Good Evening, Gentlemen;
As promised, here is an excerpt from "Her Majesty's Dress Regulations for the Officers of the Army 1900" as promulgated by the War Office, London:
Appendix II
1. CARE AND PRESERVATION OF UNIFORM.
Care and preservation of uniforms and of gold lace
Articles of Uniform liable to be moth-eaten should be unfolded at intervals and well beaten and brushed in the open air. Russia leather parings, powdered camphor, napthaline, carbolised paper, or turpentine sprinkled on brown paper, or on the garments, are good for the prevention of moth, and one or another of these preventatives should be placed amongst articles of uniform which are to be packed away for any time.
Before being packed away, gold lace, braid, cord, or buttons on garments should be covered with tissue paper, and then placed in tin-lined air-tight cases. Care must be taken to use paper that is thoroughly dry. For the prevention of moth, the garments should be well aired and brushed before being packed.
Gold trimmings and gold lace that have become slightly tarnished can be cleaned with a mixture of cream of tartar and dry bread rubbed up very fine, applied in a dry state, and brushed lightly with a clean soft brush.
Removing stains from scarlet tunics or frocks.
In many cases stains may be removed by the part affected being rubbed with dry pipeclay and then well brushed with a clean brush. Should this fail to remove them the following mixtures may be tried:
1/3 ounce of salts of sorrel to ½ pint of boiling water
1/3 ounce of cream of tartar to ½ pint of cold water
Each solution should be kept in a separate flat vessel.
These quantities will be sufficient to clean 2 or 3 garments
The garment which requires cleaning should be first well beaten and brushed, and a perfectly clean hard brush should be used to apply the solutions.
The solutions should be applied alternately commencing with the salts of sorrel, until the garment has been washed all over, and all the stains removed.
If the weather permit, the cleaned garments should be hung up in the sun to dry; if not, they should be hung up in a dry place, but not near fires or stoves.
NB:
1. “Salts of Sorrel” are still in use in modern times. They are now known by their chemical name: Potassium Oxalate, or Oxalic Acid, which is used to remove ink stains from fabric.
2. "Pipeclay" is literally the white clay used in the manufacture of clay pipes from the middle ages right up to today.
So, Pony Racer, if you cannot find a local dry cleaner you trust to clean your uniforms, or you simply want to clean them "the nineteenth century way", you can always hand a copy of the above regulations, along with your uniform, to a handy Midshipman...
I have the honor to remain,
Your Obedient Servant,
Bvt. Captain Malachi Thorne