Care can lengthen life of delicate sweaters

Hand wash:
Or not, depending on type of garment

Dry cleaning cashmere sweaters is an expensive way to clean them, but not the best way, according to a number of authorities.

Cashmere and camel hair knits should be hand washed in a soap for fine washables and laid flat on a towel to dry, according to The Cashmere and Camel Hair Manufacturers Institute in Boston.
Similar advice is given for mohair sweaters by The Mohair Council of America in San Angelo, Texas.

Many folks know the drill for hand washing sweaters. We wash each item separately in cold water, rinse a couple of times and gently press out the water. We lay the sweater flat on a clean towel, roll it up and gently squeeze out water. We do not wring.

Then we shape it out nicely on a dry towel and wait about five years for it to dry. I remember taking up most of my family’s kitchen counters for days with my sweaters. Everyone complained.

These days, women who wear so many sweaters have shortcuts, including laying sweaters on an over-the-tub sweater rack to dry.

I still wash cashmere, angora and beaded sweaters this way, but am fortunate to have a small laundry room I can close off. I lay the washed sweater on a towel on top of the dryer while it is running with other laundry. This not only dries the sweater much faster, but dries the ones I’ve laid out in the same way on the ironing board. I turn them over once and inside out at least once, since the sides to the air dry first.

Cathy Faust, Shelby County (Tenn.) Extension director, has even more efficient shortcuts. She hangs her hand-washed sweaters on an extension rod stretched lengthwise across her bathtub, giving her nearly 5 feet of drying space, and turns a fan on them.

But to do this, you must thoroughly squeeze them out in a towel before hanging so the water weight doesn’t stretch them out as they hang, she said. Also, she uses plastic hangers with a curved shape, the kind men use for suit jackets, so the sweaters dry with a natural shoulder shape.

Pat Patterson, an consultant and former home economist, washes her wool sweaters in the machine in cold water on the most gentle cycle.

“I quit washing by hand,” she said. “It’s too much trouble.”

She turns them inside out, washes them with just a few drops of liquid detergent, and lets them go through the normal two spin cycles. Then, especially if the sweaters are heavy, she spins them twice again on a normal cycle. And she may still roll them in a towel. She puts them in the dryer for 5 minutes on the fluff setting only, to shake out wrinkles. Then hangs them on plastic hangers. They’ll dry in 24 hours, she said.

Faust and I use Woolite for sweaters. But there are other products that look intriguing, including Wool & Cashmere Shampoo from thelaundress.com, which offers concentrated, eco-friendly, plant-based laundry products. The company was created by two women in the fashion industry, Lindsey Wieber Boyd and Gwen Whiting, who studied fiber science at Cornell University and felt that many garments marked “dry clean only” could be washed if done properly. Wools and cashmere should be washed, they argue, since dry cleaning can remove natural lanolin from these fibers.

Wool & Cashmere Shampoo is designed for cleaning wool, cashmere, mohair and angora and is a sulfate-free, pH-balanced product with cedar extracts. A 32-oz. bottle is $19 and provides 32 hand washes. Stains should be treated before you wash. The company’s all-purpose, enzyme-based Stain Solution is $18 for 16 ounces.

(Don’t iron fabrics, such as mohair and angora, because it can crush the fibers. Steam them only.) The women recommend washing silk sweaters too with its Delicate Wash, 16 ounces for $19. But be careful of anything made of viscose rayon, they caution. It is highly unpredictable when wet.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/03/03/1093739/care-can-lengthen-life-of-delicate.html#ixzz0haythKUN

Find us in Dublin...

At Helen McAlinden’s shop, No 6 in Castle Market.

'Tis the lingerie season…

Whether you are buying something new this Valentine’s Day for someone special or just for yourself - it is the perfect time of year to give your undergarments another look…

Dump ’em:
-Part with the pairs that have the elastic dangling (thanks to the dryer) or what elastic?
-Shrinkage - that must have been the dryer too…or too much to eat on your holiday.
-Expensive underwear that you never wear - get rid of them.
-The bras from 5 years ago that you only wear a few times or too many times.

*Gwen did this clean out this summer. She gave the items with tags away to friends with the right size and took the balance to the textile recycler at union square. It was sad to part with a little frilly number from Argentina but she did!

Obvious organization:
It seems obvious to some, implement a strategy that you can keep going and last a while.
Pile and organize “like” items such as sports bras, everyday underwear, bras, tights, spanx, slips, camisoles etc.

If you are privy to more room (you should be organized already…just kidding) there are cool storage dividers at the container store or you can make your own with recycling shoe boxes to create compartments. Honestly, you don’t need a custom California closet to be organized.

There are DYI and ready-made pieces too - anyone can do this now from Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ikea….no excuse not to have the dream closet/organization.

Wash before you wear:
Always good to wash before wearing to remove any manufacturing chemicals and if someone before you tried it on one too many times! Gasp…
This also applies to sleepwear and swimsuits.

Washing Steps:
We honestly put most anything in the machine in a mesh bag on a delicate cycle with warm or cold water.

Always wash colors and darks separate from whites. This makes hand washing much more efficient and economical then a ton of little loads.

It sounds laborious but it is really simple just follow below:

-Make sure the bin or sink is clean. Residues from the sink or other cleaning products isn’t good!
-Warm, tepid or cold water are all fine. Add Delicate Wash and soak item. Do not soak for more than 30 minutes.
-Rinse well and hang to dry. Knitted items should be laid flat, so they don’t distort.
-Silk usually can benefit from a steam after.

When to use the Wash & Stain Bar:
The Wash & Stain Bar is our favorite! It’s a savior on bra straps, underwire and bathing suit seams. The bar lets you work the stain and fabric at the same time with some friction. These areas are really tricky to treat and are magnetic areas because of the body oil, body products - lotions and sunscreens - that inevitable stain after wearing. Lots of these stains build up and get really bad over time.

Make sure you have the straps or area leveraged on a hard surface like side of sink or tub and get a washboard-esque scrub on.

Dry apparatuses:
There are a lot of good drying racks - ugly albeit, but ones that fold up to stash easily are worth it. Lindsey has one from Target that expands and stores away easily.

This is really ugly, but efficient for tub drying and laying flat.
http://www.organize.com/free-standing-drying-rack-pegasus-v.html

We got these for the office for sweaters. Ugly, but really the best for laying flat and staking. At least they collapse really small.
http://www.organize.com/fold-away-stackable-clothes-dryer-whitney-design.html

“Design” savvy drying racks- something you don’t mind showing off.
http://www.lswstores.com/100/Shaker-Drying-Rack-3-Sided.html

This is great for a small space.

http://www.bestofnewengland.com/prod-Clothes_Drying_Racks___Extra_Large-1605.aspx


Do not use the dryer:
This is not just because of shrinking. The dryer is really tough on fabric - the heat will shoot the elastic and cause pilling. The tumbling (agitation) is tough on fine knits, wovens, fibers and lace. Also, lots of color fading happens in the dryer. Your items will last a lot longer if you air or line dry.

Other tips:
*Do not use regular detergent on silk
*Silk isn’t usually the same after dry-cleaning either
*If you have stains - the dry cleaner will further set them in a discolor

You deserve a lingerie treat if you’ve read this whole thing!

CONQUERING THE “PIT” STAIN

Washing Pit Stains*
-Gwen Whiting

I was borrowing some tennis and golf gear for my vacation and this shirt came out of the closet…

I grabbed it from my friend (name omitted for "pit" anonymity) as it was such a horror I couldn't let it go back in the drawer as is...

So as I'm washing all my vacation clothes (with some super duper sunscreen and mineral bath stains) I documented the shirt…

First, add Stain Solution & Bleach Alternative to pit stains:




Use the Stain Brush to work it in:


I soaked in hot water for less than an hour and send through a regular load of wash.

Then – be amazed – yellow stains are gone!

For our complete recipe & washing video – visit http://www.thelaundress.com/LaundryTips/pits.asp

*We recommend this process on durable fibers such as cotton, linen and some synthetic materials.

ASK THE EXPERTS...

Here is this week's question and answer:

Question:
This question seems obvious so I am almost embarrassed to ask...here goes. What is the benefit of a fabric softener and should I be using this in my wash? I use the dryer sheets already. Will the fabric softener build up over time in my clothes? I always assumed this product was for just adding scent to your clothes. Help! I want my baby's clothes to look nice. Also, would fabric softener help my sheets look smoother?

Thanks so much for your help!
-Amber

Answer:
Hi Amber-this is not a silly question at all! Fabric softener generally reduces static, is scented, and makes fabrics softer. It does coat the fabrics so we do not recommend using it on towels very often as it does reduce the absorbency. We also caution that it should not be used on childrens sleepwear because sleepwear has flame retardency by law and fabric conditioner reduces the retardency. I also don't recommend using it on synthetic fabrics either. Frankly, I don't use it at all. Our detergent has natural softening properties so I don't feel I need it very often. It will most likely make your sheets smoother though.

If you do choose to use fabric softeners snuggle and downy are made with animal fat which I think is probably not what you want for your baby. Our fabric conditioner is made from canola oil. Dryer sheets are good for static. I hope this is helpful for you.

Happy Laundering!
Best-
Gwen

Response:
Hi Gwen,

Thank you very much for the prompt reply and all the information you provided me! Having consulted a laundry expert - you - I now feel confident to go forward with using my Laundress Baby Wash and dryer sheets! Great information too on the fabric softener; I may try some on my sheets and see what that does to help the wrinkling factor. I always take them out when they are 80% dry and lay the sheets out flat and the duvet still has some wrinkling. Maybe in my next order I will purchase some of your fabric softener to try. I wouldn't have bought those other brands you mentioned...funny thing is my 62yo mom always told me the additives in these fabric softeners are bad for your clothing and will break the fabrics down quickly. Thus the reason I have never used fabric softener!!!

By the way, I am becoming a HUGE Laundress fan and I have told everyone I know to buy your products! Am thinking of buying some for gifts too. After finding moth holes in one of my husband's sweaters I just decided to wash (using the machine hand wash cycle) everything and was really disappointed with the way they felt after air drying. Then I bought your wool/cashmere wash soap and decided to pick up some baby wash and dryer sheets too. Wow, I have found your wool/cashmere wash is an AMAZING cleaner and softener. Not only does it make our sweaters buttery soft but I was thrilled by the green nature of your products, this made me feel good as we began to reduce our dry cleaner usage.

Keep doing what you are doing, I am quite a fan.

Best,
Amber