School dress ruined at school!

[DianaMitford]

As the title says. New dress, bought at the beginning of the summer term. 9yo DD, doing art today and black ink has soaked through her apron onto her dress. I washed it immediately she came home with Vanish and it's faded but it's ruined. I mean, she can still wear it but it's got black ink all down the front

My dilemma is that a new dress is £40 and there are no secondhand ones. Do I say anything to the school?? If so, what?!

I would definitely complain to the school about the inadequate apron/unwashable ink combo. It doesn't sound at all compatible with expensive uniform.

Second the soaking in milk. Worked when a pen exploded in DDs pocket.
Soaked in milk, rinsed, used vanish bar and washed.

I would be furious. If they insist on fancy clothes for the school uniform then they need to take reasonable care to ensure the girls are able to protect their parents' investment. I would be right in there demanding why aprons weren't either provided or on the uniform list. In fact I did something similar when DS2 got white acrylic paint on a £60 blazer (luckily the dry cleaner got it out), and when DD got non-washable glue on a brand new £30 school cardigans because a dippy teacher without kids had ordered thew wrong glue and still used it, and not got the children to put on the patrons their parents had supplied!!

aprons

Nail varnish remover is good for ink stains. Pour it on and leave it to soak then blot. Repeat a few times.

Make sure you put a cloth or kitchen roll between the front and back of the dress otherwise the stain will transfer through.

I feel you pain, dd, aged 5, has 2 out 5 school dresses, pricey but not £40 a time, stained with white board marker and her 2 PE shirts stained with sun cream, despite overnight soaking in vanish and scrubbing with vanish soap the stains are still there all be it slightly faded.

I won't be replacing before the end of term, it's only 4 weeks away, they won't fit next year, I might however try and pick a PE shirt up at the nearly new uniform sale in time for sports day.

School have to be commended for beings sunsafe, but they are obviously putting PE kit on before sun cream has time to soak in.
As for why reception get their hands on white board pens that's another story.

We only have multiple sets of uniform as I work shifts and sometimes I'm away Monday to friday

I brought some dr Beckmann colour run remover when a red biro managed to get into the white load. You had to soak the items but it came up fine and then I just ran it through the machine to get the chemicals out.

Keep up with the vanish. I got a load of poster paint out of dd's dress by giving it a spray of vanish every time I walked past the washing machine for a couple of weeks.

Depending on the size of the stain, and on your sewing ability, I have had a lot of success embroidering in satin stitch over small stains in the same colour as the garment, or taking in a little dart which eliminates the stains.

Very satisfying! Though I think I am turning into MIL, it is the sort of thing she would do with great relish.

Justtrying pour neat liquid clothes washing detergent onto suncream stains, leave overnight then wash as normal.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the replies.

She was wearing an apron - the ink went through.

It's indelible black ink

rubbing alcohol might loosen up the stain.

Where can one obtain this stuff?

Just buy a new dress, you must have cash to spare if you are happy to send your DD to a school with a £40 price on a summer dress

No sympathy required

When I read your thread My initial thought was why would you spend £40 on a dress however I have been educated that it is an enforced thing by the school so actually if they insist girls spend £40 on a dress yes they should provide adequate aprons.

How annoying to have just one dress though; you must be rinsing it through practically every night when it's hot and sticky, or she spills something on it. My girls always had 4 or 5 supermarket dresses. I can see why you wouldn't be wanting to shell out £200 though.

I agree with sparkles

The recent thread about private school fees was a real eye-opener in terms of the astonishing cost.

40 pounds is nothing if you can afford thousands per term in fees.

How much of a cut do the school get on the cost of the dress after charging you however much for school fees?

I'd cry if I had to buy a £40 school dress. Try all of the stain removers.

Soak offending area in a mixture of oil of cloves, cider vinegar and garlic purée, the smell will be so bad no one will get close enough to see the stain......😜

Yes of course I can afford it - her father and I both work very hard. That's not really the point, though. It's the principle of the matter

I certainly will be trying all the stain removers, believe you me.

I can't believe you'd even consider taking the dress into school. Accidents happen . A teachers job is to teach, not to worry about a stain on a dress!!!!!

Justtrying how long do you think schools have to apply and wait for 30 kids' sunscreen to soak in? And white board markers are often left in free play / writing areas for young children to use freely

No wonder so many teachers are leaving.

I had this with my daughter's school dress (similar price). even though it has a heavy pattern on it I soaked it in bleach and then washed. Did it on repeat about 3 times and the black paint (that the teacher had got all over it) eventually came out.
Put her in winter uniform for a few days and give it a go.

If you can afford it so easily just get another one
How on earth does she manage with just one anyway??

40 pounds is nothing if you can afford thousands per term in fees.

That is not the case if finding thousands of pounds a term leaves you eating beans at the end of every month.