Prom dress cleaning advice, please.

[xsquared]

DD wore a vintage dress at her prom, and has spilt lemonade on it. I have taken it to the dry cleaners but they said they can't guarantee it will come out.

It's made of acetate fabric, and I've had a Google but there's a lot of conflicting advice.

I know it's probably a long shot, but if you have any success stories or advice on getting rid of dried soft drink stains from ball gowns, then I'd really appreciate it if you could share them!

Thanks.

Not ball gowns per se, but try leaving it in direct sunlight first. Although if you are in the UK, that might be easier said than done.

If hand wash it . I used to be a dry cleaner and a lot of stuff doesn't come out . We hand washed a lot of things and they always came up lovely .
Realistically what are you going to do with it ? If nothing then you may as well risk washing it .

If you do choose to use a liquid delicate detergent and smooth it out straight away . Use a bit of vanish spray on the stain itself .

Thank you both. I think you may be right @boredybored, about the stain not coming out at the dry cleaners, but why is it so expensive if it doesn't do the job? 😕

I was hoping dd would be able to wear it again if she has any balls at university.

I think I will try to hand wash the part with the stain on it as it's quite obvious. It has 3 layers - net petticoat bit, then a lining of some kind then the skirt, so it would be quite a task to hand wash the whole garment!p

Vanish spray on the shopping list then!

If you can remove the net underskirts before washing, replace them afterwards, although this might challenge your sewing skills . Net dies nor respond well to washing and will nee re stiffening. Washing just the stain will leave a different patch stain.
Lemonade is mostly sugar and water, so should come out with gentle hand washing in warm water. Line dry on a hanger. Low temperature iron.

Don't just wash some of it . You will end up in a mess with a big tide mark .
Honestly the safest way is to submerge the whole thing and squeeze it in a towel to get rid of the water( ideally a had wash cycle in the machine tbh) and hang to dry in front of you a fan to avoid any water marks .

Dry cleaning works well on suits etc to protect the fabrics but useless on wet marks etc

After chatting to a friend who's had experience with her own dds and her own wedding dress made of tulle, I think I will risk the washing machine but put it in a duvet cover first!

Yes that's a good idea or turn it inside out to protect itself from the drum. Get it out as soon as it finishes and hang it after smoothing it out so it dries in order