some laundry and dry cleaning tips and hints

Brittle Leather Crayon Stains Chloride Salts Blotting Ink


Brittle Leather

Q: I got a leather jacket out of storage and had it cleaned by my drycleaner. When I picked it up the back of the jacket was hard, brittle and torn. What happened?

A: Sometimes dark marks appear for no apparent reason on the surface of leather or suede. These spots usually have a splatter-like appearance where the leather has become hard, shrunken, and puckered.Testing the area indicates a staining substance containing a salt residue is present. This damage is caused by accidental contact with moisture containing salt that has remained on the leather for a period of time.
Salt substances are not used in leather cleaning but are found in many everyday solutions that the garment owner may have come into contact with accidentally. For example, salt compounds are found in many foods, beverages, blood, urine, deodorants, gutter splash, ice melt, plain table salt, salt water, and various other matter containing mineral salts. Contact with any of these substances can eventually cause leather skin staining and damage.
Salt will continually absorb moisture from the atmosphere, thus keeping the stained area of the leather damp. Salt staining may be invisible prior to cleaning and generally is not removed by regular leather cleaning procedures.
When the jacket undergoes normal drying and finishing after cleaning, the salt-stained areas can shrink, stiffen, and sometimes even crack the leather.
Usually this damage cannot be prevented unless the garment owner knows when the contact occurs and immediately rinses the substance off the leather with some cold water and lets it air dry. If the stain is still fresh and is visible, the leather cleaner can attempt to remove the remaining residue prior to cleaning in order to minimize the damage.


Crayon Stains


Q: How can I remove stains caused by crayons left in pockets?

A: Crayon stains appear as built up, shiny and stiff stains in a variety of colors. Normally, drying--not washing--will cause these kinds of stains.
Your first discovery of the stains will occur when you open the dryer door to find otherwise clean clothes covered with a myriad of colored stains. The stains appear after drying because the heat from drying melts the crayon material.
The easiest way to solve this problem is to take the garments to your drycleaner, who usually can remove them by running the garments through a drycleaning machine. If any of the stains remain after cleaning, they can generally be removed by your drycleaner through traditional stain remoal procedures.


Chloride Salts



Q: I just took a blue silk blouse out of the cleaning machine and where the perspiration has discolored the underarms, holes have appeared. This has happened before and the customers always think it is my fault. Can you explain this type of damage?

A: Yes, chemical testing over the years of many, many similar situations almost always reveals the presence of chloride salts in the damaged areas. Textile research has shown that chloride salts of any type will weaken silk yarns over a period of time. Chloride salts are present in many foods, beverages, medicines, table salt, and salt water, as well as perspiration and some deodorants.
The location of your damaged area definitely indicates that perspiration and/or deodorant have deteriorated the silk yarns to the point that the agitation of cleaning caused the weakened yarns to tear. Unfortunately, there is no practical way to predict or prevent this type of damage from occurring during acceptable cleaning.



Blotting Ink


Q: I have heard a lot of talk about *blotting* ink and cosmetic stains to remove the oily components. Is this a new process, and what does it mean?

A: When attempting to remove ink, mascara, and similar stains, it is suggested you *blot* the area when working with dryside agents. This process involves placing the garment over a towel, and then applying volatile dry solvent, oily type paint remover, and/or amyl acetate.
Next, take another towel and wrap an area around your finger, and blot/press the towel-wrapped finger on the stained area. Lift your finger, and examine the towel to see if any of the oily residue has softened and transferred onto the towel. If the stain starts to spread, flush with volatile dry solvent, reapply oily type paint remover, and blot.
Continue this process until the stain no longer blots or transfers onto the towel.While performing this process, make sure you move the towels frequently to prevent the staining from transferring back onto the garment. When the stain no longer blots, dryclean or flush thoroughly with volatile dry solvent to remove all traces of the dryside agents.After the oily residues have been removed, it may be necessary to continue onto wetside stain removal procedures to remove the remainder of the stain.

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The Benefits of drycleaning from A to Z

What are the benefits of drycleaning?
Let us count the ways - 26 of them to be exact.

Alterations:

Professional dry cleaners are full-service clothing care specialists. Alterations are one of the many services they may offer in addition to drycleaning your clothes.

Buttons:

Dry cleaners repair loose buttons or sew on new ones, if necessary.

Convenience:

All you have to do is drop your clothes off and pick them up. Your cleaner takes care of the rest. Why waste hours doing laundry and ironing when you get quality and convenience with drycleaning?

Drycleaning, the process itself:

Drycleaning uses fluids to remove soils and stains from fabrics. Among the advantages of drycleaning is its ability to dissolve grease and oils in a way that water cannot. Natural fibers such as wools and silks dryclean beautifully, but can shrink, distort, and lose color when washed in water. Synthetic fibers like polyester also respond well to drycleaning, whereas they can retain oily stains after washing. drycleaning helps to return garments to a "like-new" condition using precautions to prevent shrinkage, loss of color, and change of texture or finish.

Expertise:

From fashions and fabrics to stain removal to the latest cleaning technologies, drycleaners have the expertise to clean your clothes right. Why do it yourself or settle for a second-rate job from a so-called "home drycleaning kit" when you could trust it to an expert?

Finishing:

Thanks to special pressing equipment, professional finishing gives garments a crisp, wrinkle-free, like-new appearance that can't be beat. There are no rumples or creases out of place. Plus, by taking your clothes to the drycleaner, you don't have to spend your weekend standing over an ironing board and a hot iron.

Garment storage:

Have you got too many clothes and too little space? Some cleaners provide garment storage for out-of-season items. The garments are stored in a vault, which offers protection from insects, fire, burglary, flood, and mildew damage. Furs used to be the primary storage item, but today cleaners receive woolens, household items, and other items to store as well.

Household textiles:

Cleaners don't just clean clothes. Many cleaners also process household items such as blankets, comforters, decorative pillows, rugs, and even upholstery and draperies.

Inspection:

Before they return a garment to you, quality cleaners conduct an inspection to make sure your order has met their own and your expectations. If they spot a problem, the garment gets sent back to receive further attention. Safeguards like this help ensure that your clothes will look their best when you come to pick them up.

Just right:

That's how your clothes will look when you pick them up from your drycleaner.

Knowledge of fabrics and fashions:

You may know what rayon, silk, and cotton are, but what about angora, faille or seersucker? There are numerous fabrics and fibers that drycleaners must know about in order to care best for the clothes they receive. Each fabric can respond positively or negatively depending on the treatment administered.

Laundry:

Dry cleaners also have commercial laundry departments where they process shirts, cotton pants, and other items. With the convenience and superior level of pressing that comes with commercial laundry, it won't just be your dryclean-only clothes that look like a million bucks. Your business casual and casual attire will look their best, too.

Moths, safeguards from:

Clean clothes are the first step to preventing moth and other insect damage. Insects can damage clothes either directly or indirectly. Direct damage is caused by a group of insects feeding directly on a fabric. Indirect damage is caused when insects feed on spilled food or perspiration on the fabric. Moths attack the garment directly, especially wool and wool blends. Some cleaners provide mothproofing as a service. Mothproofing is a chemical treatment given to fabrics that provides protection from insects without leaving the objectionable odors that mothballs do.

Neckties:

Ties are often made of delicate fabrics (such as silk) and require special care. Whether you've spilled gravy on your favorite tie or are just looking to spruce it up, a high-quality dry cleaner is best equipped to clean it.

Odor removal:

Some cleaners specialize in odor removal and flood and fire restoration of water- or smoke-damaged items. These cleaners use ozone generators to do an ozone treatment. The contact between ozone and the odors embedded in the textiles causes oxidation to reoccur, resulting in the elimination of the odors and the release of oxygen. This is a safe and effective process.

Preservation:

Many cleaners specialize in the preservation of wedding gowns, christening gowns, and other family heirlooms. Preservation is a special type of storage that helps prolong the life of a garment for years and years. Cleaners often say that they aren't just preserving a customer's garment, they're preserving a memory.

Quality:

This is what cleaners should provide and you should expect from them. Accept no less.

Restoration:

In addition to preservation, cleaners may specialize in the restoration of old wedding gowns, heirloom items, and antique textiles. These items often are very delicate and require great care. Restoration specialists have the expertise to take in these items, although the level they can restore them to depends on their condition at the time they are brought in. It is not uncommon, though, for a cleaner to restore a wedding gown originally worn by a bride-to-be's grandmother well enough that the bride can wear it in her own wedding.

Stain removal:

Dry cleaners use complex procedures and special stain removal chemicals to remove stains. Stains are divided into two major categories:

solvent-soluble stains and water-soluble stains. Different stains require different treatments, which stain removal technicians are trained to administer. Why risk a disaster using an over-the-counter "all-purpose" stain removal product or trying a "home remedy" when you could rely on your drycleaner's expert stain removal abilities?

Technology:

Dry cleaners are on top of the latest cleaning and fabric technologies.

Upholstery:

Professional drycleaners aren't just clothes care specialists, they are textile care specialists. Some cleaners will even come into your home if you'd like to clean the upholstery of your couch, chairs, and other furniture. These cleaners have special, portable equipment that allows them to clean upholstery and draperies.

Value:

A good value is what dry cleaners provide their customers through quality work, excellent customer service, and the extra free time to do the things they'd rather be doing instead of washing and ironing clothes.

Wetcleaning:

Wetcleaning is a gentle form of cleaning that cleaners may choose to process sensitive textiles such as wool, silk, rayon, and linen. It gives dry cleaners more flexibility in processing items that may not withstand a drycleaning process or that have soils that would be better removed in water. For example, many items, such as wedding gowns, are often trimmed with plastic beads or sequins that may dissolve or discolor in drycleaning but generally perform well in wetcleaning. Items with large water-soluble stains are also more likely to come clean in a wetcleaning process.eXtend the life of your garments: Contrary to the belief of some, frequent cleaning does not damage clothes. Frequent cleaning extends the life of a garment by removing stains and ground-in dirt and soils that can cause fiber abrasion.

Yellowing:

Frequent cleaning removes stains that, if left untreated, could oxidize and cause yellowing. Exposure to heat or the passage of time can cause stains from food, beverages, and other oily substances to oxidize and turn yellow or brown, much the way a peeled apple turns brown after exposure to air. Once they become yellow or brown, these stains become much more difficult to remove and often cannot be removed.

Zip in and out:

That's how long it takes you to drop off and pick up your drycleaning. Again, convenience is paramount to good drycleaning.

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Removing Stains from Washable Fabrics:

General Procedures
The following general procedures apply to nearly all stains. Fresh stains are much easier to remove than old ones, so take care of stains promptly.

1.Blot up any excess liquid with a clean white cloth, paper, or other towels. Remove excess solids by gentle scraping or chipping with a dull knife or metal spatula. With some solids such as heavy amounts of surface mud removal may be easier after the stain has dried. Excess can be brushed off before the clothing is submerged for washing.

2.Avoid rubbing the stained area with a linty terry towel or a dark-colored cloth. You may complicate the problem.

3.Never rub a fresh stain with bar soap. Soap sets many stains.

4.Decide if the fabric is washable or drycleanable. If drycleanable, take to the cleaners as soon as possible (within 24 to 48 hours).

5.Do not try to treat suede, leather, or fur. Professional cleaners are needed for these items, and even some professionals do not offer this service.

6.Avoid using hot water on stains of unknown origin. Hot water can set protein stains such as milk, egg, or blood.

7.Test stain removal agents on a seam or hidden area of the garment to be sure it does not affect the color or finish of the fabric before starting on the stain.

8.Avoid excessive rubbing unless fabric is tough and durable. Rubbing can spread the stain and damage the fiber, finish, or color.

9.Do not iron or press stained fabrics. Heat will set most stains.

10.Check laundry for stains before washing. Many stains need pretreatment.

11.Inspect wet laundry before drying to be sure stain has been removed. If a stain is still evident, do not dryer dry. The heat of drying will tend to make the stain more permanent.

12.Wash heavily soiled items separately. During laundering soil is broken into smaller particles and can be redeposited on cleaner clothing if insufficient detergent is used, water temperature is too,low, washing time too long, or washer is overloaded with too many clothes.

Fabrics Labeled "Dry-clean Only"
The procedures described here do not apply to garments labeled dry-clean only. Clothing labeled "dry-clean" or "professionally dry-clean" should be taken to the cleaners promptly. The fiber content of the clothing and the type of stain should be identified for the cleaner. Even professional cleaners cannot remove all stains. The cleaner will usually warn you if the stain cannot be removed, but sometimes this is difficult to predict. Dye stains on colored fabrics are an example of stains that may not be completely removed.

SILK: SPECIAL FABRIC NEEDS SPECIAL CARE

Care Tips for Washable Silk

1.Use a mild soap and cool or warm water. Strong alkaline detergents weaken silk.

2.Wash each garment separately as dyes may bleed.

3.Handle silk garments gently. Don't wring or twist the garment because silk is weaker when wet. After thorough rinsing, roll the item in a clean bath towel to remove excess moisture.

4.Don't use presoak products or chlorine bleach; both will damage silk.

5.Air dry the garment away from sunlight until damp dry. Use a padded or plastic hanger to distribute the weight of the wet garment.

6.While damp, press the silk item from the wrong side with a dry iron at a warm (silk) setting. A steam iron at a low setting may be used, being sure the iron doesn't "spit," which would cause water spots. Iron the fabric dry. Use a press cloth when doing touchups on the right side of the garment.

Silk is special. The care you give your silk garments will repay you in prolonged garment life.

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