can you bleach a polyester jacket without ruining it?

Question

My daughter has a pink Nike jacket, it is all polyester, except for the lining and the threaded Nike emblem on the back. it sat in the damp basement all year, now it has mildew stains that I can't get out. Will the bleach ruin the nike emblem or the lining which is probably cotton, all of it is pink.

Thanks for the answer but im really just trying to save $60 by getting it clean as it is only a year old and a drycleaner will probably charge that

Answer 1

Polyester does not do well with bleach and I fear you will ruin the jacket. But, you do have some options to kill the mildew and its spores. DampRid makes a mildew remover and protector for fabrics that won't damage the polyester or other fibers. You can find it on the cleaning aisle at the Lowes home improvement store. I would spray it on the jacket until it is saturated, agitate the areas with a soft brush and then launder as usual. You can also try soaking it in a solution of borax and water until the stains disappear. You can make a paste of borax and water scrubbing it into the stubborn stains. Borax also kills mildew and its spores and it won't damage the fibers. It will also remove the odor.

Answer 2

No,

The bleach will remove all the pink that it can. I may not mess up the logo, but it will certainly mess up the jacket because the color fade won't be constant, I think it will ruin the emblem as well; bleach is pretty powerful.

Now there is a color safe bleach made by Clorox, in the blue bottle; that is what I use on all of my color items and I have never had a problem with it.

You can also create a super cleaning solution to try and clean out the mildew. A combination of a mold remover, baking soda, standard pretreat treatment with some 409 or something similar. The baking soda provides a grit so when you scrub it (I would use an old toothbrush) then you have something to scrub against. The little bit of 409 will help cut any grease, the little bit of mold remover will act on the mold and the standard pretreatment solution (like Shout) will act as the major cleaner that is designed to be used on fabric. Cotton is pretty durable it is the actual die that I would be worried about. I use a solution of 8 parts Shout, 1 part of 409 and 1 part baking soda. I don't have any problem with that solution and I have been able to get blood out, which is a very difficult stain. I don't know about the mildew remover and I would try a bit of it on an inside corner first to see if it will harm the dye or the fabric.

I would treat it, rinse it, treat it against and then I would wash it by itself to flush out the mildew, then I would check it, possibly treat it again and give it a wash with a normal load of laundry. If after that you haven't got the stain to lighten a lot then you won't get it out.

When you make this concoction make sure to label it so you remember the ingredients and know that it is super strong. I have been using the solution I described WITHOUT the mild dew cleaner for several years with no problems on a wide range of stains. I have had problems removing ink stains, but I have made some inroads to lighten the stain

Answer 3

Nike Polyester Jacket

Answer 4

Chlorine bleach will damage & fade colored fabric -

* It's safer to take it to a dry cleaner to spot bleach the mildew ( using steam & low temperature Oxygen bleach powder- safe on colored fabric) then dry clean.

* They also rinse the area with a shot of hot water from their steam gun and suck the water through a vacuum pad. Therefore reducing the risk of color run & dye transfer from emblems etc.

* Then they dry clean the garment in Perchloroethylene or White spirits.

Answer 5

It will take out most of the colour where you splash the bleach. Arguably, this would be ruining the jacket, but if that's what you're going for, then whatever.

Answer 6

of course it will, its bleach.