Whitening those whites.

One tip for whitening the likes of the Ski Patrol and mountain troops fabric pieces, or the trousers and kepi cover of the French foreign legion, etc etc....is to first wash out all the dirt, rinse, and then soak for a while with a few Steradent tablets in there.

Steradent tablets are for cleaning dentures, and can be bought in most chemists.


NB: I have never personally used them for this job, but i know a collector who did with great results.
I cleaned my whites with a weak, mild bleach bath, it brought them up Persil white!
Bleach WILL NOT rot the fabric nor the cotton thread, as long as they are very well rinsed.

Neil.

Great tip Neil! Ralph had some great results with sterident tablets recently

Great tip about Steradent tablets!

I also use the mild bleach and rinse very well method...

Excellent stuff Dal, it is an old trick, so i guess i am in a way 'trying to teach my Granny to suck eggs'

inntruderr61 wrote:

Great tip about Steradent tablets!

I also use the mild bleach and rinse very well method...

Yes Jim, people always worried about the bleach rotting the fabric, but i would think it would take a neat thick bleach to even start having an effect on good thick cotton fabric, and that would be over a long time.


I bought a quite grubby set of Ski Patrol uniform, and even after i washed it it still wasn't just white enough.
I was quite worried about the polar bear motif on the breast of the jacket, but decided to give it a go with the mild bleach, in warm water.
It came out like snow!...it was like it just came off the card...i was very happy with the results.

Neil.