People often call asking how to remove a stain. Drycleaners do not like answering that question. We want to be helpful. However, there are so many variables. What follows is a quick list of the most common home remedies - THESE ARE FOR MACHINE WASHABLE, COLORFAST GARMENTS ONLY!
*Trade names are used for illustrative purposes only. Other similar product may perform as well.
WISK*: for pre-treating ring around the collar and not-so-difficult stains. Be sure and let the garment sit for about 20 minutes before washing, and follow all manufacturer's instructions.
BIZ*: I love this product. It is for pre-soaking difficult stains. Be careful as it is easy to pull colors and bleed a garment. A couple of hours soak is generally enough. Warm water can make this a much more aggressive technique.
Ammonia: Use at 50% strength diluted with water to flush out fresh blood stains on a shirt. Be patient and blot thoroughly then wash. BLOOD: If you are going to get blood out, be sure you are prepared to work at it. Use COLD water and DO NOT GIVE UP. Once you have worked on the stain - if it is still there, and you wash and dry the garment - it will be a permanent stain
Bleach: I do not recommend bleach. If you must, be sure to rinse MUCH MORE THAN YOU THINK IS NECESSARY. Bleach will eat the stains and the fabric - resulting in holes and other damage.
Pet Stains: Blot with a vinegar/water mixture - one quart warm water to 1/2 cup white vinegar.
Fabreze*: Another product I love. It is excellent for removing odor. A light spray and some sunshine can do wonders to restore a musty, smoky or smelly item.
"Old Wives' Tales" (that do not work); CLUB SODA - considered by many as a "cure all" for practically every mishap, it usually just spreads out the stain and can make removal of oily stains like butter and gravy almost impossible. Then there is WHITE WINE to remove red wine (please don't try it!). HAIR SPRAY to remove ink and WATER to remove almost anything. But when a spill happens in a social situation and a napkin dipped in water or club soda is used and rubbed, it breaks fibers and causes color loss ("crocking").
These remedies often appear to be helping, when in fact the majority of the time, a very expensive piece of you clothing investment is being ruined.
Quick Tips to Make Laundry Easy
This is a short list of do's and don'ts that will make it easy for you to improve the results you get using your home washing machine.
DO wash new colored garments separately, colors can and do often bleed (especially the first few washes)!
DON'T over dry. Use a dryer with an automatic sensing feature, or be sure to set the timer so as not to over dry. Over drying set wrinkles, causes shrinkage, and unnecessary fabric damage.
DON'T leave damp clothes in the washer for an extended period of time. Mold, mildew and just a bad odor will often result.
DO remove clothes from the dryer promptly and shake them out. This minimizes wrinkles and the need to iron. Even an ironless shirt will be wrinkled if over dried and left in the dryer for an extended period!
DO use plastic hangers when line drying.
DON'T use chlorine bleach. Even 100% cotton men's shirts are generally not receptive to chlorine bleach. It will shorten the life of the shirt, possibly cause holes and can destroy the interfacing in the placket and collars - this is because the interfacing if often polyester (even in a 100% cotton shirt).
DO wash new colored garments separately, colors can and do often bleed (especially the first few washes)!
DON'T over dry. Use a dryer with an automatic sensing feature, or be sure to set the timer so as not to over dry. Over drying set wrinkles, causes shrinkage, and unnecessary fabric damage.
DON'T leave damp clothes in the washer for an extended period of time. Mold, mildew and just a bad odor will often result.
DO remove clothes from the dryer promptly and shake them out. This minimizes wrinkles and the need to iron. Even an ironless shirt will be wrinkled if over dried and left in the dryer for an extended period!
DO use plastic hangers when line drying.
DON'T use chlorine bleach. Even 100% cotton men's shirts are generally not receptive to chlorine bleach. It will shorten the life of the shirt, possibly cause holes and can destroy the interfacing in the placket and collars - this is because the interfacing if often polyester (even in a 100% cotton shirt).
Laundry/Handwash/Wetclean: Whats the difference?
A common customer complaint is - "why did you charge dryclean prices when I asked for these items to be washed?" (For a look at the best deal at the cleaners check out "Shirt Laundry" in a previous blog.)
The answer lies in the finishing (as we have touched on before). 80% of a drycleaners cost is due to the labor and time consuming process of finishing. The price category "Drycleaning" does not necessarily mean an item was cleaned in drycleaning solvent. For example, most drycleaners define "wetcleaning" as "drycleaning with a little water".
Laundry/Machine Wash/Hand Wash/Wetclean . . . all terms apply to the cleaning of garments in water. So why are there so many terms? There are subtle differences you should be aware of.
Laundry is the most general of the terms. A textile is cleaned using water as the solvent
Machine Wash, as defined by the Federal Trade commission, is a process by which soil may be removed from items with water, detergent, soap, agitation, and a machine designed for the purpose. When no temperature is given, hot water up to 150F is used.
Hand Wash is defined the same as machine wash with the exception that a gentle squeezing action is used in place of a machine.
Wetcleaning is a term used to describe the extension of the range of hand washing for the purpose of restoring a garment. The majority of these techniques involve soaking for extended periods, tightly controlled chemicals, temperature and agitation. This technique is not readily available to the general public and require extensive experience to avoid garment damage.
The answer lies in the finishing (as we have touched on before). 80% of a drycleaners cost is due to the labor and time consuming process of finishing. The price category "Drycleaning" does not necessarily mean an item was cleaned in drycleaning solvent. For example, most drycleaners define "wetcleaning" as "drycleaning with a little water".
Laundry/Machine Wash/Hand Wash/Wetclean . . . all terms apply to the cleaning of garments in water. So why are there so many terms? There are subtle differences you should be aware of.
Laundry is the most general of the terms. A textile is cleaned using water as the solvent
Machine Wash, as defined by the Federal Trade commission, is a process by which soil may be removed from items with water, detergent, soap, agitation, and a machine designed for the purpose. When no temperature is given, hot water up to 150F is used.
Hand Wash is defined the same as machine wash with the exception that a gentle squeezing action is used in place of a machine.
Wetcleaning is a term used to describe the extension of the range of hand washing for the purpose of restoring a garment. The majority of these techniques involve soaking for extended periods, tightly controlled chemicals, temperature and agitation. This technique is not readily available to the general public and require extensive experience to avoid garment damage.
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