How can I dye a "spot clean only" polyester dress from cream to white?

Name: Angela

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Country or region: Labrador, Canada

Message: Hi there, I have a cream colored, 100% polyester wedding dress that says 'Do not dry clean', spot clean only w. cold water and a mild soap...my daughter would like to wear it for her wedding but she wants the dress to be white. Is it at all possible for me to dye the dress from cream to white? I've searched everywhere but all of the questions seem to be dyeing to color and not to white. Please help, thank you so much!!

No, you cannot do anything to change the color of a garment that is not washable. Immersing the garment in water to change its color may cause the dress to fall apart, or cause the trim to come right off of the dress.

I suspect the trim may have been glued on, using a glue that is not suitable for clothing, as as otherwise there's little reason not to allow even dry-cleaning. There are fabric glues that easily survive gentle washing or dry-cleaning, but it seems that the maker of your dress could not be bothered to use appropriate materials.

The method used to remove color from polyester requires immersing it in very hot water with a chemical color remover (not bleach); this does not always work, depending on the source of the original color. The method used to brighten a slightly off-white fabric to true white requires immersing it in hot water with a fluorescent brightener, which is a sort of dye that absorbs ultraviolet light and converts it to visible blue light. Your dress cannot be immersed in water, so neither of these procedures will be possible.

I'm sorry I can't give you better news.

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Posted: Sunday - December 08, 2013 at 12:17 PM

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How can I dye a "spot clean only" polyester dress from cream to white?

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