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 Care for Your Clothes
A little common sense and effort in
laundering can extend the life of a garment.
While some consumers prefer the convenience of dry cleaning, you might prefer
the economy of buying garments they can wash. Regardless, proper handling and
cleaning will have the following benefits for clothing:
- Appear fresher longer
- Minimize color fading
- Reduce damage to fabric from laundering
- Save the budget by extending the useful life of fabric
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Read the label!
To assist consumers in getting proper information about clothing care, the
U.S. Federal Trade Commission's Care Labeling Rule, as amended in 1983, requires
manufacturers and importers to attach care labels giving full instructions
for at least one satisfactory method of care necessary for ordinary use of
the garment. The rule also requires that the manufacturer or importer possess,
prior to sale, a reasonable basis for care instructions.
| Sort It Out |
- Sort articles by color, keeping whites, darks, and medium colors together.
Lighter garments can pick up dyes from darker colors.
- Separate man-made fabrics, like polyester from natural fibers such
as cotton. Man-made fibers can attract the oils that are released from
natural fibers during washing. These oils can build up and make spots
more noticeable.
- Wash heavily soiled, dirty, items separately from slightly soiled
items. This will help prevent fading and keep colors brighter.
- Try to have large and small items in each washer load. This will let
the items move more freely during the washing cycles.
- Sort delicate fabrics and loose knits from "tougher" fabrics.
- Garments which generate lint, such as fleece sweat shirts and towels,
should be washed separately.
- It used to be you could help make dyes colorfast by adding 1/2 cup
of WHITE vinegar to the washer, before adding the clothes. However, this
does not work on today's dyes. If dyes bleed, continue to wash the garment
separately until no color bleeds in the wash water.
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| Wash and Wear |
- Be sure to check the label for proper care instructions, including
the water temperature and wash cycle to use.
- Don't overload the washer.
If the washer is too full, the clothes won't get enough agitation,
and may not get clean. Also, all the detergent
may not be dissolved, leaving globs of detergent paste on fabric.
- Make
sure the items are equally distributed around the tub of the washer
to keep the load balanced during spinning cycles.
- To minimize wrinkling
when washing fabrics containing man-made fibers, wash in hot/warm water
using a permanent-press cycle. If your machine
does not have a permanent-press cycle, use warm/cool water.
- Very important
tip - Always be sure to check the pockets of all garments before
washing and drying. The stains and damage which can result from
one hidden lipstick, lip balm, stick of gum or crayon goes beyond words!
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| Dry spell |
- Lightly shake out items taken from the washer, before placing them
in the dryer. Tightly balled up fabric dries slower and will likely
come out wrinkled.
- Don't overload the dryer. A stuffed dryer will not
allow the items to tumble causing drying to be slower and wrinkling
clothes.
- Keep similar garments together. Permanent press items should
not be dried with towels, and delicate items, such as lingerie should
be dried
separately.
- All clothes should be left in the dryer just long enough
to remove wrinkles and moisture. Any longer and the heat can actually "set" wrinkles,
increase static cling, and cause shrinkage. This can be true for both
natural and man-made fibers.
- Use the proper heat setting and time cycle.
Don't use a high or regular setting for all clothes. Read the label!
Fabrics made from fibers which
have low moisture absorbency are fast drying and should be dried using
a low temperature setting. This includes: Acrylic, Nylon, Polyester,
Polyolefin, and Microfibers
- Hang up or fold garments immediately after removing garments from
the dryer, immediately. Don't let them lie in a heap, left to wrinkle.
- Permanent
press items should be taken out slightly damp and hung on a non-rust
hanger. Close clasps and button buttons. Straighten fabric
lines and creases, and gently brush out any wrinkles.
- Clean the lint
filter. A clogged filter increases drying time and costs more money
in electricity/gas usage.
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| Iron Things Out |
- Read the care label for the proper ironing procedure and temperature
setting to use.
- Proper washing and drying reduces the amount of wrinkles
from laundering.
- Keep your work area clean. A dirty work space can mean
dirty ironed clothes.
- Do not iron items which are dirty or stained.
Heat from the iron will set stains.
- Garments which are drip-dry should
be pressed using a cool iron while damp on the wrong side. Use a pressing
cloth, if finishing the right
side.
- Lay circular knits and sweaters flat to dry.
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