Chapter 3: Creepy Cinderella ... Cinderella's Cleaning Commences

Of course, in all the fairy tale versions of Cinderella; the most important item in her transformation was a new dress from her Fairy Godmother.  So we decided to start the whole cleaning process with the clothes.  The dress is actually in good condition.  Pink and white lace overlay with buttons and bows (all in good condition) over an attached pink slip.  Hook and eye closure at the back are okay.  Hair band solid and elastic still has a bit of stretch, but seriously discoloured ... and the smell!  Okay, so atrocious - I can't even begin to describe it, but worse than the smell was the feel of these clothes.  They felt stiff, sticky and "crunchy" if that's possible to imagine.  So, so much dirt.  So into the tub they go!

---

Here is the whole shebang in cool, sudsy water.  We used "Avon Bubble Bath - Soft Pink" for an extremely gentle clean.

The water turned black almost instantly.  These pictures don't really show just how much dirt literally came out in the wash!

After two or three rinses, the water finally ran perfectly clear - here we are drying in the sun!  The clothes turned out pretty good actually - still discoloured (especially the socks and hair band) but the contrast is considerably more subtle now.  Best of all they feel soft and smell sweet!

Tune in next week when we'll try our hand at cleaning those dreadful shoes!

Meadow Sweet Grove © V. Buchanan 2017 ​

---