I should have known better. As I was neutralizing the bleach soaked fabric in a solution of vinegar and water, I thought to myself,
“Huh, I wonder why it’s ok to mix vinegar and bleach but not ammonia and bleach? I guess vinegar is so weak that the acid-base reaction is minimal.”
Wrong. After a few swishes of the bleachy jorts in the vinegar/water mix, my nose, mouth, and lungs began burning. I immediately realized what had happened, but, stubbornly, held my breath to finish the project. The jorts were a success, but I feel pretty stupid. After all, I minored (and nearly double-majored) in chemistry.
My mucous membranes are mostly intact, but I recommend mixing your bleach and vinegar out of doors or not at all.
Jorts, Levi’s (thrifted, shortened, and bleached). Tee, Forever 21. Earrings, Monica D. Necklace, Phai’s House of Jade. Boots, Dan Post.
The house has been aired (I was working in the basement) and all the kitties are safe. In fact, they didn’t seem to notice the noxious fumes at all.
Before and after
Photos by Beefy Muchacho
13 comments:
Oh dear, they look amazing but I'm pleased you survived this experiment intact!
Scary fashion story! Glad you and the kitties are OK. Oh, and the shorts look fab!
Eh, what's a little toxic chlorine gas compared to the prospect of cute shorts?
Glad you(and the kittehs) are okay, though! That's definitely an OUTDOOR project.
~Tamia
TheStyleSample
So glad you survived- the finished product is amazing!
That sounds kind of scary! Your shorts (jorts?) turned out fab, though.
Glad everyone made it out alright - and the shorts came out pretty good to boot. Speaking of boots - love those!
Ugh, sounds like something I would do.
I'm glad you and the kitties are a-ok. The jorts look terrific, really great with that top.
Terrific!
I'm off to do a jacket!
xXx
reva
Really like this outfit and the photo. Very creative!
Nice work on the shorts, bummer about the fumes!
Kitties are immune because ammonia/vinegar = cat pee :P
I'm sort of curious what sort of ratio of bleach and time you took to bleach out the jorts? I've had not that great of a result in trying to bleach out denim because the color doesn't change all that much from the original however long I soak.
I'm not sure if I'm just being a wimp with how much bleach I'm using in the solution or what.
1 part bleach to 2 parts water. Try fresh bleach. It loses effectiveness over time.
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