1. For cleaning vintage t-shirts at home, the most important advice we can give is to BE CAREFUL. First you need to understand the risk you take when cleaning vintage t-shirts. For antique items, the fabric could disintegrate.  If the fabric has holes, the holes may become worse. Rust stains are difficult to remove and can becomes holes when cleaned.

2. Dry cleaning is a risk, many dry cleaners use equipment that exposes clothing to extremely high temperatures. This can destory fragile decals, etc.

3. To help freshing up your vintage t-shirt, pop it on a plastic bag and place it the freezer for several days. This helps to eliminate odor causing bacteria.

4. Most vintage t-shirts are cotton and can be hand washed with care, and dried naturally out of direct light. Use soap, or gentle hand washing detergents.  Above all avoid chlorine based cleaners, or bleach. A safer alternative to bleach is one of the newer oxygen based cleaners, just make sure to follow the manufacturers instructions carefully.

5 Adding Salt to the washing water helps retain the colors and limit bleeding of dyes.

6. Try to clean any recent spots before storage. Stains set over time and will be difficult or impossible to remove later. In some cases stains can cause disintegration. Rust spots and underarm staining are extremely harmful to t-shirts.   Also, consider whether there is a risk in dealing with the stain - it may be better to leave it alone.

 

1. Store your vintage t-shirts in acid-free tissue or cloth (i.e. clean muslin). Unbuffered acid-free tissue works well with most fabrics. The tissue helps absorb harmful acids and protects your t-shirts from disintegration. You can purchase this tissue online from archival dealers or from certain craft or quilting stores.

2. It is important to store fragile items flat. Storing any type of item on a hanger for long periods can be harmful.

3. For longer storage you can store items flat in boxes. The best, but most expensive way to store t-shirts flat is to purchase an acid-free archival textile box. These boxes can be expensive. Normal cardboard boxes can damage your t-shirts over time as most cardboard boxes have harmful acids that eat fabric, yellow it and break down the fibers. Plastic boxes may be a good alternative if the t-shirts is fully wrapped in acid-free tissue or cloth and stored in a climate controlled area. With plastic boxes you do run the risk of mildew. Do not store t-shirts in basements or humid environments. Cedar is good for protecting t-shirts from bugs and other environmental factors. Make sure to wrap the t-shirts in acid-free tissue or cloth first. Cedar, like any wood, contains acids which can damage fabrics so avoid dirct contact with the fabric.

4. Try to clean any recent spots before storage.

5. Natural, or even artificial light fades fabric - store vintage t-shirts in darkness.