So...

[ksmith]

Will turmeric wash out eventually?

Comments

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

IIRC...it has been a while since my mom was dyeing stuff, but I think turmeric requires a mordant (essentially a fixative) to make the color permanent. However, lack of same doesn't necessarily mean it will wash out...it may just fade to some shade of brown.

Perhaps someone with more recent practical experience will know better.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

It's been impossible for me to get out, with several different products. DON'T put the garment in the dryer! Keep working with it and line-drying...let me know if you can get it out.

Some things need two different types of applications, such as chocolate and tomato....

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Crud.

My favorite khakis met up with a curried veggie roll-up, and lost. *sigh* I was eating the thing while holding it over the styrofoam container, but the sauce squirted out the side instead of down.

Some hit my new keyboard--I think I was able to dab it all out. But several minutes of scrubbing with soap and warm water didn't do much for the spots on the pants.

[jennifer-dunne.livejournal.com]

Try the Cordova (sp?) line of stain removers. They're tiny little bottles that are specially formulated to attack various protein-based stains. Like there's one for blood, one for chocolate, one for milk-products, one for oil and butter, one for tree sap...

I've never had them fail to remove a stain, although one stain required four applications.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I may have to try those, if the homemade remedies don't work. Thanks!

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Two of the things I've seen online were methylated spirits, which make sense considering the stuff isn't water-soluble, but are nasty to deal with, and 3% hydrogen peroxide, which I'm trying as I type. I don't want to speak too soon, but it may be fading. I'll let you know.

I also saw treatments like wetting with lemon juice, then putting out in the sun. These hints came from India, though, where they actually have sun. Apparently turmeric is light-sensitive, so I can see where acidifying it or oxidizing it then zapping it with light might fade it.

Blasted stuff.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

Next time start with cold water. There's always a tiny chance that warm or hot will start to set something.

Mustard is also a bitch, unfortunately...

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I believe hydrogen peroxide works well on tea stains. A friend told me about a good way to get pet stains out, too...it was either the same, or white vinegar.

I need to get that in writing, obviously...

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Mustard is a bitch because of the--wait for it--turmeric.

I Googled 'remove turmeric stains' and got some of the tips I mentioned. Tonight I tried 3% peroxide, followed by baking powder scrub with a toothbrush--I possibly should have used baking soda--and a wet-down with nail polish remover containing acetone. Rinsed, then tried another dip of 3%.

The spots have faded a lot. I may need to give them a few more treatments, but I think the peroxide did the trick.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

The spots are now so faded that I can barely see them. I credit the peroxide, and possibly the acetone.

The peroxide did leave faint traces of its presence--the areas that I soaked are a tad lighter. Again, not all that noticeable, but these are light tan Gramicci rockclimbing pants--the seams and edges also show some lightening due to wear, so no real issue. I don't think I'd have treated a pair of cream wool trousers that cavalierly.

[davidlevine]

THE most effective remedy for turmeric stains is sunlight. It has no resistance to the sun at all.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

This is good to know--I did see it mentioned on a couple of sites.

Do you happen to know whether it's the vis or UV light that causes it to degrade?

[davidlevine]

I don't know, but I would suspect it's the UV -- it has more energy, and turmeric's bright color implies that it's a little bit fluorescent. Most things that fluoresce under black light fade quickly in sunlight -- it's like the fluorescense takes something out of it chemically.

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I love peroxide. It clearly is residual magic from the dawn of time.

Mustard is a bitch because of the--wait for it--turmeric.

This would not surprise me in the slightest. On the other hand, these spices sre good for your digestion, so...

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

The peroxide did leave faint traces of its presence--the areas that I soaked are a tad lighter. Again, not all that noticeable, but these are light tan Gramicci rockclimbing pants--the seams and edges also show some lightening due to wear, so no real issue. I don't think I'd have treated a pair of cream wool trousers that cavalierly.

When a 20-something comes up to ask how you got that cool weathering effect, all your hard research will be rewarded!

I appreciate the sacrifice for a dearly loved pair of pants. Hope this didn't weaken any fibers.

My Ex grabbed a pair of linen pants I'd set aside for the dry cleaners and washed them. He managed to do this twice, to two different pairs of pants, even after I got hemming so I could still wear the suckers.

I stopped buying linen pants, obviously. Denim and I are old friends, now...