RIP Filthy Mike
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Bittersweet seeing that email. Lovely thing.
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Amazing
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I never met Filthy. But always loved his posts and his love for IH. I am saddened to learn of his passing. Rocking my bib today in honor of him.
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@Aetas said in RIP Filthy Mike:
Almost exactly six years ago I PM Mike, because he started this thread:
@Filthy:
I've had some interest in how I wash my jeans, so I wrote this article. I hope you find it helpful or at least interesting. I'm not good with punctuation, or English. So please bear with me.
About Fels Naptha soap: The original Fels-Naptha was developed by the manufacturer Fels & Company of Philadelphia around 1893. It’s now manufactured by Purex. But, it’s the same soap that my grandmother used to use for a whole plethora of uses; from cleaning my grandpap’s work clothes that were soiled with coal dust, to treating poison ivy, and getting the fleas of their dogs. I remembered about this soap the first time I tried using Samurai Thunder Soap to launder my jeans. I guess maybe the smell of the Thunder Soap reminded me, or maybe it was the consistency? In any event, it’s an awesome old school way to cheaply and effectively wash your jeans THAT WON’T HARM THEM. This stuff outperforms Thunder Soap and other laundry detergents, is a fraction of the cost, and smells freaking fabulous. (Thunder Soap kind of smells like natural rubber pencil erasers. This has a light masculine fragrance).
It is available in hardware stores like True Value, online from Amazon, or you can just buy it directly from Iron Heart, here: https://www.ironheart.co.uk/hardware/fels-naptha-bar.htmlSome points to consider: your jeans have been meticulously and skillfully crafted by the master artisans of Iron Heart and their fabric mills. It is important to show them the care that they deserve. It’s a matter of personal preference on what technique you use to wash them, when to wash them, or not ever soak or wash them. I know I refuse to wear filthy jeans that stink just for cool fades… and… I’ve ruined at least one pair of my favorite 25 oz XHS jeans by machine washing them. Even on the extra gentle cycle with no spin, the fibers of the fabric skew and vertical folds and creases get set into and rub indigo from the jeans. They just weren’t the same after I washed them. I do like to wait for at least 6-8 months before I end up washing them. I wait as long as possible.
This is okay, because we can safely hand wash them in a manner than is safe for the denim, will make them smell great and get them clean… And, most importantly NOT RUIN YOUR SOUGHT AFTER FADES!!
Cracked leather patches from 2 of my pairs that were soaked in warm water.***Also, if your Iron Hearts have a leather patch… it will definitely split and crack if it comes in contact with hot water, and it will turn into a shingle if you soak it in detergent. You can safely submerge the patch in COLD water for a short time and it WILL NOT split or crack. A good way to soak your jeans is to pull a plastic hanger through the button hole and hang it so the patch is orientated just above the water line. Again, a little agitation under the COLD water is okay. If your jeans are completely trashed, just wash them in the warm water keeping the patch above the water, then finish by cooling the water down and then gently wash the waist band separately.
This patch was from my 2nd pair of 25 oz XHS. It was soaked too long and put in the dryer.What you’ll need:
-Fels Naptha Laundry bar soap
-CLEAN vessel for washing and soaking (Laundry tub, bath tub, or plastic bin) to soak or wash your jeans in
-cold water
-clothes line or THICK plastic hangers- Micro-plane, cheese grater, or food processor (to grate up the soap, or people sell it already grated on eBay and Etsy… but, it is a scam because it is way more expensive than just doing it yourself)
-rubber gloves if you have sensitive skin. I don’t wear ‘em. But there is naptha in this stuff… so it probably causes cancer or something… so wear your gloves.
What’s helpful to have:
-Vacuum cleaner or lint roller
-Comet cleanser or cheap scouring powder and scrub brush (to scrub your laundry/bath tub)
-box fan(s)
-Lemon or orange furniture polish or neat’s-foot oil, or Red Wing boot oil is best (to care for that leather patch)
-Baking soda (this is great for getting those yellow armpit stains out of you favorite chambray shirt you’ve just worn for 6 months). You can pre-treat any yellow stains by making a paste with a little water and letting it sit until dried. Then wash like usual.
-Beer. I ritualistically drink beer while I do this. (or whatever your poison is).
Steps:
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Uncuff those cuffs and turn those pockets out. You can use your vacuum cleaner to remove any dirt or lint in those cuffs and pockets. If you don’t have a vacuum cleaner, just use a lint roller to remove the dirt and lint.
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Thoroughly inspect your jeans for any holes, broken threads, etc., (and stains) that might need repaired. I usually find that after wearing my Iron Hearts for months on end there are spots in the cuffs where I’ve walked threadbare spots in the cuff of around the pocket bags. You can fix them or let them go… it’s up to you. I can attest to Rain’s excellent denim repair skills at: www.indigoproof.com if you want to get them repaired. Her prices are reasonable and her skill is exemplary.
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Any stains can be pre-treated depending on the stain. You can dampen the area around the stain and use the bar of soap to make a lather to clean the stain. Even the dirtiest of oily stains can come out… Just be aware that if you go over an area too much you’ll remove indigo so don’t overdo it, leaving a light colored spot.
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Thoroughly clean out your bath tub/ laundry tub/ or large plastic bin making sure there’s no soap scum or other foreign material that will get on your jeans. We want to clean the jeans, not make them dirtier. So scrub your vessel out and be sure to completely remove the scrubbing powder because it contains bleach and will bleach your jeans, and rinse it out. Doing the steps in this order will give the solvents in the soap time to have their chemical reaction with the stains imbedded into the fibers of your denim. Use your nose! If the tub still smells like bleach there’s still bleach in the tub that will bleach your jeans!!
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Grate half of your bar with a cheese grater or micro-plane making fine flakes. This will be enough for several washes. The other whole half is for pre-treating stains. Put the remainder in a zipock bag for next time.
Time for the wash!!
If your jeans are really trashed pre-treat the heavily soiled areas using step 3 and fill your vessel up with warm to hot water and soak. Follow the suggested temperature that’s printed on the white tag sewn into the waist band. This is only a last resort, because I think cold water is best. If your jeans weren’t filthy, you can skip this and move on to step 6. Please remember soaking that leather patch in hot water dooms it to cracking. -
Fill your tub with cold water. My laundry tub is like 40 gallons, and I fill it 2/3 or the way full so I can completely submerge my jeans.
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Add about a half cup of grated Fels Naptha soap to your water and swish it around making lots of suds. If you have hard water it’s probably going to take a little more. But, please don’t over-do it because too much soap won’t completely dissolve, stay into your jeans, and dry out your skin and hands. Make sure the soap dissolves and there’s no chunks of soap in there.
8 ) Now submerge those jeans up to about 1 cm or a half an inch below the leather tag utilizing your plastic hanger to hang it from the faucet or whatever contraption you can come up with that keeps the tag and waistband above your soak. You can fold the legs right at the honeycomb creases and double them over (like your jeans are kneeling in the tub) if you’re paranoid about screwing up your “sick” combs and stacks. There’s no need to turn them inside out because that will ultimately ruin your sought-after creases/wiskers/combs. This is why we scrubbed the tub out. Also, it is a real bitch to get wet Iron Hearts turned right side out.
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Let them soak 20 minutes to a half hour. You might have to add a little more soap if there’s not enough suds. Remember, not too much soap!!
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Vigorously agitate your jeans and now you can take the hanger out and submerge the waist and leather tag. Let ‘em rest for a couple minutes and give them another agitation. Just a minute or two to get that waistband. Soaking too much will crack that tag so be prepared to take the steps you need to get to step 11.
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IMMEDIATELY rinse the soap from the leather tag with a hose or faucet and cold water (or a big cup of cold water works if you don’t have a faucet or sprayer hose). You can pull the plug in the tub and let the water drain, or pour out your plastic bin. Stand the jeans up and let all the soapy water drain out and turn those pocket bags out so there’s no soapy water in them. Hold them up and let them drip for a minute.
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Now spray the suds off the jeans with a hose on the inside and out. Stick the hose down in the pocket bags and spray them out too. Spray behind the leather tag to make sure there’s no soap in there either. If you don’t have a faucet just use your cup and rinse as best you can. We don’t need to get all the soap out at this point because we are going to do two rinses.
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Now fill that tub up to 2/3 full again and agitate you jeans waistband, leather tag, and all giving a good rinse for a minute or two. And, drain this water out standing the jeans up again to get them above the rinse water but over the vessel. (So the floor won’t get wet).
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Repeat step 13. This is important to do a good rinse and then rinse again, because we want to completely dilute the soap to a marginal residue. If you half-ass the rise you jeans will be stiff and itchy (and possibly give you a sweet bum/leg rash). Two rinses have always sufficed to remove all the soap. If you have hard water or something, you might have to rinse again, I guess.
Don’t use fabric softener or starch or anything like that. Just don’t do it. -
Drying
We’re almost done. And this is where the box fan and hangers come in. There are plenty of companies that sell sweet jeans hangers, like Self Edge. But, hanging your jeans by the top button hole with a plastic hanger or two is totally fine. I usually do one hanger in the button hole and another in the back belt loop. I’ve rigged a clothes line up directly above the laundry tub to drip dry my jeans. Just be warned that if you hang something from the drywall and don’t find a stud to properly anchor it, it’s probably going to pull out! Soaking wet Iron Hearts weigh a ton! Probably at least 15-20 pounds!! They will probably bend or snap a chintzy plastic hanger. I prefer plastic because wire hangers rust. (And because of that ‘Mommy Dearest’ movie, I think).
How I hang my jeans to dry through the top button hole. You can see the thicker plastic hanger.
This is a box fan sandwich! The bottom fans are blowing up, and top one (over the top block) is blowing down. This will dry your jeans super fast!
If I’m in a hurry to get them dry I like to lay out a couple clean bath towels, above and below to absorb most of the moisture before hanging them up. (It’s important to make sure that the flat areas are flat and, there’s no unwanted creases where you don’t want them to be). This drastically cuts your drying time, and so will using your fan. I put a fan blowing on the top block overnight. By morning the jeans are usually bone dry. If I’m really in a rush, I use 3 to 4 box fans and lay them out above and below the jeans, making a box fan sandwich. This dries them in about 2 hours. No kidding! During the drying process put a little of your neat’s-foot oil on the leather patch while it’s still wet to treat and protect it. It will dry to a soft caramel color.
This patch has been washed using my method 3 times. It hasn't cracked at all and has a beautiful patina.
NO MATTER WHAT, NEVER, EVER, EVER PUT YOUR JEANS IN THE DRYER. It will completely ruin everything, your creases and your jeans. They will be trashed afterwards. I do sometime put dry jeans in the dryer for like 30 seconds to fluff them up. But that’s when they are totally dry.
Unsightly vertical streaks from drying jeans in the dryer.…Or you can hang them outside. Just be sure to hang them somewhere where birds won’t poop on them or something crazy like that!
After all this write up, this probably seems like a major pain in the butt. But, it actually is very easy and only takes like maybe a half an hour of your attention. The rest of the time your jeans are soaking and drying.
**One tip I like to do when first donning my newly washed jeans for the first time is wearing them slightly damp, or at least dampening the back of the knees where the honeycombs are. This will set in those creases again. Don’t be too concerned if the creases don’t line up exactly the way they were because they eventually will with continued wear. This also depends on just how snug the knee area is. Basically the tighter the knees are, the more drastic the creases will be in your honeycombs. Also, some of the best fades I’ve seen have muti-directional fades from different periods of washing. They develop an awesome 3D effect. This seems most pronounced on Iron Heart’s legendary 25 oz XHS denim.
I’ve utilized this method of washing on several pairs of Iron Heart Jeans, 21 oz flagship denim, 25 oz XHS, and the 21-23 oz UHR, and have been most pleased with the results! They always end up just a little softer than before I washed them. Other than an old pair of East German Moleskin pants I wear; I wouldn’t be caught dead in any other brand of jeans, other than Iron Heart, ever again! …So, I can’t attest to using this on other brands of denim. It’s worth noting, too, that the soap was used for over a century by plenty of hard working, jeans wearing people. So, I think it would be fine. But you might want to test this out on an old pair or something before jumping in.
In conclusion, I hope maybe this guide will be helpful to you. It is a tried and true washing system for your jeans that really works, and that won’t ruin your fades. I absolutely love my Iron Heart clothes and jeans. I’m not typically a materialistic person that worships material things, but I think Iron Heart is better than the very best. Like, I hope I am lucky enough to die in them…so they will become my ghost clothes! I love them… So, I think it is important to take care of them.
Thank you sincerely for reading,
Mike
This penultimate sentence …
Memento MoriWow...I just wanted to bring light on this again. What an incredible person Mike was. We could make a book with all of his meticulous posts such as these. Just so fecking dedicated to the denim.
- Micro-plane, cheese grater, or food processor (to grate up the soap, or people sell it already grated on eBay and Etsy… but, it is a scam because it is way more expensive than just doing it yourself)
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One of the hard things for me this year is when someone has bumped a thread that he’s posted in and his post is the one it loads to. My heart immediately thinks hey, Mike just posted…then my brain kicks in.
There are so many people on here that make this forum what it is…Mike will always have a special part in that.
"I don't give a shit what anyone else is doing, we will do what is best for us and our customers" - Giles P. :)
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Good people—sending love and light your way.
I think about Mike a lot.
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Last time I drank one of these at this restaurant it was with Mike and Seth. Today I went to my old store in Pittsburgh for some training. So many memories there and many coming up here with Mike. Still miss you dude. Really wish we did that photo shoot that day we met up. Rest well brother
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@Anesthetist welcome to WV my friend
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@Oaktavia thanks man, try to make it up twice a year if we can. Love the state!
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Zombie Mike…I like it.
