Antique & Museum Pieces
We know antique and museum pieces
At RAVE FabriCARE, we understand the delicate nature of antique and museum pieces. We respect their value to you. And we’ll do our very best to safeguard them.
Cleaning an antique or museum piece is a skillful process that involves great thought and care at every stage of the cleaning and finishing process.
Our strength is our personalized advisory service. When you bring or send in an antique or museum piece to us, a knowledgeable Fabricare Consultant will:
- Examine the piece carefully
- Identify the challenges presented by the piece
- Discuss the areas of risk
- Explain our recommended restoration and/or cleaning process
- Identify the results that we believe you can and cannot expect from our work.
The problems and risks
Specifically, we will discuss the problems and/or conditions of use, storage or manufacture that may limit whether such items can be safely cleaned and yield satisfactory results.
At the very least, the following potential problems and/or conditions require careful examination:
Beads/Sequins
May peel, separate, dissolve, lose color, fall off due to loose, broken or rotted threads. If glued on, the glue may dissolve in either an aqueous solution or in dry cleaning fluid.
Lace
May be discolored, stained, or deteriorated due to age. If glued on, the color may change. If the item is a garment trimmed with lace, the lace may have to be separated from the garment, independently cleaned, and then reattached after the rest of the garment has been cleaned.
Hemlines
May be badly soiled, scuffed, frayed, torn or glued. Soil removal may be limited.
Linings
May be discolored, worn, frayed, torn, or stained.
Stains
May be stained from food or beverage, perspiration (can be invisible and turn yellow or brown in processing), dye bleed, or rust from metal components (buttons, hooks, zippers, etc.)
Trims
Bows, buttons, buckles, flowers, appliques, rhinestones and other ornamental attachments may separate or discolor. If trim is glued on, the glue may dissolve. Trims might have to be removed and then reattached after the rest of the garment has been cleaned.
Overall Condition
Scuffing, pulls and snags; yarn slippage; crushed nap; yellowing due to age, exposure to light (natural and artificial) or improper storage in appropriate climate conditions and/or acidic storage materials; stained and soiled; worn necklines, cuffs and hems; insect damage; dry rot and tears. Weakened or rotted fabric may tear. Unstable dyes may bleed.
Summary
The catchword on any antique or museum piece is test, test and test again before proceeding with any cleaning process.
Cleaning an heirloom, antique and museum piece is a skillful process that involves great thought and care at every stage of the cleaning and finishing process. It also involves potential risk. So it’s important to understand the potential risks involved before proceeding.
It's also important to understand that that there are some heirloom, antique and museum pieces that are suitable for cleaning and/or restoration. And there are others that are in such poor condition that there can be no reasonable expectation that a positive result can be achieved.
Accordingly, we can only work on pieces that have these 3 attributes:
- have existing structural integrity
In other words, the fabric has reasonable strength, is not weak or rotted and will not disintegrate with gentle/safe cleaning/restoration processes.
- have no major visible damage
In other words, there are no visible tears, holes or fraying of any importance that could enlarge in the cleaning/restoration process and, as a consequence, require a significant investment of our time to repair any unanticipated damage. - have dye stability
In other words, there is a good match between the dyes on the piece, the issues associated with the garment (stains, soiling, odor, mustiness, etc.) and the dry cleaning and/or wet cleaning techniques required to clean and/or restore the garment.
If you live in the greater Phoenix metro area, we encourage you to bring in your heirloom, antique and museum pieces for evaluation. An appointment is advisable.
If you live outside the greater Phoenix metro area, we encourage you to send us a series of pictures of your heirloom, antique and museum pieces for evaluation. If that initial evaluation is positive, you might decide to ship your heirloom, antique and museum pieces to us for further evaluation. After we receive your heirloom, antique and museum pieces, we'll contact you to discuss their suitability for cleaning and/or restoration.
If your heirloom, antique and museum pieces are not suitable candidates for cleaning and/or restoration by RAVE FabriCARE based on the 3 criteria stated above and you, nonetheless, wish to consider cleaning and/or restoring them, we suggest that you contact a private Textile Conservationist in your area. You can start by calling your nearest museum or historical society and asking for a recommendation. Alternatively, just google "Textile Conservation."
Examples of our work
Here are two examples of our museum-quality work:
Trust the experts
When you’ve been entrusted with maintaining and preserving the integrity of a precious and valuable textile, you can trust the experts at RAVE FabriCARE for an informed consultation and care at every stage of the cleaning and finishing process should you decide to proceed.
