Bug Guts on my fabric

My recommendation would be a *very* mild bleach. The stains are likely to be organic. Try *very* dilute solutions in water of something like hydrogen peroxide or Oxyclean. But I do mean ***VERY dilute***. Also try it first on a part of the fabric that does not matter, just to be on the safe side.

-- Jim Cripwell. From Canada. Land of the Key Bird. This creature of doom flies over the frozen tundra in winter, shrieking its dreaded call; "Key, Key, Key, Key rist but it's cold!!"

hmmm... nasty stuff. probably not unlike the bug leavings that make beautiful shellac. If so... then test a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a corner of the fabric. If the fabric isn't damaged by the rubbing alcohol (and that will depend on the dye used) then it could take the stains out. Better would be denatured alcohol but I suppose that's not something everyone keeps around the house. You can get denatured alcohol in "smallish" cans at small hardware stores. the reason I don't recommend the big discount hardware stores is because they *tend* to sell it only in 1/2 or gallon sizes.

denatured alcohol is a cleaner way to go if it will work - it is very volatile (meaning it quickly goes from liquid to gas) so quickly dabbing it on until the stain is gone is the way to handle it. a q-tip could work well and limit the area.

I've used rubbing alcohol (before I had denatured) to remove ink stains from suede liners in my pen boxes. pretty safe for *most* dyed fabrics from what I can tell.

gut luck. :)

Oh what a bad pun! I never would have thought of alcohol to clean it! Cheryl

yeah... sorry. German-English puns. sometimes not as subtle as I'd like. :)

I'm going based on shellac - alcohol is used as a solvent for it and it is (speaking in simple terms) the excretion of an insect in uh... i forget where. So, hopefully it would be a similar issue.

just for grins for those interested...

i've recently become enamored of the stuff for finishing purposes and mix my own. But i find the soure fascinating (so, maybe it doesn't take much to impress me.)

it may be in this article but I'm not sure but shellac is also highly refined for use in certain foods. Including Russel Stover's Pot O' Gold chocolates. :) Hubby bought me some of this the day after I got my first batch of shellac flakes. heh... oh well... it's the biologist in me that finds that humorous.

Ohhh an added layer of pun!

Cheryl

If it is blood then bleach would set it. Hydrogen peroxide works well on blood, so does spray in wash. Judy

I think you might be confused? Bleach is the only thing that thoroughly removes all traces of blood. Isotonic saline works almost as well. Of course, if you're talking about insect parts here, not human blood, you might want to choose a product that would remove protein, such as Clorox 2. Dianne

I might be, but it seems that it works that way for me. Good to know that bleach should work though. I will try it again next time. I know that it is about the only thing that takes out tea stains. Judy

Even though I feel really guilty, this is why I am not setting up my silk work on the floor frame outdoors for our arts festival. Our EGA is looking for gals to demonstrate but working outdoors with silk scares the heck out of me !