Cleaning help sought

[flitcraft]

I was on a day outing with my adorable two and a half year old granddaughter when she approached me and said, "Gramma, I need my candy." "What candy, honey?" Then she pointed at my Imago. On searching it, sure enough, she'd put a chocolate bunny into the bag in one of the inside pockets. Did I mention that this happened in Phoenix Arizona?

So, everything in the inside pocket was covered in melted chocolate. I managed to wipe out as much as I could, then to scrape out as much of the remaining melted chocolate as I could. But there's still a lot of chocolate mess in there.

I'm rather at a loss as to how to clean it. I thought about putting the Imago in really hot water to try to melt out as much as possible, but I'm a bit nervous about the hemp flap. Any ideas about how to clean up this mess? It's my EDC, so at the moment I'm just leaving the inner right pocket empty. But I'd really like to try to get it cleaned up. (Particularly since it's unclear when we'll get the Imago 2.0...)

[moriond]

I was on a day outing with my adorable two and a half year old granddaughter when she approached me and said, "Gramma, I need my candy." "What candy, honey?" Then she pointed at my Imago. On searching it, sure enough, she'd put a chocolate bunny into the bag in one of the inside pockets. Did I mention that this happened in Phoenix Arizona?

So, everything in the inside pocket was covered in melted chocolate. I managed to wipe out as much as I could, then to scrape out as much of the remaining melted chocolate as I could. But there's still a lot of chocolate mess in there.

I'm rather at a loss as to how to clean it. I thought about putting the Imago in really hot water to try to melt out as much as possible, but I'm a bit nervous about the hemp flap. Any ideas about how to clean up this mess? It's my EDC, so at the moment I'm just leaving the inner right pocket empty. But I'd really like to try to get it cleaned up. (Particularly since it's unclear when we'll get the Imago 2.0...)

@flitcraft, My recollection us that most people have managed to get out such stains by soaking the bag in warm (not hot) water with a mild soap, but I understand your concern about the hemp flap. Do you think you could leave it suspended outside the main bag being soaked?

For grease stains and gum, I know people have managed to get this out with GooGone or other degreaser.

I can't find all the relevant threads, but here's one that I recall that ended happily: My first TB bag Trajedy

I suspect the longer soak (with hemp flap portion out of water) will work for you, along with some scrubbing with a toothbrush of the lining, but you can try some of the stronger cleaning agents mentioned in the last two posts for spot cleaning, if you don't want to chance soaking at length.

Here's Darcy's recommendations from an old post (but I know you might not want to soak the hemp flap if melted chocolate could stain it).

Washing your bag in a washing machine will void the guarantee, period. Even if you use laundry detergent for babies and the delicate cycle in a front-loading eco-friendly washing machine!

Here's what I would do if my bag was doused with marinara sauce:
Thoroughly rinse the bag off in the kitchen sink
Turn bag inside out
Fill the kitchen sink with warm water
Add dish soap or gentle laundry detergent (maybe something nicely scented to get rid of that marinara smell)
Let the bag soak for a while
Swish the bag around in the water, scrubbing the bag against itself
Drain the sink

If especially dirty, repeat the above steps. If not, rinse thoroughly. Lay bag on towel until it's not drippy anymore, then hang on indoor clothes drying rack. If it's just a Cafe bag, it should dry overnight.

I do remember reading other references to people who have used some of these products, but can't bring the exact posts up on a search.

HTH

moriond

[Hawaii]

How about putting the bag in the fridge to harden the chocolate, then scrape out more before trying the washing technique?

[AlaskaGirl]

Greetings,
Before attempting any of the above suggestions, I would use a microfiber cleaning cloth on the chocolate.

Use the cloth, dry or damp but without soap, gently rubbing until the cloth is dirty. Then clean the cloth and repeat. It should remove a lot of the chocolate, leaving just a fabric stain.

At this point, any of the previously mentioned TB approved methods should be used. Good luck and please let us know how it turns out. elisa

[icebeng]

One more suggestion, try using a garden hose or maybe the shower head and direct the stream/jet into the pocket.
I've clean off many stains this way.

[marytattoo]

If you use dish soap, use Dawn. It's always been known for cleaning though stains on fabric.

[backpack]

Mild dish soap is recommended, such as an eco friendly one, not Dawn, which is so harsh they advertise it as removing crude oil from birds.

Don't use anything but cold water because heat sets grease stain.

I hope Darcy will chime in because to me, the hemp flap is a concern.

I would turn the bag inside out and soak the pocket with cold water via a water pick. one of those dental water jet apparatus.

It will pressure remove chocolate from the pocket.
It is small enough that you can set up the flap out of the way and concentrate on one pocket., depending of your sink configuration, you might be able to soak in cold water, the body of the bag but not the flap.

After you water pick pressure remove the chocolate, use an old toothbrush with mild dish soap detergent and brush the grease stain left behind.

Leave the soap work its magic, do something else, come back and rince with the water pick using cold water, air dry the pocket inside the house, away from windows you don't want the heat of the sun on the bag before you are sure all the grease is gone.

When it is dry inspect the bag, if there is no grease stain, you are all set, if there is still a visible grease ring, repeat.

[flitcraft]

Thanks so much for the ideas! I knew I could count on the forum to give me the best advice on how to proceed. I think I'll try the renovation process this weekend, and I'll let you know how it went.

Fingers crossed...