Or Everything you ever wanted to know about washing and dry-cleaning

What follows is information on washing and dry-cleaning and more.  This is information that I have learned first hand, having working in the dry-cleaning industry for 14 years.  I do not claim to be an expert on any of this.  But, I know enough to impart this information to you in plain language that you can use to prevent disasters when you head for your laundry room.

Washing

Washing things in water is also called wet-cleaning by the dry-cleaning industry.  Water washing is more than just tossing your clothes in a washing machine, pouring soap on top and walking away.  There's a lot of variables that have to be taken into account when you wash something...be it clothing, bedding, fabric, linens, etc.

First, some basics.  Use the proper washing machine for the job.  You probably have a home washing machine that has a lid on top, a tub and an agitator in the middle of the tub.  When you bought that washing machine, it came with instructions and specific information about the machine, such as load capacity.  The old typical load capacity for standard washing machines was 8 lbs.  Most newer machines have a much larger capacity...you should know this capacity.  What does that capacity mean?  It tells you how much you can safely put in the washing machine and still have the clothes properly agitated.  Never overload a washing machine.  As an example, let's use denim jeans.  My husband is a large man.  In an 8 lb. capacity washer I can fit three pair of his jeans and they will come clean and have no soap residue.  In an 18 lb. capacity washer I can fit 6 pair of jeans and the load will come clean and have no soap residue.

If you are going to wash large items, such as comforters, rugs, etc.  I recommend using a front loading washer.  Most home top-loading washers are not capable of washing these items and you may damage the item and/or your washer if you attempt to wash them at home. 

This is the process by which I start loads of laundry:  Start the washer filling.  Add powdered or liquid soap and powdered or liquid bleach if necessary.  Let the washer fill a bit to dilute and dissolve these cleaning agents.  Then add the items being washed – fill loosely.  Do not pack the washer.  You want the clothes to move freely in the water for proper agitation.  If you are running the load on cold and using powdered soap and bleach, start with a little warm water to get the powdered cleaning agents dissolving before switching over to cold water.

At a commercial laundromat, you will usually find a variety of front loading machines.  They are rated according to poundage, just like your home washer.  With these washers, you put the clothes or other items in first, then start the machine and add soap and bleach when indicated.  Always leave at least 1/3 of the room in the drum empty – so it's 2/3 clothes, 1/3 air.  The machine needs this room in order to adequately tumble and clean your items.  Some newer home washing machines are also front loading – this rule also applies to them.  For large items such as very large rugs and comforters, use a large capacity washer (at least 40 lbs.).  Front loading washers need less soap and less bleach because they clean with much less water.

The same rules apply to drying.  Never overload your dryer.  Always leave lots of room for the wet items to tumble – if air can't circulate through the tumbling clothes, they'll never dry.  Also use the lowest heat setting possible to dry the clothes...too hot a dryer can permanently set wrinkles into some fabrics.

Dry Cleaning

Dry cleaning is a bit of a misnomer.  The name stems from the fact that the process is not water based and is therefore not wet-cleaning.  Items that are dry cleaned are immersed in a solvent bath.  That's right!  They get wet, just not with water.  Most U.S. dry cleaners use the solvent perchlorethylene.  They use closed systems where the clothes are put in the drum dry, the door is sealed, the drum fills with a solution of perchlorethylene and cleansing agents, and the clothes tumble in this.  This solution is then spun out of the drum and its contents at high speed and then using hot air, the clothes are dried.  The solvent that evaporates from the clothes as they dry is captured and re-used, so no perchlorethylene escapes the system.

The entire process includes spotting prior to cleaning, and steaming and pressing after cleaning.  The reason that dry-cleaning costs have risen dramatically in the last few years has to do with the costs of maintaining the dry-cleaning equipment to OSHA standards, among other things such as rising wages to keep competent employees, etc.

So you may be thinking about using Dryel or one of these other "dry clean at home in your dryer" kits.  Before you do, consider this...  Dryel and these other kits are NOT dry cleaning.  Your clothes are not getting wet, they are just tumbling in a bag with a pad filled with freshening agents.  This is not dry-cleaning.  It's freshening.  The kits come with a spotting agent.  If you use this agent on certain fabrics, you could have serious color-loss and other damage.  I've had many people ask me about using Dryel in the last two years.  This is my answer:  I've never used it.  I've read several consumer reports stating that it has less than satisfactory performance for some types of garments.  I would never use it for anything structured (suit jackets, coats, anything tailored), but it might be okay to freshen a sweater or a skirt.

Spotting

In the information on dry-cleaning and Dryel, I broached the subject of spotting.  Spotting is an art.  I am not kidding.  The gentleman who taught me spotting techniques worked in the dry-cleaning field for over 50 years. 

Here are some brief pointers: 

1)  If in doubt, don't do anything—take it to a dry cleaners you trust. 

2)  Never ever use hairspray to remove stains, not even ink...most likely you'll just make things worse not better.  Hairspray is water soluble, so if you spray it on something wool, silk, or any other dry clean only fiber, you will not only have an ink stain, you'll have a hairspray stain.  When I was still working in the industry, I had a customer ruin a Ralph Lauren wool skirt by attempting to get an ink stain out with hairspray -- all she did was make the ink run, set the now bigger ink stain and make and even bigger hairspray stain. Spraying hairspray (aerosol or pump) on things that can't be immersed in water (like expensive Ralph Lauren wool skirts) will ruin the garment.

3)  When you do work on stains at home, no matter what spotting agent you use, never rub or scrub.  You want to work to push the stain THROUGH the fabric by tamping.  Tamping means that you lightly pound on the stain with a brush in up and down motions.  If you don't have a brush to use for tamping, use your hand and a white cotton towel or washrag and pat in an up and down motion.  When you rub or scrub, you risk abrading the fibers and causing worse damage than the spot – pills and a light area from abraded fibers are common damage from incorrect spotting.

4)  Remember that Silk and Wool fibers do not take kindly to bleach of any kind.  That means NO chlorine bleach, NO oxygenated bleach (Clorox II) and NO Oxiclean.

Care Labels and Fibers

 In the very early 1980's, when I first started working in the dry cleaning industry, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) made some sweeping changes in care label laws.  Among other things, they instituted the international care symbol system that we all see on most all of our care labels now.  One of the changes that were made, was to the ruling requiring all acceptable care methods to be listed.  After the change, only ONE acceptable care method had to be listed, even if there was more than one that would work.  So an awful lot of clothing got labeled "Dry Clean Only," even if it could also be washed, and still other clothing that could be dry cleaned got labeled "Hand Wash, Hang Dry."  So should you trust your labels or your instincts?  I say a little of both.  I have pants that are acetate labeled machine washable...I know better than to wash them...they go to my dry cleaners when dirty. 

In fact, I really do NOT recommend washing acetate at all...in fact, old acetate can just disintegrate if washed. Some rayons, some silks, some linens and some woolens can be washed -- BUT (and this is a very BIG but) -- be prepared for a strong likelihood of shrinkage, wrinkling and a complete loss of sizing. Sizing is the chemical finish that makes those fabrics look nice -- some add shine, some add body, some add crispness, some add all three -- and once the sizing is gone -- the garment will look and hang like a limp wrinkled rag forever more. Oh yeah, almost forgot about the fact that some of the dyes aren't permanent if you wash something that's meant to be dry cleaned. Some dyes are either infused into the garment with solvent or with water. Whatever gets used, if you immerse it in the same agent the dye went into the fabric with, you're likely to have lightening, fading, running, etc. It can be ugly.

As for rayon -- the thing to remember is -- YOU ARE WASHING A TREE. Rayon is made from wood pulp. It is at its most weak state when wet -- do not rub, scrub or abrade rayon when wet (actually don't do it at all -- it's a really good way to have color loss on rayon).  I have some rayon garments that I wash -- because I want them soft and flowing -- they do have to be ironed once dry -- but that's okay because skirts are easy to iron at home. I have other rayon garments that I only dry clean -- partly because I want the colors to stay vivid, partly because I want the sizing still in the garment so it has the original body and hand that it had when I first bought or made it.

Questions

I know I haven't covered every possibility.  This page is mostly meant to help you be better informed about cleaning your clothes and other fabric items.  This page grew out of several responses I have posted in the past on several eBay boards.  Many times the questions pertained to vintage clothing and fabrics, but new fabrics and clothes are just as worthy of proper cleaning.

If what I have written doesn't answer your questions, or just makes more questions than answers, email me...I'll try my best to get you the information you need.

BIG NEWS! Do you have vintage linens that need laundering? Over at JUNKING USA you'll find a great 9 part article on cleaning collectible linens! Just click the link above to go there - scroll about half way down the page that opens for the links to the articles.