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For the most of us, March means that Spring is just around the corner. Temperatures are warming up, flowers are starting to bloom, and you know that it's time to get your household ready for the upcoming year. Spring cleaning can seem to be a massive undertaking, but don't let this dreaded task get your spirits down. Just follow our 5 quick and easy cleaning tips and you'll have your house bright and welcoming in no time.
Spring cleaning after a long winter might seem like a real headache, but if you break down each room into sections it can be done in just a few days. Remember to start from the top of the room and work your way down, and don't forget that fabrics like windows and upholstery will need a little extra care to keep them fresh. Using a professional dry cleaning service can be a real time saver and is a must for certain items and fabrics.
Even expensive, high-quality, designer clothing will fall apart if neglected or abused. Our society has gotten so accustomed to clothing being cheap and disposable that the idea of caring for our clothing is a foreign concept to many of us. The fact is that well-made, quality garments can last decades. Not only will your delicate and expensive clothes last longer when cared for properly, but well-maintained clothing looks better, too. Which means that investing in tasteful, classic styles will pay off in the long run.
No matter how clean you keep your clothing, an entire wardrobe full of designer tags can become ruined by a few moths or moisture issues in your closet or storage area. Protecting your clothing will cost much less than being forced to buy replacements every few years. Just like servicing your vehicle or nurturing a relationship, proper wardrobe maintenance requires time, dedication and discipline. Here are the top 5 clothing care tips to keep your delicate and expensive garments wearable for years.
If you are uneasy about cleaning your expensive and delicate clothing at home, or the item features embellishments like embroidery, beading, fabric-covered buttons, or have pressed pleats, the smartest choice is to have them cleaned by a professional dry cleaner.
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Traveling is one the most exciting things a person can do. It's an opportunity to take in the sights and sounds of brand new places and to make friends with people you'd otherwise never meet. However, traveling presents one absolutely annoying constant question…how do you keep your clothes looking clean and fresh when you are on the go? Fortunately, there's five easy tips to taking care of clothes while you travel, letting you focus on the most important thing: enjoying the journey!
According to ExpertVagabond.com, one of the best ways to take care of clothes while traveling is to wash them in the sink yourself. It's as simple as plugging the drain, adding soap, and adding hot water. For those who plan to do this often, travel-ready universal drainage plugs are available, though it's possible to plug the drain with socks or washcloths that you have stuffed into grocery bags. However you plug the drain, this easy tip helps you clean clothes on the go no matter where your travels take you.
The BespokePost.com website points out that the best way to take care of nicer clothes when traveling is to use a garment bag. For those traveling for business purposes such as job interviews and professional conferences, the garment bag helps ensure that nicer attire is not riddled with wrinkles. Keeping the nicer clothes separated from everything else also protects your clothing from getting disorganized and disheveled when on the go. While this does add to the amount of bags you are carrying, having your most important clothes be safer, organized, and free or wrinkles is completely worth it.
USA Today highlights that one easy way to avoid wrinkles is to unpack your suitcase once you arrive at your destination. While it's tempting to simply throw the suitcase on the floor and getting some rest, quickly unpacking wards off the wrinkles your clothes get from being kept locked up too long. For the clothes presenting the biggest wrinkle risk, don't forget to hang them up in the hotel before getting settled in, as this prevents more wrinkles than simply folding the clothes into your hotel drawers.
According to HerPackingList.com, one of the best ways to avoid wrinkly clothing while traveling is to simply buy clothing less likely to wrinkle. Clothes made from nylon, polyester, or lycra are less likely to wrinkle, as are knitted clothes. For those who are usually in a hurry when they travel, HerPackingList.com reports that such clothes can usually be thrown on quickly without making the wearer look like a disheveled slob. This travel advice is solid for everyone from businessman to backpacker because it helps you leave a positive impression on anyone you meet.
Some easy advice from LifeHacker.com includes packing all of the materials necessary to take care of clothes in a compact travel environment. This includes things like laundry soap that may or may not be easy to obtain on arrival as well as a lint roller to make clothes look fresh after you put them on. Another necessary item is a clothesline-this can be used in many environments to help clothes air dry. If there's room to put the line up in your bathroom, the site reports that hanging clothes while you shower is a solid way to remove wrinkles even while you're getting ready.
Taking care of your clothes when traveling is never quite as easy as it is at home. However, following the above five tips helps to ensure that wrinkly, dirty clothes are the farthest things from your mind when it comes to the business (and pleasure) of travel.
After returning from a long voyage filled with having to meticulously take care of your clothes, the dirty laundry basket may be the last thing you want to see. After all, you just got back: wouldn't it be nice to relax? You can do just that by using a professional laundry service once you return from your trip. They'll take care of everything for you, ensuring your clothes are fresh and wrinkle free while you enjoy the best part of any trip: the enjoyment of being back home again!
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The clothes you wear say so much about your personality, your fashion sense, and your likes and dislikes. If clothes are important to you, you want to keep them fresh, clean, and well kept for as long as possible. Clothing storage is always an important aspect to consider when caring for your clothing. While closets and bureaus are the go-to locations for us to store our duds, they may not always be the best option. Let's look at five smart ideas for storing your clothes in your home.
When you are storing clothes, the two Ds are important to remember. It is important to keep clothes dry not only to preserve them, but also because excess moisture will encourage the growth of mold and mildew, which will give your garments an unpleasant musty smell. Keeping them in the dark prevents colors from fading. How do you keep clothes dry? Location is important, so places like garages, unfinished basements, or sheds are not ideal. Use a chemical desiccant such as calcium chloride or silica gel packets in the storage spot to absorb moisture. You can reuse the silica packets when they've absorbed a lot of moisture. Put them on a foil-lined tray and bake them at 300 degrees for a few minutes; when they cool they're ready to go. Or fill a basket lined with plastic with charcoal and replace every two months. Running a fan on high regularly in the storage area will disperse and dry any moisture.
Let fabrics breathe, particularly natural materials like cotton, linen, silk and wool. If clothing is stored too tightly, air cannot circulate, which can lead to mildew and mold. For the same reason, storing clothes in plastic bags or sealed airtight containers can harm the garments. One alternative is to use rattan trunks, which allow air to circulate. Don't use starch or fabric finish on clothes that are going to be stored.
If you live in a smaller spot, or simply don't have enough room, there are a number of hacks you can do to free up extra room. For one, portable garment racks are inexpensive and assemble in minutes. Instant, movable closet! Shelf dividers, adhesive wall hooks, stackable laundry baskets, trunks, wine racks, ladders. bathroom hardware, shower hooks, PVC piping, and even luggage pieces can provide extra storage without taking up additional space. Also think up and down. Particularly for off-season clothing, consider putting some of it in storage containers under or on top of your bed or adding additional shelves in the higher parts of your existing closets. You can also extend the space in your closet by using some hangar hacks. One clever idea is to use a soda can tab to hook two or three hangars together. Shoes can stay neat and tidy if you keep them in those perfectly rectangular boxes they come in. Affix a picture of the shoes to the box and suddenly that jumble on the closet floor is neat and tidy.
While moths are probably the bugs most closely associated with clothing damage, they are not the only culprit. Other flying and crawling pests can wreak havoc too. Carpet beetles are prolific, laying 100 or so eggs on carpet, furniture and clothing that hatch in 8-15 days. The larvae immediately begin feeding on fabrics, particularly wool, mohair, fur and feathers. Carefully applied insecticides and repeated vacuums of areas like baseboards and heating ducts are the best way to eradicate the beetle larva.
There are two types of moths that cause damage to clothing. Again the larvae are the culprits for clothing chaos. Moth balls or blocks that contain naphthalene will repel the moths, but be careful. The chemical will also discolor fabrics so care should be made to wrap the deterrents in paper to prevent contact with clothing. Cockroaches can cause all kinds of health and home problems and clothes are no exception. Roaches are attracted to body fluid stains, laundry starch, and food and beverage stains, and can eat away at fibers at is eats the other items. Its wastes can also stain clothes. Crickets act similarly by cutting clothes while they munch at stains and starch. Silverfish, firebrats and even termites can also congregate in areas where there is a natural-fiber food source.
Keeping your garments clean is am important step year round. Professional laundry services are by far the best choice. Garments should always be cleaned before they are stored to remove any stains, sweat, and dirt. After you've gotten your clothes out of storage, it is also important to have a professional laundry clean them to make sure they are clean, fresh and well pressed.
With a few creative and careful steps, you can keep all of your clothing - and yourself - looking great! Also, feel free to take a look at our published blog post to learn more about storage tips for summer clothes!
When your workout is finished, you feel refreshed, energized, and accomplished. But when it comes to putting those sweaty clothes in the laundry, sometimes no amount of washing seems to remove the smell from shorts, t-shirts, socks, sports bras, leggings, and sweatpants. To make cleaning your workout clothes a "no sweat" experience, here are five tips for removing the smells, sequenced from the fitness finish to the drying process.
Many of us stay in those sweat-laden clothes to run a few errands, grab a cup of coffee, or watch a little TV at home before hitting the shower. Not a good idea. Staying in your clothes let's bacteria grow, adding to the odor issue. You should also avoid taking that grimy gear and tossing it onto the floor or in a laundry hamper. Again, bacteria will continue to bloom and the smells will intensify. If your clothes are particularly sweaty, you should wash them as soon as possible. If these steps aren't possible, at least try to air them out a bit.
Prep work can go a long way towards eliminating the smells. One popular option is to soak your clothes in a tub or sink for 15 to 30 minutes in cold water with a cup of white vinegar (a great bacteria killer). Another option is to add an ounce of laundry detergent to a half gallon of water and squeeze the juice of a whole lemon into the mix. Citric acid in the lemon juice is effective at breaking up the oils that have soaked into the clothing, particularly on socks. A final pre-wash step is use a brush to scrub the neckline and armpits and any other particularly smelly spots. You may also want to clean or at least spray that gym bag with vinegar to keep them fresher the next time. Turn your clothes inside out before washing.
What you put in the washing machine, and what you leave out, can go a long way towards removing bad smells from your clothes. First, ditch the fabric softener. which puts a protective barrier on your clothes that locks in the odors. Plus, fabric softeners can damage any garments made of stretchy materials like Spandex or Lycra often found in a lot of workout clothing. These materials are used because they're so effective at limiting water absorption, which is useful when your in the gym, but not so good when you want to get the gym out of your garb. Next, cut back on the amount of laundry detergent you use. Extra detergent ends up trapped, along with dead skin cells, in your clothes. Consider using half the recommended amount or passing on detergent altogether. There are also certain laundry detergents made specifically for workout gear. Like fabric softener, laundry detergents can harm stretchy fabrics.
That white vinegar or lemon juice you pre-soaked your clothes in? Consider adding a cup or two of vinegar or the juice of a lemon to the laundry machine as well. Baking soda, often used to reduce odors in your refrigerator, can be effective here too. Adding a cup to the machine is a good option.
Think you need scalding temperatures to remove the funk? Maybe, but washing in cold water is a better option as the hot water can hurt those precious clothing fibers. Don't have access to a washing machine or not enough quarters for the neighborhood laundromat? Freeze the clothes. Yep. Put them in a plastic bag and place your clothes in the freezer. The frigidly cold air can get rid of odors, though this is not as good a choice as a good wash.
Mother Nature can be a real asset when smell is an issue. When your clothes come out of the wash, let them air dry either indoors or outside. Sunshine and fresh air are effective odor busters. Keep them inside out so colors don't fade. If you can't hang them and need to use a clothes dryer, use a very low temperature or, if available, use the machine's air dry option.
With a little planning and care, you can get rid of the nasty nose offenders. If you really want to make sure your clothes are as fresh as can be, consult a professional laundry and dry cleaning service. Professional services are a great way to guarantee your laundry is done right.
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Your clothing choices are critical for ensuring that the first impression of you is a good one. People assess your judgment, confidence, ability and even beliefs in the first few seconds of seeing you. Clothing that appears shabby, unkempt or even just rumpled can send the message that you are less than competent, perhaps even lazy. Many people choose professional dry cleaning services to maintain their wardrobes so that the first impression they present is always positive.
Dry cleaning services offer many other benefits, too, besides just keeping you looking your best:
As well as cleaning your clothes, dry cleaners can also ensure that they are fully functional. Lost buttons can be matched and resewn in minutes for the professional, but might take you several hours to find the button, thread, and needle to do it yourself. Hemming and alterations are also often provided (for a cost). Proper sizing and length will ensure your clothing fits you well, which saves you the cost of replacing ill-fitting items.
Washing, drying, and folding your clothes takes time. While some may enjoy the process, many people would prefer not to spend their time with this chore. Many people are pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive professional dry cleaning services can be, and are happy to spend the money for some well-earned time off.
Not all clothing is equal. The wide variety of different fabrics and textiles available today can make laundry day very challenging. While some fabrics (cottons, rayons, muslins) can be easily run through both washers and dryers, others require special handling. Delicate fabrics can be stretched, shrunk or shredded by regular washing machines. Other fabrics can lose their colors, shapes and structure when submerged in water so washing them in it would destroy their desirability. Professional dry cleaners are familiar with all of today’s fabrics and will use the proper cleaning technique required by each wardrobe piece.
Stains can be removed permanently by a laundry professional who understands the unique aspects of the fabric and the stain. Without that understanding, many people ruin their clothes by attempting to clean them with substances that degrade the fabric as it etches out the stain. Odor removal is more easily accomplished by the dry cleaning professional too, even odors that have been in the clothing for a long time.
Life's special moments often involve special wardrobe items. Wedding and baptism dresses are often preserved by dry cleaners, who are preserving not just the garment, but also the memory. Heirloom quilts and baby blankets can be preserved for use over many decades with the proper care. Preservation eliminates the possibility of fading, sun damage, bug infestations, and yellowing due to aging. You'll be happy you made the dry cleaning choice when your grandchild wears your daughter's perfectly preserved christening gown on her christening day.
As well as clothing items, most dry cleaners also clean drapes, upholstery, and other precious household fabrics. Oversized comforters, area rugs or slip covers come clean at the dry cleaners, and odors and stains are removed from them, too.
Your personal presentation is valuable to you, and so is your time. Today's professional dry cleaning services offer safe, timely, comprehensive wardrobe and homewares cleaning and maintenance, to save you time, and ensure you always look your best.
Most people take dry cleaning for granted and really know little to nothing about what goes on beyond the counter of their local store. You drop your clothes off and drive away. Then, as if by magic, they are returned to you cleaned and pressed a day or two later. The fact is that there is both some fascinating history and a very interesting process that takes place from the time you hand your dirty duds over until you pick them up smelling fresh and new.
Believe it or not, dry cleaning dates back to ancient times. Early dry cleaning shops were identified in the remains of Pompeii, a Roman city that was destroyed in 79 A.D. The cleaners in those times were known as fullers, and they used a type of clay referred to as fuller's earth for their cleaning. The clay was combined with lye and ammonia, which was derived from urine so that stains and odors could be removed from clothing. The early dry cleaning industry became so prominent that there were taxes on collecting urine, whether animal or human, to use in the process.
The dry cleaning process became modernized in the early 19th century through the ideas of a man named Jean Baptiste Jolly. This Frenchman is considered to be the father of modern-day dry cleaning. Apparently, a careless maid knocked over a lamp and the contained turpentine spilled on a dirty tablecloth. Mr. Jolly witnessed the effect that this had on the stains once the turpentine dried. The stains had disappeared, and Mr. Jolly opened the first dry cleaning shop in Paris called Jolly-Belin.
Despite the name, dry cleaning does involve the use of chemicals. The solvents that are used have evolved over the years, thankfully. In the early days of dry cleaning such flammable liquids as benzene, gasoline, kerosene, and camphene were used with abandon. Dry cleaning used to be a very dangerous business and has gotten much safer as new solvents for cleaning are discovered.
Perchloroethylene, or perc, was introduced into the process in the 1930s and is a nonflammable, synthetic solvent that remains in use today. In the 1990s, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began regulating dry cleaning chemicals and encouraging commercial cleaners to use more environmentally friendly and safer solvents. Perc is one of the cleaners that is being slowly phased out of use due to a variety of health and safety concerns. Today, dry cleaners are switching to solvents that are predominantly Green Earth and hydrocarbon.
The process of cleaning fabric can vary between companies, but the general principles of dry cleaning are pretty constant. When a dry cleaning shop takes in your clothing, they will pre-treat any stains by hand. Sometimes, extra steps may be required for tough stains. "Wet" treatments can be done to target water-soluble stains that come from drink spills, oily foods, and plant-based stains. "Dry" treatments are used for soiled fabrics from waxes, paint, plastics, and cosmetics. Also, before cleaning the shop will remove any items that aren't suitable for dry cleaning, such as belts, cuff links, or loose buttons. The clothing is then placed into a machine that resembles a large home washing machine. The machine adds solvents as it runs and agitates the clothing while maintaining a temperature of around 86 degrees F during the wash cycle.
One the clothing is washed, it is either dried in the same machine or moved to a separate machine for the drying process. When the drying process takes place, the temperature is raised to approximately 140 degrees F, which aids the chemicals in evaporating out of the material, without damaging or shrinking the clothing. At the end of the process, it's estimated that 99.9% of the chemicals that were used have been evaporated from the clothing but condensed back into a liquid so that they can be recycled and used again.
Once the items come out of the drying cycle, they are ready to be pressed. Dry cleaning shops have large, fancy press machines that get rid of wrinkles and can starch collars on dress shirts to the desired stiffness. While dry cleaning may not be a "dry" process as most people believe it to be, it's still a pretty magical process that continues to evolve and provide a valuable service.
Dry cleaning refers to cleaning clothes without the use of water, hence the term "dry" cleaning. However, while water is not used in dry cleaning, a liquid cleaning fluid is used to clean clothing. The clothing garments are completely immersed into this liquid cleaning fluid. Before you dry clean clothing, you should take a look at the garment's tag for instructions. For more information, you should refer to this guide on dry cleaning.
Many people harbor the misconception that the more often clothes are dry cleaned, the better. The truth is having a clothing garment dry cleaned unnecessarily can shorten the lifespan of the garment. How often you dry clean your clothing garments should depend on the material. For example, you should not be dry cleaning your wool sports jacket twice a week. In fact, many times, a simple brushing of the wool sports jacket is completely adequate. If you're worried about lingering odors on clothing, you can hang the garments in a well ventilated area.
Ideally, you should only dry clean a garment when it's soiled. However, if you soil a garment with food or drink, you should try cleaning it with water and cotton or wool fabric. However, if the stain requires immediate attention, you should have the garment dry cleaned as soon as possible. Mustard stains, blood stains, and red wine stains are examples of stains that require immediate attention. Don't use home remedies and avoid rubbing stains, or else you risk damaging the fabric. This is especially true if the fabric is fragile.
The quality of dry cleaning largely depends on the dry cleaner you choose. Therefore, you should take the time and effort to choose carefully. Take a look at the BBB reviews to gauge the reputation of a dry cleaner business. Ensure that the dry cleaner you select has good customer service. You should stick with the dry cleaners that have been in business for at least half a decade. Dry cleaners that ruin expensive clothing tend to go out of business very quickly. When you try a dry cleaner for the first time, you should send in a test garment. The garment should be "dry clean only" but it shouldn't be a garment that you would regret losing or having destroyed.
No matter how much research you conduct when it comes to selecting a dry cleaner, there is still a chance that your garment will either be returned to you damaged, or won't be returned to you at all. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to prevent clothing damage or loss. Try not to send delicate clothing to the dry cleaners frequently. You should also stick with dry cleaners known to providing generous rights to their customers. This gives employees an incentive to be careful with the clothing garments.
You should also take a look at the dry cleaner's lost/damaged clothing garment policy. It's worthwhile to spend a few extra dollars with a dry cleaner that has a fair lost/damaged clothing garment policy. Some dry cleaners replace the clothing garment fully while others give the customer the depreciated value of the clothing garment. The International Fabricare Institute's Fair Claims Guide lists the depreciated values of various clothing garments.
Red Hanger follows the care label instructions unless otherwise requested. Please let us know if you have any other special requests. Also, feel free to read our published blog post to learn more about how dry cleaning is environmentally friendly.
