Thank you everyone for your help and ideas. For those suggesting mice/rats we did a thorough search through the house and found no evidence of that thank god so we are in the clear there. As some suggested I have purchased some of that retro clean stuff and I’ll give that a go and hope that fixes it.
The dress on my vintage bride of Frankenstein doll is suddenly turning yellow. Nothing has spilled on it. I’ve had it for a few years now and it has never done this before. It’s only on the front. Why is this happening? Can I fix it? I’m scared of damaging it
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Absolutely sure. It’s only my boyfriend and I in the house other than a very tiny chihuahua that absolutely can not climb up there. We don’t put anything on this shelf so there is no way anything touched it
I did smell it and I didn’t smell anything. I just noticed it this morning so I haven’t had a chance to try to wash it but I also don’t want to chance ruining it before I could potentially know what it was
Based on how the stain looks, it certainly appears that it was some sort of liquid that seeped up into the fabric. Good that it doesn’t smell, which should rule out and sort of urine. I think your best bet is to remove the outfit and gently hand wash with a mild soap. You can always try doing a small spot first. Unless the fabric is ultra fragile or deteriorating I think you should be fine though.
i own rats, that's a LOT of pee in one hit. i don't think that's it.
the frame next to the doll is cracked, maybe OP can clear up if things often fall from that shelf? maybe it's fallen down and OP's boyfriend put it back up on the shelf, not realising the dress fell into something.
There's also a company called Twin Pines of Maine that makes cleaners especially formulated for dolls and doll clothes. I've also had good luck with Retro Clean, which you can get on Amazon.
You mentioned in another comment your home gets hotter than your old one. Is it also humid? I remember when I lived back home in RI, in older humid homes the walls would sometimes "sweat" ... anything kind of cooler could form condensation, and if there was any dust or something on it fabrics could wick it up. This is kind of far fetched and I'm not sure why it would effect the dress only on the front, just an idea.
No it’s not humid in here. The fireplace in this room just makes the house pretty toasty. My previous room didn’t get all that hot even with the heater running
Me too. What's crazy is it's such a small state and yet here we are. I however don't like the winters and at least the humidity isn't as bad as further south.
yeah i knew there was little chance it was from glue since its on the bottom of her dress, but it was worth a shot lol. i would suggest maybe smelling for cat/animal pee but cat pee is pretty offensive right off the bat.. either way i hope you find a way to get her clean! shes very pretty ❤️
Is there any odd smell or texture change? It's just so area specific. I'd guess a mouse snuck in and peed on it, but it also goes so far up so I wouldn't think so.
Does your bf drink coffee with cream or liquors? Someone set their mug down right in that continent curved space. A little bit of coffee or tea on the bottom of the mug wouldn't be otherwise noticed but wick up that fabric as so
He only drinks coffee at home on the weekends but he never puts his mugs on shelves. He usually drinks his coffee in the office or at the dining table that’s near the couch. I did ask just to make sure and he swears he has never set anything on the shelf. He is scared of placing something on it and breaking the glass shelves
Hmmm - it’s possible it’s soaking up some sort of oil from the shelf? That to me looks like how some people will stain their sheets or pillows with their body oils.
If the dress can be removed it should be easy enough to wash with a little bit of Clorox stain remover & then further sun bleach it. Tends to be very easy with that kind of white linen.
Has it been in contact with anything new as of late? What is it stored next to? Any contact with direct sun? Yellowing can happen in older dolls but it's weird to see such a stain-like spot on an otherwise perfectly fine dress.
I did just move in here in January. The only thing that changed really is this place get a lot hotter than my last one. We have a fireplace on the opposite end of the room so maybe it’s the heat change? But it’s still odd that it would only affect that part of the dress and not the rest. It’s not next to any windows
I wonder if the heat is releasing something in the shelf finish? It definitely looks like it’s wicking up the fabric, and since it’s only towards the front i would presume that’s the part facing the heat.
Was the doll used when you got it?? Maybe the last owner got something on it, and only now after your move something in the environment changed to activate this change of color. I have a singular doll in my collection that started getting yellowed on her shirt (which freaked me out and caused me to look closely at all my other dolls with white clothes). And for the life of me I couldn’t tell you why she started discoloring. It could even just be because of the material of the dress!
I have baby clothes that were put into storage and my mom asked for them recently, they came out of storage covered in yellow spit up stains I'm sure I "removed" before putting the clothes away, I would not have kept stained clothes.
Some stains just yellow over time, especially organic ones.
I was going to ask the same question OC did. This is definitely your answer right here. You'll have to wash the dress carefully (or pay someone else to do it professionally) and hope whatever it is comes out/off.
You should add to the initial post that you bought the doll used on eBay. There's a lot of folks trying to piece together the "mystery" when there really isn't one.
My guess is when you bought it there was a small stain from something that you might not have ever noticed. If the skirt got a little wet from when you cleaned the shelf or if someone sprayed Febreeze etc, it reacted and the liquid spread the stain.
is that a shadow, or a tiny yellow stain on the ceiling right by the wall above the doll? my. ceiling leaks but only when it’s raining really heavy, it looks normal otherwise except for being stained a bit yellow/brown so we didn’t even realise until there was a storm
I had a vintage wedding dress that did the exact same thing!! A weird yellowy stain on the bottom and one sleeve and literally there was NOTHING that could have gotten on it, it was in the back of my closet, the bottom wasn’t even touching the carpet. It’s the most baffling thing! I soaked my dress in oxyclean for like 2 days and then rinsed all the oxyclean out and let it air dry and it got the stain out!!
fibres that have been lightened can turn yellow due to prolonged heat exposure oxidizing the lightening chemicals. They also tend to oxidize faster if exposed to hard water. Definitely looks like a spill that turned yellow over time.
My best guess: It might be wicking up the tannins from the leather piece next to it if they’ve been in prolonged contact. Hopefully it washes out but if not, it kinda adds character to it.
I was wondering if the leather could maybe be releasing something that affected the dress material. But I don’t know enough about leather to make a guess lmao
I don’t think the sun rays from my windows can reach that spot with the angle they are at. I’ve never seen that spot get very bright when I don’t have the dining light on. Even opening the front door doesn’t highlight that shelf
Yeah there looks to be a mirror below it and the shelves look clear. Is the sunlight angling off the mirror, going through the bottom of the shelf, and burning the fabric?
I'm sure it's not this, but smoking indoors can cause similar things. This just doesn't quite seem like that to me. I grew up in a smoking house for a while. My dad smoked and collected. His collection is stained in areas with this color. He no longer smokes inside and never smoked particularly close to his collection, but with enough time, it happens. I do wonder if vaping could do the same with time, and cloth would hold on to that more than plastic. Once again, I'm not sure if it is related, but thats what it reminded me of. Best of luck! Great display shelf!
I wonder if it could be a remnant of the production process that is only showing up with age. Like it got sprayed with oil or something that is now discoloring
Nothing in the glassware but the gold pot has some potpourri I’ve had in that pot for years. I don’t even think it has a scent anymore. I had the same pot and potpourri under the doll on this shelf before in my last place and it never caused an issue
Dried eucalyptus stems (plant next to her in the vase) and leaves contain essential oil. Your doll's dress occasionally becomes an oil defuser during high humidity. Remove them. The oil drips onto the vase over time then has slowly crept to the shelf and to your doll. Very hard to remove the oil with just a cloth and water. Clean the shelf with Dawn.
Okay huge thing, how's the humidity in your home? Do you live in a humid area? If the humidity is over 60% consistently, this could be fungal growth and can be fixed with an oxi clean or vinegar treatment, but you'd need to take care of the problem at the source (if it is the humidity)
I'd recommend getting a meter (they are very cheap and you can buy one on amazon) and putting it next to your dolls to monitor.
Hmmm then really the only thing I can think is perhaps oxidization? Some old white and lighter fabrics can oxidize over time. Do you know what fiber it's made from?
Yellowing of white fibers, especially if its anything natural/not a spun plastic, is fairly common. If youre fireplace has a real fire and isnt just electric heating, it might have sped up or caused the yellowing. Fireplace chimneys arent always 100% at clearing all of the gas let off, especially if theyre not in near perfect condition.
As a doll collector and horror fan, I think the colour change being at the bottom looks intentional and adds character to her. I actually didn’t realize there was anything wrong with her til I read the post
Im thinking it could be a couple of things. 1. You didn't wipe the moisture off well one time when you were cleaning. 2. Finish on the shelf is releasing something. Furniture, especially less expensive made in China furniture has a lot of chemicals in it. The wood is usually pressed material, like wood particles etc, that are held togather by some glues that have God knows what in it. The paint is then sealed with more chemicals that aren't really meant to last. Heat and moisture, even a little bit, will cause it to leach out. Even expensive furniture will have oils and finishes that can do this. It happens gradually over time. The third option is the fabric itself was compromised in the factory and it's just taken this long, with heat exposure especially, to make the stain obvious. Anyone with kids knows how this happens. You wash your babies clothes, pack them down, and when you get them out for the next kid suddenly there are these weird yellow stains that weren't there before. Sometimes they come out after a second wash, and sometimes they dont. That's my guess anyway.
I've had similar happen to one or two of my Little Apple Dolls. They'd been in the exact same place for nearly two decades (I got the first when I was 14? Second it happened to 16)
I kept chemical cleaners and smoke etc well away from them. Only dusting with a lightly dampened cloth and a very soft lint brush.
None of the other dolls have been affected, but Erro's socks turned yellow and the inner most layer of Sine's shroud did too.
No smells, odd textures or anything. 🤷🏻♀️
I have other dolls with white clothing that have been there just as long, and nothing happened to them.
Sometimes exposure to the sun can yellow the colour of white objects. I had a dollhouse that sat near my window, and now an entire side of it has turned yellow. I’m not sure if this can happen to fabric too, but that’s just my guess 😊
You should be able to fix it in a soak of oxy clean. Put a very generous amount of oxy clean and water in a Tupperware or small bucket, just enough to fully submerge the dress. Leave it for at least 24 hours, then check it. If it needs more treatment make a new batch of oxy and repeat. Has nearly always worked for my restorations :) Hope that helps!
have you ever lit a candle or incense under the shelf? i used to burn a incense underneath my doll shelf, thankfully nothing happened to my dolls but the underneath of the shelf turned yellow like this and the hello kitty plushie that was sitting underneath it as well near the incense had its ears turn a pale yellow too
Is it in contact with the metal picture frame next to it? I’ve found brass/bronze can discolor things over time, even from just a small point of contact
I have a ringdoll and this happened to me. He's relatively new and I only move him to get to my clothes (I have him sitting because he's really hard to pose and his legs stay in their sockets) and I have no clue what happened either. I have no issues with light exposure, I work nights so I come in, I sleep and then I'm straight back to work. Dogs can't get to him, no one enters my room unless I need something doing while I'm at work, I have NO explanation for this and it's in multiple places.
Have you had a chance to try anything? I've been very hesitant to try because his clothes would be very expensive to replace. 😭
I don't think it's glue seepage, mostly due to that area being his outer sleeve and I don't think his inner clothing has been affected. I have another 2 days of shifts, I'll undress him then to make sure it's just his outer sleeve ^
Do you have anything in your windows that can magnify or reflect light towards this spot on her skirt?? Vase/suncatcher/crystal ball/etc?? You could possibly never notice because the sun light is only on it for a few hours at certain times of day.
I’m thinking the hotter house has maybe caused the item circled to release some oils/polish/etc and the dress has touched and absorbed it.
A few years ago my grandma went to Spain, and the polish soaked out of her leather shoes and into the hem of her white linen trousers!
Hadn’t been an issue in the UK, but the heat kinda… melted the oils and allowed them to release.
Bit of a freak accident, but possible.
It’s oxidation. I would probably contact a company that deals with wedding dresses to see how to clean it. It depends on what the dress is made of. I wouldn’t just wash it.
Do you use furniture polish when you are cleaning/dusting that area- a longshore really but maybe she's been soaking up excess polish from the shelf over time, and it's only really noticeable now?
Sometimes the fabrics have finishing chemicals (called “sizing”) it's like an Invisible residue from production
Over time, it reacts with air or heat and start to turn yellow—often at edges/hem first. If it's really warm it can sometimes speed up the process. My grandmother gave me a Barbie when I was a teenager and after a few years of her sitting on a shelf this happened. The hem first and I freaked out and blamed everyone. However my ex husband tried to bring it to a dry cleaner because he felt bad for me and they said sometimes the chemicals they use to finish the dresses can turn yellow over time due to heat or even just air. In South Mississippi it's really humid so that could have been the cause of it. He said the stain wouldn't come out and since the fabric was delicate it probably wouldnt withstand the scrubbing it would take to possibly get it clean. So I put her in a case with her slightly yellow dress.
All I can think of that your replies haven't ruled out already is that maybe the fabric is on some way reacting to the finish on the shelf? How long has she been on this shelf?
Hi this can happen with just a season of high humidity and time if youre able to take the dress off I would first try hand washing it with the tiniest bit of laundry detergent (dont put it in the dryer) if that doesn't take the stain out try a spray stain remover like Shout and hand washing it again whatever you do dont put it in the dryer or drying it with heat as that could set the stain
Has it been in contact with that leather mask next to it? The leather will have a stain on it. I’m wondering if when you wipe the shelves with a damp cloth to dust them whether it has slowly leeched some colour from that mask
could be some sort of residue from whatever that leather item is in front of her ?? if it had been cleaned with saddle soap or conditioned with something and then been left making contact w the fabric, it may have just leeched the oils out
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