Clothing / Garment Care Tips

Nothing is more disappointing than to have a beautiful garment get ruined in the process of cleaning it.
By taking proper care of your clothing, you can extend the useful life of the garment considerably. In the long run, taking the time to take good care of your garments will help you save money. It is very simple: Garments that last longer are replaced less often.
Always pre-treat spots or stains before laundering. If you get a spot or stain on a garment, treat it aspromptly as possible. The longer the spot sits on the fabric, the more time it has to adhere firmly to the fibers. Work on spots and stains from the reverse side of the garment. If you work from the front side, you are pushing the spot into the fabric. If you work from the reverse side, you will push it out of the fabric. Put a white towel under the garment as you work the stain or spot out. The towel will accept the spot from the garment without putting a color that does not belong into the garment. Launder the garment in cold water. Warm or hot water may set the stain further.
After you have laundered the garment, check the area where the spot was before you dry it. If the spot did not gee out gepletely, re-treat the stain and launder again. If you dry the garment while the spot is still in it, you may help the spot set in the fabric, making it harder or impossible to remove.
Sort your laundry by color. Then, sort it again by fabric weight. Never wash delicates with clothes that can take a more rugged cycle. Example: delicate knits should not be washed with blue jeans.
Be careful to use the right temperature to launder the load. If you wash bright colors on a hot temperature, you can expect that the colors will run and fade. Most clothing should be laundered in cold or warm temperatures. Cold water wash will help your dark colors stay dark and vivid.
Invest a few dollars in some mesh laundry bags. They are not expensive and will pay you back over and over again with helping you take care of delicate items.
Always turn garments inside out before laundering. A lot of wear that garments take happens in the laundry. When garments are washed and dried, they rub on each other.The fabric develops little pills. If the garment is turned inside out before going into the wash, the majority of the rubbing happens on the inside of the garment. This part does not show when you have the garment on.
Always zip zippers before laundering. Zippers can be broken in the wash if they are left open. Also, the teeth can snag other garments.
Always button enough of the buttons to keep the garment inside out. Buttons can get scratched and damaged in the laundry. If you feel the buttons may be at risk, put the garment in a mesh laundry bag.
Always hook bras before laundering - and put them in a mesh laundry bag. Bra hooks can cause a lot of damage to other garments. They can be damaged if they hook on the sides of the washer.
Never over dry garments. The extra heat can damage fibers. There is a difference between dry and baked in the dryer.
When clothing gees out of the dryer, either fold it or hang it right away. Letting it sit in the dryer or a basket, getting cold allows wrinkles to set.
If you need to press a garment, read the fabric content and care instructions. Be careful that the iron is cooler rather than warmer. You can always increase the heat while it is harder to determine when that hot iron has cooled down enough.
If a garment care tag regemends Dry Clean Only, then do that. You can either take the garment to a professional cleaner or use one of the home dry cleaning systems available through various retail stores. (I will often alternate between taking the garment to the professional cleaner and using home dry cleaning. I have not yet ruined anything doing that.)
Some Dry Cleaners recycle their cleaning fluid. If the garment you need cleaned is white or very light in color, you might want to be so bold as to ask them to hold your garment for a fresh batch of cleaning fluid. Using "old" dry cleaning fluid on a light color can cause a grayish tint. I have never done that personally; but, a friend of mine has and goes elsewhere if the dry cleaner is not agreeable.
You can do yourself a huge favor when you take some time to begee familiar with fabrics. Different fabrics require different care. Example: If a very hot iron is used on cotton, the fabric will respond well by pressing crisply. If that same hot iron is put on a delicate nylon knit, the fabric will respond by melting.
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