Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Dry-Clean-Only Clothes You Can Wash at Home [Clothes] . Your finer clothing's tags may tell you otherwise, but you could be saving money by cleaning certain items at home. A veteran dry cleaner helpfully explain what does and doesn't need the plastic bag treatment. Photo by robinsonsmay. Karl Hule runs Eco Dry Cleaners in San Francisco, and uses environmentally friendly "wet cleaning" on items that don't need the full chemical bath. He tells the EcoSalon blog that certain items that claim to be dry clean only can be taken care of at home: "I think polyester and nylon are probably the safest, including recycled polyester from PET bottles, because the plastic in it will hold everything together. Bamboo is an organic product that cleans very nicely and is easily accessible if handled correctly, but you have to be careful not to put too much agitation to the rayon because that will cause it to break or get fuzzy." Surprisingly, Hule recommends against handling fine cotton items because of the importance of maintaining texture and feel. His shop's Cleaning Tips section offers some tips for those looking to handle their own delicate cleaning at home. Dry Clean Only? An Eco Expert Tells Us When It's Safe to Ignore Labels [EcoSalon via Consumerist] [Lifehacker] 2:23:55 PM

© Copyright 2009 Jocelyn Shaw. Last update: 7/7/2009; 3:37:34 PM. Photo curtesy of Marjorie O'Brien