UKH

Schoolboy error last weekend: I managed to over-stuff my rucksack resulting in a pasta salad with pesto & olive oil bursting, and getting the dressing over a good part of my rucksack and my beloved Rab Generator jacket.

Cleaning the sack has proved fairly successful but the jacket less so, despite washing it twice. Does anyone have any tips on removing oil from Pertex? Unfortunately, the part of the jacket receiving the worst of the spill was the waist draw-cord hem. I feel like I might have to open the hem and get some chalk-ball action going before washing it yet again. I'm not to fussed about the fabric losing some water resistance, but I need to get rid of the pesto smell and remaining oiliness.

In reply to Fraser:


Scissors?

CB

In reply to Fraser:

Last time I got Olive Oil on my sack I found a good bath got rid of it. RE the pesto smell I did see a van with 'Anti-Pesto' on the side. It was driven by a pasty looking chap with big ears and a dog the passenger side. Might be worth Googling.

In reply to Fraser:

Neat dry wash or even washing up liquid should do it. You can always reproof later.

As for the draw cord, can't you pull it through rather than opening the hem? Feed through some string as you take it out so you can put it back easily and you should be OK.

In reply to Fraser:

Lakeland do some stuff called White Wonder http://www.lakeland.co.uk/23243/Lakeland-White-Wonder-Stain-Cleaning-Cream-... which worked great removing some oil/grease stains I had on my Arcteryx Atom hoody. Might be worth a punt.

In reply to davidbeynon:


This. It's desinged for emulusufucation of fats and oils, hence why its so good at getting grease off plates.

In reply to ianstevens:

soaking it in a bucket for a short time and tipping the water out may also work better than using a soap in a washing machine as the draining process pulls it all back through the fabric with some getting redeposited.

In reply to Fraser:

Some chalk should soak it up! Failing that, some brown paper and an iron at a low setting.

In reply to Fraser:

Is this the follow up thread to the injunction post as he had olive oil on his sack

In reply to robert-hutton:

Cheers all, I'll check out some of the more 'doable' suggestions. I've tried it twice now with washing up liquid, and it helped to a degree but there's still some residual oiliness... and pesto aroma! The draw string is only pay off the problem as the oil has got into the fabric tube through which the cord runs. I had actually wondered about chalk or something else to absorb the oil. I'll definitely try Lakeland though so thanks Fiona for that one.

I wouldn't mind if I could just get a replacement jacket but they no longer seem to be available in the same design.

In reply to Fraser:

Seriously, if you don´t like my initial suggestion you should try dry cleaning. It is not really dry anyway, but uses organic solvents that are extremely good at removing hydrophobic oils.

CB

In reply to Fraser:

Another thing that might be worth trying but will require real care...

Get an iron and some brown paper or possibly just heavy duty kitchen roll.

Place the brown paper/kitchen roll over bit of the jacket that has grease on and put iron on top for a few seconds. If the fabric with the grease on is in contact with any other bits of the jacket place a towel in between - you don't want to spread the grease any further.

Basically, you should be able to heat the oil/grease up and get the brown paper to absorb it. As the grease gets soaked into the paper move it along so you have fresh paper over the greasy bit and repeat.

The caveat is that you need to be really careful you don't burn the fabric though so start with as cool an iron as possible.

I'd try the less risky approaches first!

In reply to Fraser:

I had a similar issue (can't remember the specifics) and found a housewife's tip trawling round the internet which worked surprisingly well in my case: leave it in strong sunlight for, like, a couple of days...hard to believe but...

In reply to Fraser:

Liberally cover it with this http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Essentials-Fragrance-Free-Cleansing-Lotion-15...

Wipe off and repeat several times if needed then wash it.

It will remove the oil but is gentler than detergent.

In reply to Fraser:

Anyone suggested Popeye yet?

In reply to Fraser:
I think this problem is a bit self inflicted. Salad, dressing and pesto is not hill food and not the fare of hard mountain types. Can I suggest filling your rucksack with more traditional pork pies, Mars bars and nuts would solve this problem.

Re the pesto smell, this would be easily solved by wearing the same pants and shirt for several days in succession.

In reply to Fraser:

Washing up liquid should do it, but I don't know what effect it will have on the pertex.

In reply to Aztec Bar:

I must agree about pasta salad's suitability as crag food, but it was all I had available to take with me at short notice. And some chocolate - at least that did't melt! Re the clothes solution: I'll have you know I change mine every Monday morning, whether they need it or not!

In reply to Moderate Matt: I've tried that twice, but to no great avail. It's good for getting grease off a plate but pertex is sadly somewhat more absorbent.

In reply to Thundercat: I like your thinking!

In reply to Kean: lo-tec, I like that too

In reply to Fraser:

Have you tried shampoo?

In reply to nufkin:

No I've not (I don't have much need of the stuff tbh!) Isn't it essentially just the same as dish washing liquid, with a slightly nicer perfume?

In reply to Fraser:

Thought this was going to be about was going to be about the PJS injunction...

Good luck in removing the staining.

In reply to Kean:




Where do you get the strong sunlight from?