Thursday, January 27, 2011

Scrubbing Bubbles or Baking Soda?

I have 4 pieces of canvas luggage.  One piece is bright orange, from Ralph Lauren.  It's large.  I took it to Italy.  And to London.  And it's terribly dirty :(

Another piece is bright apple green.  I use it for 2-3 nights away from home.  That happens often.  It's terribly dirty as well :(

I have a pink piece and a blue piece, but somehow they aren't as filthy.  But they aren't the right sizes.  So I need to clean the orange and the green.  What's a girl to do?  Well, I googled eHow, of course!  eHow has told me a few things.  I've not done any of them.  Ever.  Have you?

Dry Baking Soda Method
Sprinkle dry baking soda onto the canvas exterior of the luggage. Scrub it with a brush to remove the soil. Brush away the soda residue with another brush. Dry baking soda almost always removes oil spots and most other types of soil. It also does a good job of cleaning the piece overall. This method is the easiest for your luggage.


Baking Soda and Water Method
If the dry baking soda didn't remove all the soil, try mixing about 4 tbsp. of baking soda in a cup of water. Dampen a clean cloth with the solution and rub it on the spot, being careful not to get the canvas too wet. Avoid getting the metal framework of the luggage under the canvas wet because doing so might make it rust. Dry the clean luggage with a hand held hair dryer.


Laundry Detergent Method
For more stubborn stains, rub the spots with a little laundry detergent mixed with water. Pre-treat it, if necessary, with Fels Naptha soap, again being careful not to get the fabric too wet. When the fabric is cleaned, dry the luggage with a hand held hair dryer.


Stained and Ashamed,
T

8 comments:

Carole said...

Gotta love eHow. The dry baking soda method fascinates me. I think you'd need really stiff brushes and a lot of elbow grease.

If you have stains of any kind, use Dawn dish detergent (the original, regular one, not the fancy permutations). You can apply it directly, let it sit, and then wash per usual (I'm talking about clothing, obviously.) Dawn pulls out stains, especially oily ones.
You could apply Dawn to the stain, let it sit, then spray w/ water, and rub/brush. Spray w/ more water to rinse.

Dee Stephens said...

Baking soda does work but it's messy. My MIL swears that Windex cleans any and everything.
It's vinegar based and I've found the same experience.

REBrown said...

I'm convinced there is NOTHING that baking soda won't clean!

Bronwen said...

You could also try a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I use one to clean my couch! Random, I know, but those things really are magical.

Tote said...

You will have to let us know what works for you. I haven't tried anything like that. We have new luggage that has been used a few times so far. It's gray so maybe you can't see the dirt as easely.
Have a good weekend!

The Bee Charmer said...

I have a theory that clean and well maintained luggage only makes you a target for disgruntled airline workers. Maybe you could just let it stay dirty...

Ann said...

my luggage never goes anywhere so it never gets dirty. :)

we hate you. love, us said...

I haven't tried any of those methods, but keep us posted - I have one suitcase that is super dirty and I would love to clean it without ruining it.