Latex garments and accessories are a luxury item that needs to be cared for properly, in order to prevent it from staining, fading, ripping and getting latex rot. You cannot just put the latex garment in a draw and hope for the best. You can accidently brush up against someone wearing false tan and your latex is then stained as a result. It is a delicate fabric that needs to be properly cared for and here is how!
To store in Talc or Silicone?
Some people prefer to store their latex with talc applied inside and out. This means the latex doesnt stick to itself and is easy to dress in. Once you have washed and thoroughly dried your latex garment, you can place the garment in a bin bag and add talc. Tie the top of the bin bag and simply shake the bag to deposit the talc all over the garment without it blowing up into the air and covering everything, including you in talc dust. However, when you then apply shiner to your latex garment, the talc clumps in the seams leaving a white line that can only be washed out.
I would reccommend NOT to use talc on your latex garments. Instead, wash your latex and then use silicone shiner in clean warm water, to coat the garment inside and out. Allow to dry and then store the garment.
Using silicone shiner will condition, protect and shine your latex garment ready to be worn. You need only use a lint free cloth to buff and shine up the silicone shiner already on the garment when you wear it. You can add dressing aid to the inside of the latex garment to make it easier to slip into.
Latex stretches more when warm, so use a hairdryer on a low heat to warm the inside of the latex garment before dressing for easy application.
Staining
I once had a customer send me a white latex dress wrapped in, wait for it... orange tissue paper! Ofcourse, the whote latex was stained as a result and the customer said they were unaware that latex was so easily stained.
If you have a latex garment that is made of a pale colour and it has any metal on such as zip, studs, snaps, spikes, you need to use tissue paper to protect the latex from touching the metal. Make sure you ONLY use acid free white tissue paper to prevent any staining from the tissue paper.
Sunlight
Sunlight will fade latex garments if exposed for too long to the sun. Its important to use black or clear clothing garment bags to store your latex in a wardrobe, to prevent the sun from fading the latex.
I would still recommend you using white tissue paper to protect pale latex inside of a black garment bag. Pale latex is very suceptible to staining so better safe than sorry.
Zip Lock Bags
In order to protect and keep smaller latex garments organised, you can use zip lock bags. Make sure to use acid free tissue paper within the bags also, to stop staining from metal on to pale latex. A good idea is to add Silca bags into the zip lock bags, to help prevent damp growth. I place items like latex hoods, collars, corset, gloves, stockings, underwear, bras and accessories. I then use sticky labels to detail what is inside each of the bags for easier organisation and a way to identify what is inside without opening.
Vac Bags
For larger garments, you can use vac bags to protect your latex from damp and dust. You can use vac bags with a pump or vacuum cleaner or a compression bag to remove the air. I keep my longer garments that I dont wear often in the vac bags. I place acid free white tissue paper between each garment to prevent latex colour transfer.
Comments