Michigan Institute of Laundering & Dry Cleaning

Consumer Guide to Clothing Care

Do:

• Save the hang tags that come with garments you buy. Show them to your drycleaner for his guidance - and take note of instructions that have to do with home care.
• Brush your clothes regularly and thoroughly.
• Dry rain-soaked or damp garments thoroughly in a cool, well ventilated place before hanging in the closet.
• Have garments drycleaned regularly; even nominal accumulation of perspiration, grease, grim and dust particles impairs the attractiveness and longevity of any apparel. Garments cleaned regularly last longer.
• Send stained garments to the drycleaner immediately. Exposure to air, heat and light sets stains and can make their removal impossible.
• When a garment has been stained, tell your drycleaner about the staining substance; it is important for successful stain removal.

Don't:

• Press a garment if it's stained. The heat of pressing will set the stain and likely make its removal impossible.
• Use untested home stain removers or club soda. They can aggravate the condition, or may create permanent damage. Take the garment to your drycleaner.
• Use an underarm deodorant without using a shield to protect the garment from the deodorant. Allow deodorant to dry before dressing.
• Wear decorative pins - especially on knit garments. If the garment has a snag, use a crochet hook to pull the loop through the underside to avoid further damage.
• Wear a garment that you value when using a cold-wave solution or getting a permanent. Cold-wave solutions cause fabric discoloration.
• Store garments at home without having them cleaned and moth proofed before storage. Be sure that the storage bags, boxes or cedar chests used are kept in a dry place.
• Use nail polish remover to remove nail polish stains. You may damage the garment's dye, or if the fabric is an acetate type, nail polish remover can create a hole.
• Hang knitted garments. Hanging pulls them out of shape and causes a sagging hemline. Knits are best stored in a drawer; or folded over the padded rod of a hanger.

Care for different types of materials and situations:

• Solvent or Water Soluble Dyes
• Surface Coatings
• Silk
• Designer Labels
• How to Shop
• Ornamental Trimmings
• Angora, Cashmere
• Draperies
• Furniture Covers
• Bedspreads and Comforters
• Fading
• Cotton Knits
• Metallic
• The Invisible Stain
• Special Stains
• Damaging Stains
• Suede and Leather Trimmings
• Suede and Leather Garments
• Shrinkage
• White Garments
• Plastic Trimming and Coating
• Care Labeling
• Garment Life Expectancy

Solvent or Water Soluble Dyes
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This refers to dyes or prints which may be soluble in either drycleaning solvent or water. A dye may be serviceable to one process but not to the other. Correct manufacturer's care instructions may be your only guide. If the instructions are incorrect, it will be difficult or impossible to predict the result, which may be a complete color change, a color loss, or a transfer of color to another area. This may also be caused when the dyes or prints have not been properly applied to a fabric.

Surface Coatings
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Some designs, patterns, colors or coatings are merely painted on or glued to a fabric's surface. The beauty of these surface coatings can be adversely affected or can be totally lost with even the gentlest drycleaning process or home laundering. You can identify a surface coating by inspecting the reverse side of a fabric. If the color or design has not totally penetrated the fabric, the garment may be unserviceable.

Silk
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The dyes used on some silk are subject to color loss and dye bleeding. This may occur in normal wear or during stain removal. Silk may fade from exposure to sunlight or even artificial light. Perspiration will degrade silk, and perfumes and deodorants will affect the fabric color. Chafing, splitting, and shredding occur in normal wear, especially in lightweight or tight fitting garments.

Designer Labels
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A designer label is not necessarily a sign of quality. In fact, because many designer labels are counterfeits, you stand a good chance of receiving inferior merchandise. Even genuine designer garments can often be inferior, as the designer might only license his name, and in that case has little control over quality. Buy well-constructed garments, not labels. The best initials on a garment are your own.

How to Shop
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Look for details which are the mark of quality:

• Smooth fabric with no puckering at the seams.
• Buttonholes sewn on both sides of the fabric.
• Firm, closely woven fabric lining and pockets.
• Pinked or overcast skirt seams.
• Good tape binding in hems.
• Even stitches close together.
• Collar and lapel which will snap back when rolled up and then released.

Ornamental Trimming - Sequins, Beads, Pearls, Glitter, Buttons, etc.
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Sequins, beads, pearls, glitter, cracked ice, and some fancy buttons may not be drycleanable or launderable. Sequins may lose their coating completely, change color or lose their shine. Nothing can be done to prevent this from happening if they are unserviceable. Some sequins may also be affected by the heat needed in the drying process, which can cause them to curl or lose their sheen. Sequins that are applied to the fabric with a chain stitch will unravel if there is a break in the stitch.

Beads may completely dissolve in the drycleaning process or their dye may transfer onto the surrounding fabric. Dissolving or partially dissolving beads occurs when the beads are made of plastic. Pearl type beads tend to lose their outer coating when drycleaned, if they are not made of the right material.

Glitter or cracked ice are small randomly curt pieces of metal, glass or plastic. they are held on the fabric by an adhesive which can dissolve in drycleaning solvent. The glitter will also detach during normal wear and laundering.

Mini-mirrors are also being used as a trimming. They are pieces of clear plastic with a silver coating. The adhesive that holds the silver coating on the plastic dissolves in drycleaning resulting in the loss of the mirror effect. Laundering garments with mini-mirrors is usually preferable.

Decorative buttons will often be unserviceable. It is difficult to detect those that may not be drycleaned. If an unserviceable button is detected, it can be removed and sewn back after drycleaning. the manufacturer should be held responsible as the cost of removing and sewing back these buttons must be passed onto the consumer. Despite the fact that there are buttons that are solvent resistant, manufacturers continue to use polystyrene buttons that dissolve in routine drycleaning. Other unserviceable buttons transfer dye onto the surrounding fabric; this dye is difficult or impossible to remove.

Angora, Cashmere
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Beware of wools or blends of angora, cashmere, lambs wool and other natural or synthetic fibers. Be sure that the fabric is preshrunk, otherwise excessive shrinkage will result when washed at home or drycleaned. Pilling or balling will occur especially at points of wear, because the soft wool yarns are fragile. Always dry soft wool knitwear at room temperature. Drycleaning is much safer than washing in avoiding shrinkage.

Draperies
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Water stains from radiators, open windows, leaks, animals, etc. are usually not removable. Water stains which may be virtually invisible before drycleaning will be obvious afterward. Age also causes water stains to darken. Sunlight will fade colors and cause deterioration of drapery fabric much like the sun can affect our skin. Sun damaged draperies may fall apart during the most gentle drycleaning. It is always preferable to buy lined draperies. Anticipate shrinkage after drycleaning or laundering. Shrinkage can range from two to fifteen percent.

Furniture Covers
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Furniture covers are also subject to shrinkage or sunfading. If washed, replace them on the furniture before they are totally dry. Never clean or wash pillow covers if they are actually the upholstery. They are zippered only to achieve a good fit. They may totally fall apart during a drycleaning or washing procedure.

Bedspreads and Comforters
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The dyes on some bedspreads and comforters may not be suitable for drycleaning, and other dyes may not be suitable for laundering. Be sure to find out how your purchase must be processed. There may be no care label attached if it is custom made.

Fading
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Fading occurs when a fabric is exposed to sunlight, artificial light or even atmospheric gases. The color loss is very gradual and often goes undetected because the fabric is gathering soil at the same time. Dyes used on silk, acetate, leather and suede are most susceptible to color loss or discoloration.

Cotton Knits
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Cotton knits are popular because they are fashionable, resist wrinkles, drape well and are comfortable in normal wear. Cotton knits are often not stable due to loose knit construction and lack of the resilience of the yarn and improper pre-shrinkage treatment. Some common complaints are stretching, distortion and shrinkage. Cotton knits can be drycleaned successfully but due to absorptive properties of cotton, soil is not always removable because of the mild solvents used. This is the reason why cotton knits should be dimensionally stable to withstand wetcleaning procedures if necessary.

Metallics
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Metallic yarn fabrics (lame) are attractive but not very serviceable. Friction and mechanical action in wear may cause the fragile metallic yarn to snap. Stains and perspiration may cause the metallic yarn to tarnish. Some metallic yarns are only surface coated and will dissolve in normal drycleaning.

The Invisible Stain
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You may try to remove a stain with cold water and think you have succeeded. You may spill something on yourself and not see a stain after it dries. These are two of the ways that the invisible stain begins. As time passes or when the heat used in the drycleaning and pressing process contacts these stains, they turn to a yellowish color and are often not removable. An example of how this happens is when an opened apple darkens when exposed to air (oxidation). Stains should be removed while they are fresh, by your drycleaner or by laundering if the garment is washable. If you wait, it may be too late.

Special Stains
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Some stains, because of the difficulty in removing them, require special removal techniques. The possibility of removing these stains is better if they are brought to the attention of your drycleaner. Examples of special stains are: blood, ink, medicine, nail polish, lipstick and other cosmetics.

Damaging Stains
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Perfume or cologne contains alcohol which may damage fabric dyes and result in color loss. Anti-perspirants, deodorants, and perspiration may cause discoloration and weaken the fabric. Hair wave treatments can cause loss of color. Fabrics are affected by acids or alkalis. Battery acid is an example of a strong acid which frequently gets on the wearer's garment with out them realizing it. Less dramatic is the damage caused by chloride salts which are found in many beverages, food and perspiration. Silks are most often affected.

Suede and Leather Trimming
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Garments with suede or leather trimming are subject to problems with loss of color on the trim, dye bleeding from the trim into surrounding areas or other serious changes in appearance. Discuss the garment with your professional drycleaner. It may have to be sent by him to a leather refinisher or in some cases it may be totally unserviceable.

Suede and Leather Garments
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Unlike fabric, suedes and leathers are unpredictable because of mismatched skins, skin damage and uneven skins. Split cowhide and pigskin rate low in quality. Lambskin is a better choice but is much more expensive. Many suedes undergo sever color loss or color changes during processing. This may not be correctable. Leathers may have to be re-sprayed after processing. The original feel or look may not be possible to restore. Shrinkage of all leather or suede is a real possibility so buy a garment with room to spare.

Shrinkage
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A fabric or skin (leather or suede) is subject to shrinkage if: (1) it was not preshrunk or if the preshrinkage was not effectively controlled, or (2) if the fabric or skin was stretched to get more yardage. Common examples of fabrics that shrink are soft woolens, sized rayon, angora, drapery, and upholstery fabrics. Shrinkage is very common in all animal skins. Think about the possibility of shrinkage when you make a purchase and leave some room to spare.

White Garments
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Many white garments are treated with fabric finished which may be prone to color changes. Some of these finishes are optical brighteners which may break down during processing. Never launder whites with other color garments or in an overcrowded washing machine. Never launder or dryclean white garments that are part of a set unless all parts of the set are processed together, it could result in different shades in parts of the set.

Plastic Trimming and Coating
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Plastic trimming and coated fabrics have reappeared on the market and with them comes the problem of puckering, peeling and stiffening. Vinyl plastic will always stiffen during drycleaning. If a vinyl or vinyl trimmed garment is not washable, don't buy it. Polyurethane plastic may be drycleanable if it was made with proper quality control. If not, it will peel or pucker. Eventually, after several drycleanings, peeling or puckering may occur even if it was satisfactory to start with. Imitation suede or velvet is usually made by attaching loose fibers to be a base fabric with an adhesive.

Care Labeling
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Federal Trade Commission regulations require a garment to have a sewn label with proper care instructions. Don't buy any garment that has no care instructions. Many instructions are proving to be incorrect. If you buy a garment that has trimming of any type, take it to your knowledgeable drycleaner for an evaluation of its serviceability before you wear it. If there is any doubt of whether it will stand up to drycleaning or wetcleaning, there will still be time to return it for a refund.

Garment Life Expectancy (Depreciation)
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The value of a garment is keyed to its life expectancy if it is lost, stolen or damaged and a claim must be adjusted. The following guide is nationally used and was compiled by experts from information gathered over a period of years.