Sometimes you feel like a lug...
January 29, 2020 5:09 PM Subscribe
Other than what I already (unsuccessfully) tried, is it possible to remove liquid stains from soft-sided luggage?
I purchased a three-piece set of blue soft-sided luggage two years ago. I have flown fairly extensively with one piece, and it has gotten fairly dirty. I decided to clean it two days ago, as it was starting to look a bit shabby.
I am not very patient, and in my haste, I did not test my cleaning liquid (a carpet cleaner with Oxy) before I started working with it. Now, I have several unsightly-looking water/liquid stains, despite having removed much of the dirt and oil. The suitcase is still usable, but it doesn’t look great. Obviously, I will be buying darker luggage in the future.
Is it possible to remove these stains, or should I just live with it? I did try to use baking soda, but that didn’t seem to make a difference.
I purchased a three-piece set of blue soft-sided luggage two years ago. I have flown fairly extensively with one piece, and it has gotten fairly dirty. I decided to clean it two days ago, as it was starting to look a bit shabby.
I am not very patient, and in my haste, I did not test my cleaning liquid (a carpet cleaner with Oxy) before I started working with it. Now, I have several unsightly-looking water/liquid stains, despite having removed much of the dirt and oil. The suitcase is still usable, but it doesn’t look great. Obviously, I will be buying darker luggage in the future.
Is it possible to remove these stains, or should I just live with it? I did try to use baking soda, but that didn’t seem to make a difference.
If you spot-clean things, they often dry with a water ring around the area that got wet.
Would it work to: throw the whole thing in the shower, wet it all down, scrub well all over with the same cleanser and a brush? Rinse really well, then blot it as dry as possible with towels, and leave it open for a few days in a warm place with good airflow, rotating 2x per day, so it can dry thoroughly. (*Do make sure it dries THOROUGHLY or it will get mildew growing inside and smell bad. Like, do NOT close it until it is bone dry and warm to the touch inside all the nooks and crannies- not cool and damp at all)
Without seeing the luggage I'm just guessing, but I would think that if you wet & scrub the whole thing evenly, it will look more uniformly clean instead of patchy, and therefore cleaner overall.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:31 PM on January 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
Would it work to: throw the whole thing in the shower, wet it all down, scrub well all over with the same cleanser and a brush? Rinse really well, then blot it as dry as possible with towels, and leave it open for a few days in a warm place with good airflow, rotating 2x per day, so it can dry thoroughly. (*Do make sure it dries THOROUGHLY or it will get mildew growing inside and smell bad. Like, do NOT close it until it is bone dry and warm to the touch inside all the nooks and crannies- not cool and damp at all)
Without seeing the luggage I'm just guessing, but I would think that if you wet & scrub the whole thing evenly, it will look more uniformly clean instead of patchy, and therefore cleaner overall.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 9:31 PM on January 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
nouvelle-personne I think this would work, and you might not need to soak it, just get it overall damp to avoid rings. To help it dry, point a fan at it. When you think it's really dry, give it another day.
posted by theora55 at 5:30 AM on January 30, 2020
posted by theora55 at 5:30 AM on January 30, 2020
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posted by snowmentality at 7:46 PM on January 29, 2020