OH NO! HER FAVORITE PANTS!
June 30, 2007 6:02 PM   Subscribe

Khaki pants— $50 or less solution to fix girlfriend's khaki pants. Went through laundry with detergent on top; got orangish bleach stains. Dye? Some sort of hot soak with other khakis?
posted by klangklangston to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
not to be flip, but you can get a nice pair of new khaki pants at the gap for < $50. :)br>
if it was bleach, there's no hope. if it's dye transfer from another garment, try a stain remover and washing them again.
posted by thinkingwoman at 6:19 PM on June 30, 2007


Sorry, klang... I hope someone can prove me wrong, but I think you are busted. :)

The only thing I thought might be possible is to bleach the whole garment, and re-dye them. But even then, the already-bleached area will be MORE bleached again... Drop the $50 on a new pair of khakis.
posted by The Deej at 6:31 PM on June 30, 2007


Yeah, you're boned.
posted by frieze at 6:37 PM on June 30, 2007


Response by poster: "not to be flip, but you can get a nice pair of new khaki pants at the gap for < $50. :)br> "

No, since I called the Gap, and these pantsb would be over $50.

And it's not really bleach bleach, though they look like bleach stains. It's from not dilluting the detergent.

It also wasn't me who washed 'em, but I'm trying to fix this because she really liked the pants and is having a shitty day.
posted by klangklangston at 6:53 PM on June 30, 2007


I've had detergent take some color out of khakis. Over time, it has evened out some. You could try putting hot water, deterg., and bleach in 1st, then add the khakis to try to get some additional overall bleaching. Do not be optimistic.
posted by theora55 at 7:26 PM on June 30, 2007


The orange stains are there for good. When a harsh chemical has a bleaching action on a fabric, it is as final as decapitation. RIP, khakis. Time to go shopping. I can tell that this is absolutely an incident where the fabric has been "bleached" because my husband did the same thing to his khakis. Permanent orange splotches.

Dyeing would be useless as dyeing an unevenly colored fabric is just going to result in unevenly dyed fabric.

Always add the detergent to the water and allow to mix before adding clothing.
posted by tastybrains at 7:51 PM on June 30, 2007


Check eBay - you may be able to find another affordable pair that way. Search for the label name, and then check the measurements given for the listings against the pants she has. You'll want waist and rise to match, and maybe hip, but of course if the inseam on the listing is longer, you can just get the new pair hemmed. You'll also have to watch for the fabric content.
posted by dilettante at 8:46 PM on June 30, 2007


Nthing the above, the orange stain is major damage, it can't be removed, covered etc.,
posted by Wilder at 6:44 AM on July 1, 2007


dye them black and get a new pair
posted by matteo at 8:23 AM on July 1, 2007


What detergent was it exactly? And have the pants been machine dried?

Usually orange/yellow/brown spots are the result of oxidation. But this doesn't sound like oxidation... Try soaking them in a concentrated detergent in the hottest water the fabric will bear. Then launder normally and do extra rinses. If that does not work, try a solution of equal parts lemon juice *or* white vinegar and water. If that works at all, keep going or try a paste of vinegar and salt.

It is also possible that this is the pants reacting to the concentration of optical brighteners in the detergent, or to some other component of the detergent.
posted by Mozzie at 12:55 PM on July 2, 2007


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