With the innovations in the household appliance industry, laundering is now more convenient. Most of the time, you only have to throw your laundry into the machine, press some buttons, and let it do all the work. However, some fabrics require extra TLC.
In cases like these, you must know how to deal with them to maintain their excellent condition. Most clothes and household items with delicate fabrics are expensive, so you must learn how to handle them properly. Otherwise, they will get damaged.
Dry Cleaners’ Tips on Maintaining Your Clothes’ Good Condition
If you own a couple of clothing pieces with unique fabrics, here are some dry cleaners’ tips on correctly washing and drying them:
Most clothes have instructions on their tags about the correct way of washing and drying them, so before you do it, read the labels first. If you are having difficulty finding them, turn them inside-out, and you can see the tags either on the sides or the neckline area. For pants and shorts, the labels are usually in the back area.
You must inspect the clothes for their tags after buying them because some manufacturers print the instructions on the price tags. It will prevent the possibility of throwing them in the trash before washing the clothes.
Before doing the laundry, you must know the fabric your clothes have very well. Some textiles are highly sensitive to the standard way of washing clothes, requiring dry cleaning to be tidy. Some fabrics even bleed out their colors during the first few washes, and others shrink after getting dried. You must know these basic attributes to prevent damaging your clothes.
Here are some fabrics that need to be dry-cleaned and not washed in conventional washing machines:
- Silk
- Wool
- Velvet
- Rayon
- Taffeta
3. Prepare the items for washing.
Whether you are washing clothes or beddings like covers, blankets, and pillows, you must prepare them for the laundry process. These are some ways to get them ready:
- Inspect for any tears and loose buttons
- Look for items like coins, gums, and other trinkets that might have been left inside the pockets
- Separate them based on color, type of clothing, type of fabric, and level of filthiness
These preparations ensure that your clothes and other items get cleaned thoroughly, avoid mixing colors, and prevent further damage. When you have to get them dry-cleaned, let the staff know how they got stained and what stains they are.
You can purchase at-home dry-cleaning products. These kits are cheaper than dry cleaning but are only intended for spot-cleaning or deodorizing. Most kits can be used with standard dryers and steam the clothes. However, some variants work differently. These products include detailed instructions for clothing care.
Additionally, washing machines are more efficient than ever, so you don’t need to use as much detergent. Temperature and early treatment can eliminate soft stains. You must also remember that bleach does not remove the spot but only the colors. When you plan to use it, pour only a small amount on the stain and rinse it immediately.
5. Avoid using cold water.
When you dry clean your clothes, avoid using cold water because experts don’t recommend it. The reasons behind the avoidance are simple. First, cold water can cause your clothes to shrink. Second, dry cleaning involves a hot and humid environment. If you use cold water, you will defeat the purpose of its process of cleaning and maintaining the condition of your clothes.
6. Throw tennis balls into the dryer.
According to Kelli Anderson, throwing a couple of tennis balls into the dryer can help retain the fluffiness of comforters, weighted blankets, and puffer jackets. They help distribute the fillings equally while the fabrics are drying inside the machine. The downside here is that it can cause loud noises, so ensure that no one is sleeping or in an important meeting when you throw tennis balls into the dryer.
7. Try using homemade cleaning materials.
Professional dry cleaners in Farmington have their own stain remover solution for spot-cleaning, and you can also create your own mixture using household staples. Using your solution guarantees that your clothes and other stuff will not get damaged by harmful chemicals in most commercial cleaning materials.
The easiest solution to make is the combination of water and Ajax cleaner. You can apply the mixture onto the stained area and rub it until it’s gone. The next step is to create a dry-cleaning solution using these ingredients:
- 1 cup of warm water
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
- 1 tsp of Borax
- 1 tsp of oxygen bleach
- A few drops of lavender scent for fragrance
Clothes are investments, especially from luxury brands, because their resell value can increase over time. If you want to prolong their lifespans, it is crucial that you know how to take care of them when washing and dry cleaning. Try to learn about the fabrics of your clothes and other things at home, so you can properly maintain them.
