My squadron is attempting to get our color guard program up and running again.
We have boatloads of equipment but it's almost all discolored.
I would really appreciate anyone who would like to share their experiences and advice on cleaning:
A) the uniform equipment, such as pistol belts and flag slings,
B) the squadron flag, and
C) award streamers.
I've already tried searching both here as well as Google, but if anyone has a good link, I would appreciate that, too.
Thanks everyone!
Your best bet is to take it to your local cleaners, especially the flag and streamers.
The leather stuff can be cleaned with leather upholstery cleaner from your local auto parts store. Eagle One is the brand I used on my wife's car seats, and it worked great.
Just a thought.....
Since you say you have boatloads, I'm assuming multiple sets of flag harnesses and such? I'd suggest purposely not cleaning one set of them so your color guard has a separate set to practice with.
My unit invested in color guard equipment a few years ago. When I put it all together, we got two sets of harnesses and gloves; one set in white for performances, and an identical set in black to practice with. Expensive initially, but saves wear, tear and staining on the good set.
And yes, flags and streamers are best left to a professional dry cleaner.
Alright, thanks everyone.
I'm glad to know the flags and streamers can be dry cleaned.
I'm not very experienced with dry cleaner's capabilities; I've never sent anything besides suits and service coats.
For the equipment, we have full cotton slings, mixed slings (cotton straps with leather around the cup), and full leather slings.
The cotton/leather combo seems to me to be the most difficult one to deal with. Is that another dry-cleaning item?
As for the full-cotton items, including pistol belts, are they machine washable?
As a side note, we also have a set of these (http://"https://www.usflagsupply.com/accessories/flag-pole-carrying-belts/flagpole-holder-only/white-leather-strap-snaps-on-belt-style-flagpole-carrier.html"), which just seem like a bad idea right off the bat.
Ah, cotton. It's time for scrub-a-dub-dub with soap and brushes. A good low sudsing laundry detergent will work. Rinse well in hot water, and air dry. Drying can take a couple if days, depending on the temp and humidity, so plan accordingly. I have also finished with white shoe polish (on the outside areas only). The polish comes in a dauber bottle. Get the kind that says it won't rub off (very important).
P.S. Don't try using a washing machine. The metal fittings will trash the drum. BTDT.
Several years ago, I was tasked with the cleaning of color guard items. I took the buckle pieces off the pistol belts and used Brasso on them. It worked very well to bring back the mirror like shine. For the belts themselves and gloves, well I took the plunge and decided to soak them in a bucket of oxyclean and water for several days since they were more on the medium to dark gray shade. I changed out the solution daily and gave them a good stir several times a day. After 4 days or so, they were very white again and got a good rinse then air dry. They looked like brand new and the commander thought I had purchased new equipment. As far as the flag holders, they were leather and only needed a good cleaning with saddle soap then a lot of buffing. The flags and streamers were ok with taking a blow dryer to them to get any dust off them but the poles needed cleaning with Old English polish.
Good luck
When I was in the Navy, we used Whisk and a good stiff brush on our white hats. I worked pretty well for getting the grunge out. On your white cotton belts & straps, recommend that you hand wash them and then hang them to dry with a weight on the bottom to help prevent shrinkage.