Winter Cleaning Tips

Considering Clean ability when Shopping Online

 Today’s busy lifestyles leave families less time to shop, especially during the hectic holiday season. If you’re tired of shopping in crowded malls for that perfect gift, catalog shopping may be for you. Online shopping is convenient, and you can shop from anywhere.

Tips to help you find that perfect gift:

Holiday sweaters, sweatshirts, and blouses with decorative trim, appliquès, buttons, or sequins can be festive gifts for ringing in the new year, but may be difficult to clean. Be sure to inquire about or read the care label and consult your professional dry cleaner, as some trim may not be dry cleanable. Both silk and rayon garments hold up well to dry cleaning. Pastels, rather than dark or multi-colored fabrics, have a greater degree of colorfastness.

A simple velvet or velour dress or pants outfit can be a real hit as a gift to wear at an upcoming New Year’s party. Velvet is usually made of rayon, acetate, silk, or a blend of these fibers; velour looks like velvet but is usually made of cotton or a cotton/polyester blend. Outerwear and recreational equipment can be unique presents, but also require special care. Outerwear can be either dry cleanable or washable, depending on the fiber content of the shell fabric and lining and the application of special coatings for warmth and water repellancy.

If you have any questions about how to care for one of these gifts, consult your professional dry cleaner. Before ordering your holiday gifts by mail, ask the customer service person about the company’s return policy.

Can you return the item if you have a problem with cleaning, even after following the care label instructions? Most large online stores guarantee their merchandise and have liberal return policies.

Customer Question: Looking forward to Christmas

Question: How do I clean tree skirts before and after Christmas?

Answer: Christmas tree skirts are often valuable and treasured holiday items. Some tree skirts are very costly, while others may be family heirlooms.

Regardless of their original or sentimental value, tree skirts should be handled with great care.

In most cases, tree skirts cannot be safely laundered or drycleaned, because they are adorned with beads, sequins, appliques, lace, felt, quilted designs, multicolored prints, and other types of decorative trim. In most cases, these decorative trims used glues and adhesives that show little resistance to cleaning.

If water or other liquids spill on the skirt, blot the area with white handkerchiefs, cotton towels, or paper towels. Use cool water to aid in removing stains. Local stain removal treatments may be the only safe method for handling tree skirts. In some cases, stains cannot be removed without damage. Bring your skirt to us for assistance if stain removal becomes necessary. 

Have a great holiday season!

Customer Question: Getting Ready for Winter Weather

Question: How do you clean winter accessories, such as gloves, hats, and scarves?

Answer: Remember last spring when you bagged your hats, gloves, and scarves and put them in the back of your closet? Well, now it’s time to get them out and ready for another winter. If inspection shows they were put away in a soiled condition, now is the time to clean them.

If care labels are present, follow instructions carefully. Many synthetics, as well as cottons and wools, are hand or machine washable. If tumble drying is recommended, use a low temperature setting.

Wool, fur, and leather accessories may require our assistance. These materials require special cleaning and finishing procedures. Any known stains should be pointed out when you leave them with us. Most items will clean beautifully, but accessories, particularly gloves, are exposed to many staining substances that cannot be removed.

Sweaters

Question:

The care label on a sweater indicates it is hand washable. Can I wash it in a machine on a delicate cycle?

Answer:

There is some risk involved in using any care process not recommended by the manufacturer. Hand washing involves manual removal of soils with water, detergent, and a gentle squeezing action. A care label that calls for machine washing, in a delicate or gentle cycle, indicates the garment can be cleaned with water, detergent or soap, slow agitation, and reduced time in a washing machine.

Hand washing is a restrictive care process that minimizes the amount of abrasion a garment receives in cleaning. If handwashable garments are machine washed in a gentle cycle, agitation may be further minimized by putting the item in a net bag.

Beware - even this procedure is in violation of the care label instruction, and places responsibility for damages on the launderer rather than the manufacturer.

Taking Care When Caring for Wool

Wool is a popular sweater fabric because it is durable, comfortable, and an excellent insulator. If your wool sweater gets damp, hang it to air dry at room temperature. Do not hang near a heat source, as this will promote mildew. A gentle brushing of wool sweaters after each wearing helps remove surface soil.

If the care label suggests hand washing, use cool water with mild soap or bleach-free detergent. Soak up to five minutes and rinse thoroughly. Squeeze out excess water, but do not wring or twist the fabric. To dry, lay the sweater flat, away from sunlight or heat. If using a plastic sweater board as a drying surface, covering the board with a towel (under the sweater) will help prevent snagging. If the care label suggests machine washing, use the gentle cycle. Bring your wools, or any sweater with dryclean-only label, to us for stain removal.