By
Kathy Friend
I
don't know about you, but I have spent a lot of money over
the years on some great pieces in my wardrobe. The last thing
that I want to happen, is to have those great (some one-of-a-kind)
pieces ruined in the laundry process. It is like purchasing
a perfect pair of jeans and being scared to wash them. Or,
have a great sweater fall apart after the first washing. Frustrating.
Keeping
your clothes looking great can be like decoding a cryptic
message in a foreign language. Not only are the names of fabrics
confusing, but the label symbols for care can look like hieroglyphics.
Here
are some tips:
WASHING
You
will get the best results if you separate your clothes by
color and by fabric. In other words, washing dark towels with
dark jeans is a no-no. Remember that heat can damage and break
down fabrics. So, the less you expose your clothing to heat,
the longer lasting your clothes will be. Washing on a cold
cycle, line or flat drying, and steaming (rather than ironing)
are all good practices.
BLEACH
A
myth is that bleach will always whiten fabric. Sometimes,
if used improperly, bleach can yellow even the whitest of
shirts. Only use bleach on synthetic fabrics. Never use on
things like wool, silk, nylon or spandex.
CARE
LABELS
Always
check the label of clothing before washing it the first time.
Depending on the designer and the country of manufacture,
the care instructions can be anything from too much information,
to something leaving you saying "huh?".
DRY
CLEAN vs. DRY CLEAN ONLY
Do
you think you have to be a mind reader to figure out how to
care for an item? When a label 'dry clean' versus 'dry clean
only', there is a difference. 'Dry Clean' means that the manufacturer
suggests dry cleaning the item will give you the best results.
However, if you are a laundry master, and the fabric content
is something you are comfortable washing, you can achieve
great results washing in a delicate cycle. Conversely, a label
that says 'dry clean only' means just that. Generally, the
fabric content is made up of something that won't withstand
either detergent, the washing process or water.
DRY
CLEAN SHINE
Sometimes,
when you get something back from the dry cleaner, you will
notice a shine to the fabric. This means that the item was
pressed incorrectly on a heat setting that was too high for
the fabric. The only way to fix this problem is to get an
expert involved. There are very fine grades of sandpaper that
are made specifically for fabric. This kind of product will
need to be used to restore the original appearance of the
fabric. Be sure to know for yourself what the label says,
and bring it to the attention of the dry cleaner.
COLORFASTNESS
Many
times, care labels will say "test for colorfastness". Honestly,
the first time I saw that on a label, I had no idea what 'test'
meant. What this label really means, is that you should test
for color bleeding. You will see this, for example, on a shirt
that is red and white. You want to make sure that the red
won't bleed into the white. Doing this is relatively simple;
test on an inside hemmed area (somewhere that isn't visible
when you wear the item). Wet the fabric with regular tap water.
Dab the wet spot with a white cloth. Allow the area to dry
(on the cloth and on the clothing item). You will see if there
was a color transfer, and if the clothing item dried without
shrinking or puckering.
PILLING
Yes,
those little balls of fuzz that seem to appear out of nowhere
can be the curse of a perfectly good outfit. But - rest assured,
all is not lost on a little pilling. You should expect pilling
on a new item that is made of a natural fabric like wool,
angora, cashmere. This will happen until you have that item
laundered. To manually remove pills, the best course of action
is to manually pull them off. Do not use a sweater shaver
- many sweaters have been ruined by an over-excited shaver.
