Care
Clothing care tips to make your wardrobe last
Learn what fabric softener is and how to properly use it.
It should come as no surprise that fabric softener is designed to make your clothes feel extra soft and fresh. But what you may not know is that softener comes in a few different forms, each with its pros and cons. Yes, softeners are simple to use but there are a few key details you should be aware of. Below we’ll run through the in’s and out’s of fabric softener and how to properly use it.
What Does Fabric Softener Do?
Fabric softener is a conditioner that can be added to your wash & fold load in order to soften your clothes and keep them from wrinkling.
Softeners can also help your clothes last longer as they create less static cling among the fibers, which reduces friction and creates less wear and tear during the washing process. In addition, some fabric softeners come pre-scented so it’s an easy way to add a bit of freshness to your laundry.
However, not all softeners are the same. Nowadays, you’ll most likely use one of three fabric softener options. Let’s take a look at each one and how they are different.
Liquid Fabric Softener
Of the three main options, liquid softener is the most expensive but it typically does the best job of freshening up your clothes. That is because the liquid is able to penetrate the fabrics of your clothing during the wash cycle. The downside to liquid softener is that the liquid can cause buildup in your washing machine and sometimes it can leave a stain on your clothes.
Dryer Sheets
Dryer sheets are small sheets coated with stearic acid and fresh scents among a few other chemicals. When the dryer heat ensues, the stearic acid melts and makes its way onto your clothes, which reduces static and leaves them feeling nice and soft.
Dryer sheets are relatively inexpensive compared to liquid softeners and extremely easy to use - all you have to do is pop one or two in the dryer and you’re all set!
Dryer Balls
Dryer balls are wool balls that you can add to the dryer to help soften and freshen up your clothes. Additionally, dryer balls have added benefits such as speeding up the drying process. Because the balls are wool, they are able to absorb the moisture on the clothes and help them to dry quicker.
Since dryer balls are round and can move around better than dryer sheets, they are typically more effective relative to dryer sheets. Nevertheless, both are viable options if you are looking for an alternative to liquid softener.
When should I use fabric softener?
In general, it’s always a good idea to add fabric softener to your laundry. Most fabrics can handle the softener and your laundry will come out softer, fresher, and wrinkle free. However, there are a few types of clothes with which you should think twice about using fabric softeners.
Most athletic gear isn’t very compatible with fabric softener. That is because many items are meant to soak up moisture while you workout and softeners may clog the fabric apertures, which can negate the moisture-wicking of the garment in the future.
To that end, other water-proof garments may not be very compatible. Additionally, other types of garments and fabrics meant to help with absorption, such as towels, may be negatively affected by fabric softener over time. It’s worth keeping an eye out on your towels - if you find they are taking more than one normal cycle to dry, then it may be time to reconsider their exposure to fabric softener.
Overall, fabric softener is a great addition to your laundry room and it will certainly leave your clothes smelling fresh and feeling soft!
Learn the proper way to prevent shrinkage from the #laundrynerds at Rinse.
Accidentally shrinking your clothes while doing laundry can leave you feeling frustrated, especially if you shrunk an item that is sentimental to you or is difficult to replace. If you’re looking to avoid this feeling of frustration again you’ve come to the right place as we put together a helpful guide on how to prevent your clothes from shrinking.
What Causes Clothes to Shrink in the Laundry
In order to prevent your clothes from shrinking you must first understand what causes your clothes to shrink in the first place. Shrinkage largely depends on the type of fabric your clothes are made of along with factors such as the amount of moisture and heat they are exposed to during the laundering process.
Types of Shrinkage in Clothes
Felting Shrinkage
Felting shrinkage refers to a type of shrinkage that takes place with fabrics such as wool or others that are made from animal hair fibers. These types of fabrics have scales along the surface at the microscopic level and when they are exposed to excessive heat and moisture, the scales come together and compress. If you ever had a wool sweater that shrunk in size it was due to felting shrinkage.
Relaxation Shrinkage
Relaxation shrinkage can occur in clothes made from cotton, silk, linen, or synthetic fibers. The chances of relaxation shrinkage occurring are very slim despite several different clothing types being prone to it.
If fabrics are exposed to large amounts of moisture, particularly lukewarm water, or other types of liquids then the fabrics may shrink. Relaxation shrinkage is the most common reason why silk garments can shrink. To avoid shrinking a silk garment you can explore hand washing (more on that later!).
Consolidation Shrinkage
Consolidation shrinkage gets its name from the fact the many factors contribute to the shrinkage of a garment. It’s when heat, moisture, and the physical action of a washer or dryer combine to affect the fibers that make up the garment.
During the manufacturing process, manufacturers create tension among the fibers of the clothes (for example knitting creates tension) and the combination of the factors above can lead to the release of tension and cause a garment to lose its shape or shrink. You’ve likely experienced a form of consolidation shrinkage with your t-shirts, particularly if you exposed them to excessive heat during the drying process.
How to Keep Clothes From Shrinking
To prevent your clothes from shrinking you’ll want to take preventative actions before you wash them and consider certain protocols for washing and drying. We compiled a list of helpful tips and tricks you should consider in order to avoid shrinking your clothes.
- Read the Care Labels - Regardless if you are looking for ways to avoid shrinking your clothes or not, you should always read the care labels on your clothes. The labels are there to help you understand how to properly care for your clothes and will include directions you should follow in order to prevent damage such as shrinkage. At Rinse, we always follow the care labels on your clothes. If you don’t want to deal with having to figure out what your labels mean, then leave the clothing care to us (schedule a pickup here).
- Use Cold Water - If you are able to, wash your clothes using cold water. Cold water is less likely to damage your clothes relative to warm or hot water.
- Air Dry - The safest way to dry your clothes is by hanging them to air dry as it eliminates the chances for a dryer to damage your clothes due to heat exposure. This is particularly important for delicate and synthetics (e.g. yoga pants; dri-fit shirts). We recommend investing in a drying rack if you’re looking for ways to air dry at home. Or, try our Hang Dry service and we’ll professionally clean your clothes and hang them to dry in a temperature controlled room.
- Tumble Dry Low Heat - If you cannot air dry your clothes, consider using the tumble dry low heat option on your dryer to dry your clothes using only the motion of the machine. This way, you avoid potentially damaging your clothes from excessive exposure to heat.
- Hand Wash - If your washer and dryer lack detailed settings to control temperature, then you may want to consider hand washing select items in order to avoid shrinkage from heat and moisture. Hand washing also allows you to control the amount of pressure and friction involved in the washing process, which can help a garment keep its shape.
Will Dry Cleaning Prevent Shrinkage?
Another way to prevent shrinking your clothes is to opt for a professional dry cleaning service. Rinse offers Dry Cleaning service, 7 days a week and will pick up and deliver straight to your door.
Professional dry cleaners use non-water based chemical solvents to clean clothes during the dry cleaning process. In other words, the dry cleaning process does not include any use of water or the use of a drying machine, which limits your clothing’s exposure to excessive heat and moisture.
Not only does dry cleaning help to not shrink your clothes, but it also is an effective way to remove stains due to the spotting process. Cleaners, such as Rinse, will typically go through a pre-spotting process where they’ll apply a chemical solvent, vacuum, or heat to stains on your garment, which helps to remove the stain during the actual dry cleaning process.
We hope you find these tips and tricks helpful!
Make your laundry day less stressful by learning the right way to sort your laundry and avoid damage and accidents.
Hate it or love it, sorting and separating laundry is a necessary part of laundry day. Properly sorting your laundry can help prevent damage, preserve colors, and so much more. Below we teach you everything you need to know in order to separate and sort your laundry like a pro.
Why Is Sorting Laundry Important?
Before you learn the best way to sort your laundry you should first understand why this is such a critical step in the washing process.
Sorting Helps to Identify and Treat Stains
Sorting laundry effectively serves as a way to audit your clothes because you are giving each article of clothing an extra look as you remove it from your laundry bag or hamper.
During the audit process, you can pay closer attention to how dirty your clothes actually are and if there are notable stains on them. If you do come across any stained garments, you can set them aside and treat the stain as needed prior to cleaning the garment.
Sorting Preserves Your Clothing
Separating laundry enables you to segment your laundry according to fabric type and color. Separating clothes by color is especially important because some garments are made from dyes that tend to color bleed during the washing process if they are not properly sorted with similar colors. You may have already experienced color bleeding first-hand, particularly with red garments.
Sorting Protects Your Delicates
Another reason it’s important to sort your laundry before washing is that it allows you to pull out any delicate items that may need special treatment. Delicate items include garments made of silk and satin, or items with netting or lace. To preserve your delicates, don’t just throw them into the washing machine along with other clothing. It’s important to handle your delicates separately so they don’t get damaged during the washing process.
How to Sort Your Laundry
1.) Read The Care Labels
Prior to sorting and washing your clothes you should always read the care labels. The care labels are unique to each garment and include directions on how to properly care for your clothes, including the suggested temperature setting you should set your washer to.
In addition, the care labels provide a breakdown of the fabrics used to make your garments, such as cotton or polyester. This information is valuable because some fabrics may need special attention if you choose to care for them at home versus using a professional cleaner. For instance, cashmere is a fabric that you will want to care for separately.
If you don’t have time to read all your care labels (hint: most people don’t), make sure you check the care labels for items where you aren’t 100% sure they can safely go through the washer and dryer. You know the items we’re talking about...it’s less about t-shirts and socks and more about delicate or unique materials or colors.
2.) Sort Using Piles
Consider sorting your laundry into piles to make your life easier. First and foremost, separate your lights and darks. By doing so, you will limit the chances of color bleeding occurring during the wash cycle.
You should sort your lights and darks into three different categories - darks, other colors, and whites. If your garment is multi-colored or includes a pattern, sort the garment based on the most prevalent color. If it’s too tough to tell, then any of your color piles will suffice.
After your colored piles are set, you can consider the following sub-piles:
- Stained garments - any garment that is stained or extremely dirty.
- Dry clean only - items that cannot be washed using a machine or require dry cleaning service.
- Linens - sheets, comforters, towels, and other related bedding items.
- Daily outfits - garments such as t-shirts, socks, underwear, etc.
- Denim - jeans and denim jackets.
- Workout clothes - activewear and gym clothing.
- Delicates - anything that requires a delicate wash, such as lingerie or silk.
If the above is too detailed, we suggest starting with a more basic system and then working your way up to the “pro” level, such as:
Items that should be washed in laundry vs. items that should NOT. For items that should be washed, just separate your lights and darks.
By using the pile system you are able to ensure you are washing similar garment types together, which will help you to avoid damage or accidents during the cleaning process.
Additionally, piles allow you to set aside stained garments and clothes that need dry cleaning service. Rather than risking damage to your dry clean only garments in the washing machine, consider a professional dry cleaning service such as Rinse so that you can properly care for your dry clean only items and stained garments.
Once you’ve inspected your piles you are ready to start washing!
By following these tips and tricks you’ll be sorting laundry like expert in no time. If you would rather not deal with sorting and washing laundry you can opt for professional services such as Rinse.
At Rinse, we always sort your lights and darks and handle your laundry with care. We’ll pick up, professionally clean, and deliver your laundry straight to your door. You can schedule a pickup here any day of the week, including Sundays!
Now that the warm weather is here, it's time to enjoy al fresco afternoons with wine and cheese. Yet, too often a great outdoor dining experience is ruined by the little spills that mark up your new blouse or pants. Whether you're exploring a new city, enjoying the outdoors or savoring a summer dessert, don't sweat the small stains that you may encounter during the summer with our on-the-go DIY cheat sheet to help you along the way.
Food and drink
Whether it's a box of French macarons, fresh blueberry muffins or chocolate ice cream, summer is the time to indulge in your favorite treats. And it's no surprise that food and drinks can lead to some of the most common summer stains.
Made a mess during Sunday brunch? No worries. Soak up the stain with a napkin, ask your server for some club soda, and lightly dab the stained area. You can take common summer fabrics such as cotton, corduroy or linen to the bathroom to be washed with cold water and soap (this works for iced coffee stains too). For more delicate fabrics, such as silk or chiffon, take them to a professional dry cleaner for the best care.
Since it's also barbecue season, mishaps with ribs or burgers are bound to happen. For fresh stains, act quickly by scraping off any sauce on the fabric. Follow up by soaking the stained area in water. You can apply the same tactic for ice cream spills: rinse and repeat under cool water as necessary. For more stubborn stains, follow up with a professional cleaning.
Sunscreen, sweat and deodorant
You might take advantage of the great weather by lounging at the lake or hanging out on the beach, in which case SPF is a must. If you get some on your clothing, apply pressure with a clean towel to soak up the product and add liquid detergent before laundering as usual.
While you may look great in that poplin sundress or white linen shirt, embarrassing sweat stains can foil your outfit—especially if you're wearing summer whites. To help preempt this issue, make sure you choose an aluminum-free (or low-aluminum) antiperspirant, which won't leave a mark. If your deodorant does leave an unwelcome blemish, a quick cleaning hack is to use fabric softener sheets to remove any traces by rubbing one on the affected area. For delicate fabrics like rayon, blot the area with some water and soap before gently hand washing.
Try as we might, some sweat stains will remain. And, they tend to get darker over time becuase of continued heat and sunlight. It's best to try to prevent them before they occur!
Grass and dirt
Whether you're hiking the Grand Canyon, having a picnic in Central Park or enjoying a game of frisbee in your backyard, you might encounter a few grass or dirt stains—not too surprising if you're the outdoors type. For dirt stains, apply some dishwashing soap right away before tossing the affected article in the laundry. For shoes caked in dirt and grass, this stubborn stain can be easily removed by rubbing it with a damp cloth soaked in soapy warm water. Grass stains on clothing, however, can be extremely difficult to remove, so if you find yourself with one, we recommend a trip as soon as possible to a professional.
If all else fails, get thee to a professional dry cleaner!
Worried about keeping your swimwear in tip-top shape? We've got you covered with our guide to cleaning and preserving swimsuits.
Photos: freestocks.org, Brooke Lark, Nadia Jamnik, Kyle Ryan
Red clothes have a unique makeup, including different types of clothing dye. But is this why they bleed the most? Find out why red clothes bleed the most and how you can limit it.
Contrary to popular belief, red clothes are not more prone to color bleeding than any other color. Below we’ll discuss why this is and help you understand ways you can avoid color bleeding.
Why do red clothes color bleed?
More often than not, red garments color bleed simply due to the type of dye commercial clothing manufacturers oftentimes use when making red colored clothes. The dye is called direct dye and it is actually available in other colors, which are equally as susceptible to color bleeding. However, it’s commonly used with red colored clothing items. Therefore, red colored clothing is associated with color bleeding more than other colors.
Garments with red direct dye are much more likely to color bleed in the laundry as opposed to clothes that use fiber reactive dye. This is because of the chemical makeup of direct dye and it reacts with the fibers of the clothing.
Red color bleeding also can be a result of over dyeing or the dye not being properly settled in the fabric of the clothing.
How do I avoid color bleeding?
Unless you are making your own clothes or dying your own clothes it’s difficult to know much about the dye used on your clothing items.
With that said, there are a few best practices you can follow regardless of they type of dye to limit your chances of experiencing color bleeding on your next laundry day.
- Always separate lights and darks. This is a mandatory practice at Rinse but you may be surprised to know that many people at home overlook this important step when doing their own laundry.
- Use a color fixative such as Retayne or Raycafix on your clothes pre-wash to help prevent color transfer.
- Use cold water over hot water when washing. Hot water can loosen up the fabric and increase the likelihood of color bleeding.
- When possible, adjust your washer settings to delicate or something similar to reduce the amount of friction inside the washing machine.
- Add color catcher sheets to the machine to help catch and hold dyes during washing.
- Turn your clothes inside out to reduce both color fading and color bleeding.
As you can see there are several steps you can take to help reduce the chances of color bleeding. By implementing these basic tips you’ll not only limit color bleeding but improve the lifespan of your clothes.
Extend the life of your clothes by knowing the difference between laundering and dry cleaning.
When you have clothing that needs to look sharp, like a suit, dress, sweater, or dress shirt, chances are you take it to the dry cleaners. But many nice articles of clothing don’t need to be dry cleaned – often, having your clothing laundered and pressed is a better choice.
The Basic Difference Between Laundry and Dry Cleaning
The short answer – water. However, there are other differences such as the cleaning process, chemicals used, suitable fabrics, effectiveness in removing certain stains, impact on the environment, and cost of service.
Dry Cleaning:
When your clothes are dry cleaned, non-water-based solvents (such as perchloroethylene) are used to remove stains and odors, before they are crisply pressed. In general, dry cleaning is ideal for delicate fabrics, with some garments having "dry clean only" instructions. Note that the cost of dry cleaning is considerably higher on a per-piece basis, and requires specialized equipment.
Laundering:
With laundered items, water and detergent are used. Your clothes are soaked and agitated in a commercial-grade washing machine, emerge slightly damp, and then are individually pressed. Laundry cleaning is suitable for most clothing fabrics, such as cotton, polyester, denim, and linen.
Why Launder & Press?
So what's the benefit of using Launder & Press?
• It's ideal for removing sweat, oils, and dirt: Laundering is more effective than dry cleaning at removing sweat and oil from fabrics, so it is typically the best choice for dress shirts and cotton blouses. After clothes are laundered, they are pressed and hung for that crisp, fresh-from-the-cleaner look.
• It's generally more sustainable: While laundering still consumes water and energy, there are eco-friendly detergents that can be used to mitigate the impact on the environment. Modern consumer appliances or commercial-grade ones are constantly becoming more efficient. Dry cleaning traditionally uses solvents that are toxic to the planet and can cause a reaction to sensitive skin.
• It's more cost-effective: Whether washing laundry at home or not, the cost of cleaning each garment is much lower than if done by dry cleaning. Water and detergent are much cheaper than perchloroethylene, and that is before considering the cost of the equipment needed for dry cleaning.
• It's gentle on fabric: The chemicals used to dry clean your clothes can cause fabrics to deteriorate over time. Laundering, on the other hand, removes stains and everyday grime using water and gentler detergents.
High-quality laundry services like Rinse read the care label on your clothing and make the call between chemical dry cleaning and laundering to maximize the life of your clothes. When you’re the one making the call, read the label: if it doesn’t say “Dry Clean Only,” ask for Launder & Press. Your clothes will thank you!
Why Dry Clean?
You may be thinking – why on earth would anyone choose to dry clean when Launder & Press is just as effective (if not more in some cases) and gentler on fabrics? Well, the truth is, it depends on the fabric and the piece.
• It's ideal for clothing made of natural fibers, like silk, cashmere, or wool because water can hurt the fabric. Water can cause the fibers in the fabric to become rigid and can lead to shrinkage.
• It's a way to ensure the longevity of your clothes: Dry cleaning eliminates the risk of your clothes bleeding, fading, stretching, or becoming distorted in the washer or dryer.
• It's how to remove certain odors: Some smells, such as smoke or mildew, are not fully removed during a traditional laundry wash. Dry cleaning is more effective in this department.
• It's often the only way to get out certain stains: When an item is dry cleaned, it also goes through the “pre-spotting” process where an experienced cleaner will examine each garment to locate stains and determine the source so that they can treat the stain with the appropriate non-aqueous solvent. It’s not uncommon for a pre-spotter to have decades of experience!
A helpful tip to extend the life of your clothes: If you know the source of any stain on your garment, let your dry cleaner know. Be it ketchup, wine, or a splash from a puddle, your dry cleaner will use that information to choose the right solvent and minimize the risk of damage.
Learn More About Rinse
There’s a reason both dry cleaning and launder & press are offered today – each serves a different, valuable purpose. Both are aptly named and both keep you looking sharp!
We have you covered at Rinse as we offer both Dry Cleaning and Launder & Press solutions! Sign up here and try any one of our award-winning services.
In addition, you can learn more about How Dry Cleaning Works from our COO James. He grew up in dry cleaning!
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