[debbiecarr98]

i kept it soaking in oxyclean all day and night. It looked the same as when i put it in, but when i rinsed it in clear water, it came almost completely out!! It still has a teeny bit on the pink bottom part of the skirt, but i am going to let it dry to see how much you can really see it. It may be a case of "i know it's there, so i can see it". Thank you all so much for calming me down and helping yesterday!!!

yay!

 

[MrsPete]

I am, of course, going to try to get it out first - but $16.99 with shipping is much better than I had feared She has Easter money that will be covering it...little stinker.

Completely off topic, but good for you making HER take responsibility for her mistake -- even if it was an accident. She'll be a better person for it.

 

[Hannathy]

I know people won't agree with me BUT I think you should tell the girl's Mother that the dress belongs to and offer to replace it if they want. I feel that would be the only honest thing to do. All that soaking will have damaged the fibers of the dress and weakened it so that very soon it may tear or just not hold up as long or sometimes stains reappear over time, and if she plans on keeping her stuff it will affect it. They may say don't bother but it gives them the option if not to have you replace it maybe they will want to themselves. Your DD did damage it and should own up to it. It wasn't as if just a damp cloth took it off you had to excessively soak it and I would be very unhappy if someone did that to my DD's American girl stuff and didn't tell us.

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

I agree, I personally would show the dress to the mother and have ur daughter apologize, and then offer to replace. Let her know that you tried to wash it and see how she wants to proceed. She may be content with the washing, but at least ur daughter apologized and if not, she can be the one to pay for the replacement or at least contribute somehow.

 

[thebeesknees]

I'm so glad it came out!