View Full Version : Cleaning old, dirty, dingy wooden clothespins.
Has anyone done this before? Ideas? I have my own ideas as to how to get them clean and sanitized, but would love to hear from you guys first.
Little history. Last fall I bought a huge bundle (big bag full) of old wooden clothespins off Craigslist. They arrived filthy dirty! Ewww!!! Anyhow, the pins are old and incredible quality. Sturdy wooden presses, the biggest strongest springs I have ever seen, and as an added bonus, the seller even threw in a lot of old wooden peg-styled pins with the order! Finally, after all these years, I'm now officially set...
fidgiegirl
7-18-11, 3:36pm
In my experience that is usually mold from being left outside between hangings. Have no advice for you but I don't feel very hopeful :(
Simplicity
7-18-11, 3:53pm
You could try soaking them in some bleach and water.
My guess would be bleach too......maybe a 15% solution? Then rinse them really well. Maybe leave them in water for a bit. You wouldn't want any absorbed bleach to bleach your clothes! Hmmmm......maybe you should test a few first.
Simpler at Fifty
7-18-11, 5:05pm
I soak them in warm bleach water for about 10" then scrub them with a nail brush I keep in the laundry room. They get 'clean'. I let them dry on a towel on the patio table. Never had an issue with bleach on the clothes after doing this.
Fidgiegirl. After reading your post I made a beeline straight for downstairs, pulled open the little box they are in, and nervously rummaged through them. To my relief there is no mold, at least not from what I can see as of right now (in the current shape they are in). Fingers crossed, fingers crossed...
Simplicity. The bleach idea was along the same lines as I was thinking, but I was worried over the wood presses themselves, absorbing bleach and then transferring it onto darks and things. Maybe a mild bleach solution.
CathyA. That's what I'm thinking, keep the bleach solution mild and rinse thoroughly after.
Simpler at Fifty. OK, that sounds good. I'm going to give it a try.
You know you guys, the pins arrived in a really pretty cloth gingham pin-holder bag that had an actual wire hanger sewn right into it so it could be hung from the line, but it was a disgrace! I was so upset about that, too! There was dust balls inside, actual dirt, and even cigarette butts at the bottom, agh, I threw it out!
I'm really old-fashioned when it comes to presenting things and cleaning things up before selling them to others, not that anything I/we have ever sold was in filthy dirty condition to start, but still. Just surprises me, the lack of pride and self-worth of some people. I myself would be thoroughly embarrassed and ashamed to sell and send something like that to someone. It's just not right. In fact it's downright shameful to say the least.
Anyhow, I will post again after giving the bleach/water suggestion a try. (Going to try and get it done this evening). P.S. Thanks so much everybody!
That IS disgusting Mrs. M. You'd think they would have cleaned it up a little. I would email them and tell them your feelings about that!
It really was so upsetting CathyA. At first I actually did contemplate getting a hold of the lady who sold them to me, as I had her telephone number and had actually spoke with her over the phone, yet a side of me said, "no, don't". So I didn't.
There are times I fail so badly when dealing with others, yet there are times I'm able to address and deal with people in such a professional and diplomatic way. I never really know (at the time) how I will respond, but I always pray for the latter.
Thing is, I thought about all sorts of things related to the sale, like, "is she an older single mom and her life is a mess", and, "maybe she's just one of those kinds of people where anything goes". It was hard although, because I really liked the pin-bag they came in and I sooo wanted to keep it and call it my own, but I just couldn't, and of course tossing anything with good life left in it just isn't me, but I was defeated when I seen the condition of everything once I opened the package up.
Smoke butts in your nice gingham bag - super bummer! Especially when you were so jazzed to have found Clothes Pin Nirvana (I so way understand this)
You'd just have to give someone the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know when they sold them -- like they had cleaned out a Grandma's backshed or something ?????
If they did know of the poor condition, shame on them for not noting that in their listing.
I hope you didn't pay too much - was it a mail transaction or did you pick up in person?
If after putting 1 hour toward the project of cleaning them and I didn't get good results - I'd throw them out and chalk it up to 'yet another lesson learned it life' -- sometimes I have the tendency of reliving something over and over again when related with physical objects
I have done a few CraigsList purchases and have declined purchase on a couple of things once I saw them in person.
Super double triple bummer in fact Mtnlaurel! :laff: I shouldn't be laughing, but somehow talking about it with you guys and sharing the story has helped calm and relax me.
Even if the ad had stated, "wooden clothespins/clothespin bag for sale, $5, everything very dirty, needs love", or something like that, I would have felt better about it. As it was the pins and bag really were $5 and because I felt guilty over the price, I sent extra so there was enough for her to treat herself and buy herself a Cappuccino or Espresso (on me).
Unfortunately it was a mail transaction, otherwise, had it not been, I would have walked away from the deal. I can only imagine the items and things people try selling (pawning off) to unsuspecting buyers. Good on you Mtnlaurel for walking away on a few deals! I'd have no qualms doing the same given the opportunity.
P.S. Forgot to mention, just finishing up a few odds and ends and then will be giving the pins a bath. Dirty pins! :)
i love old clothes pins. :) we don't use any -- we drape --but i would go with vinegar and water myself, as I don't buy bleach. but i have a lot of vinegar around. :D
Heavy sigh... shame on me. I got carried away last night (on here), so the pins didn't get cleaned/soaked. I'm shooting for the stars today with hopes of attacking them tonight. Problem is, what takes average members 10-15 minutes to accomplish on the forum takes me an hour and a half. That's where I went sideways last night.
I've washed the clothespins in a mesh bag with the whites. It seems to work, although mine were not horribly dirty. I think the rinse in the washer would prevent the bleach in the intitial wash from staying in the wood. But, vinegar is a good suggestion, too.
Thanks for the tip Nswef! I put in such a long afternoon outside, I'll have to wait until tomorrow to let give them a bath, but I promise I will post an update after! I really do appreciate everyone's input Re: this one.
And, I really love the sounds of a vinegar rinse/bath! Thank you Zoebird and Nswef!
So happy I am! Just finished cleaning/soaking a dozen pins to try, and all came out fresh and clean. Method: Filled my cleaning/floor washing bucket with hot water (half way), added a dash of bleach (roughly 50 ml or so), added pins, let soak. After 20 (+/-) minutes, took an old toothbrush to each pin, rinsed, then placed pins on an aluminum cookie sheet and dried in sun. Will be doing the remainder over the next few days.
How about treating? Anyone ever treat their pins to protect?
Mrs-M - It's time to take this project to the next level. Here's a link to a clothes pin project that Zoebird posted on another thread
http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/08/320-pins/
Pretty cool, huh?
Super excited that the pins came back to life with a little elbow grease.
Mtnlaurel. Thank you greatly for the link! Fabulous! Our digital camera is in getting looked at and I'm hoping for relatively good news related to what's wrong with it. If it can be fixed I'll take a few pictures of the pins and post them.
Ta-da! All done... My cache of sparkling clean clothespins, ready for action when spring arrives!
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=638&d=1327427111
Nasty, nasty, nasty, that's the shape they were in before I got my hands on them. Wish I had taken a before, picture of them. The were black! But so happy I am with the final end result.
There are eight different kinds in all, the heaviest, strongest springs I have ever seen, and see the peg-pins? Now I can be just like, Early Morning! :) Have always wanted peg-pins!
To add, if you look carefully (six o'clock) on the picture, there's a clothespin (right near the bottom) that has a humongous spring on it. Looks like a curly-cue. I have almost a dozen of those...
Here's a picture of the heavy curly-cue ones I was talking about.
http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=636&d=1327387644
Ever seen anything like it?
I haven't, but the design is so pleasing to the eye.
I've never seen those kind either. Very pretty. Clothes pins as a work of art!
The bleach treatment works fine. The discoloration is mold, but not that MOLD mold that has been getting such a bad reputation lately. The pins will clean up and be a lot more useful than the wimpy little things sold today.
BTW, a lot of things can turn up in a clothespin bag, I had a Carolina wren nest in one once!
Borax is supposed to be a mold inhibitor. How about putting some dry borax in a paper bag and dropping the clothes pins in and giving them a good shake. Even some salt or sand would be helpful here. Borax also will act as a desiccant, so leaving them in the bag for a couple of days should dry them out.
Isn't it ever, Mtnlaurel! That was my first thought, too. The interesting part about the spring design, the way it overlaps the wooden prongs on the sides, is that it prevents the prongs from coming apart like cheap pins do. I also noticed that the pins (all of them) are longer than the ones I have, and the wooden parts are thicker and sturdier, too.
Spartana. IMO, the larger, overly accentuated springs, lend a flavour to that of what an artist would create if doing something along the lines of a life-size clothespin.
Tweety. I'm really pleased with how well the bleach/detergent mixture worked. My only main concern was casting, i.e. bleach residue left behind (absorbed into the wood) possibly leading to damage of dark fabrics, etc, but I did a final thorough soak/rinse (hot water/vinegar) after the cleaning process, so my guess is whatever amount of bleach residue may be left behind (if any at all) won't be significant enough to affect anything. How right you are Re: the quality, compared to today's pins. P.S. Very funny about the bird nest in your clothespin bag!
Tiam. Thank you muchly for the Borax tip! To dry, I spread them out on a cookie sheet, then placed the sheet in the warm oven. Worked like a charm! And quick, too!
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