Stains are everywhere and it can happen to your vulnerable white wedding dress. Staining your wedding dress is inevitable because you go through several activities on your wedding day. Applying make-up, putting on perfume, eating and drinking, and sweating contributes largely to the stains on your wedding dress. 

If these stains are not addressed immediately, it can be disastrous and will cause damage to your prized wedding dress. To help you, grab your pen and notebook and list-down the following tips and tricks on what are the things to do when your dress is stained during your wedding day and to keep it looking new and fresh. 

#1 Prepare Your Emergency Cleaning Kit

Unleash your girl scout skills and prepare your emergency cleaning kit for your wedding day. Putting together the things you might need to remove the stains is very helpful to lessen the chances of damages that may happen to your wedding dress because of the stain. 

In your emergency cleaning kit, you can prepare white cotton towels or cloths, cotton swabs, white chalk, baby powder, stain removal wipes, a bar of white soap, small bottles of water, and rubbing alcohol. 

#2 Don’t Panic and Act Quick

When you discover that your wedding dress has a stain, don’t panic and stay calm. Panicking will cause further damage as you may resort to rubbing or scrubbing the stain which may damage the layers of your fabric. If you see a stain, grab a towel and put it on the spot where the stain lays. Separate the layers of your fabric to avoid it from spreading.

#3 Know the Stain

There are different ways on how to remove stains. You need to know what kind of stain has smeared your wedding dress to know the procedure you will need to do to remove it.

• Makeup

If your wedding dress was smeared with makeup such as foundation and lipstick, you can use a stain removal wipes then touch the stain in a dabbing motion from the edges towards the center. If there are still visible makeup stains on your wedding dress, cover it with either chalk powder or baby powder.

• Oil or Grease from Food 

Stains from oily or greasy food can be addressed using powders. When an oily food is splattered on your wedding dress, grab chalk or powder immediately. Cover the spot with the chalk or powder for approximately 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, brush the powder away. 

If the stain is still there, repeat the process. You can also use rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab and dab the stain from the outer edge to the center. If the stain remains, just cover it with the chalk or powder.

• Colored liquids such as wine

Colored liquids such as red wines are one disastrous stain that might happen during your wedding. Once the red wine stain is on your wedding dress, it is very visible against the white fabric. If this happens, grab a towel and place above the spot of the stain to absorb the liquid.

Towels can absorb as much wine as possible preventing it from spreading to the other layers of your wedding dress. Soak the towel with warm water and dab it beginning from the outer edges of the stain towards the center. Discoloration might persist in this kind of stain, thus, you need to cover it with chalk or baby powder.

• Ink Stains

Ink stains are also inevitable during your wedding day. You use pens to sign papers or maybe when you write drafts or guides on the speech you will be delivering. Ink stains can be very stubborn and difficult which will need professional cleaning methods to remove it. 

However, there are also emergency methods you can do to slowly remove the stains on your wedding dress. If a spot of ink is spattered on your wedding dress, grab a white towel and place it under the spot where the stain is. 

The towel will help in absorbing the ink and prevent it from spreading to the other parts of the wedding dress. Use a wet cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol and dab it on the stain, starting from the outer edges working towards the center. Cover the remaining stain with chalk or baby powder.

#4 Go to a Professional Cleaning Company

Even though you tried to remove the stains during your wedding using the emergency cleaning methods, you still need to bring your wedding dress to a professional cleaning company. Invisible stains may lurk on your wedding dress. Invisible stains that are not removed will contribute to the yellowing of the wedding dress and may degrade the fabric over time. 

Professional cleaning companies are equipped with the right cleaning equipment that can remove the stain on your wedding dress. Experts in wedding dress cleaning will determine what cleaning procedure applies to your wedding dress. They will examine the fabric and embellishments used on your wedding dress to know if they will be applying either the wet-cleaning or dry-cleaning method. 

#5 Storing

After cleaning, it is suggested to bring your wedding dress to a wedding dress preservation company to ensure that your dress is kept in pristine condition and remains clean. To preserve your dress, it is wrapped in an acid-free paper and stored in an acid-free storage box. This box is airtight which prevents moisture and other elements that may damage the fabrics and embellishments of your wedding gown.

Your wedding dress is considered as a treasure and an investment which needs proper care before and after the wedding. You can use the tips above to help you remove stains that may damage your wedding dress. 

See:  EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WEDDING GOWN PRESERVATION KIT