Give your fabric the care it needs
It’s okay to be over-sensitive about clothes and fabrics. It’s not just about the money and time spent in buying them. Sometimes, it’s that emotional bond we develop with a fabric that makes it almost irreplaceable. Here are some enlightening tips on how to protect and preserve your fabrics and clothes that will not only make them last longer, but will also make you look better.
No stain, no pain
Getting fabrics stained, once in a while, is unavoidable. It’s not possible to always prevent it, so the best defence is to just learn how to effectively remove it. Follow these steps:
Blot the stain; don’t rub it
Rubbing spreads the stain to the clean areas. Simply dab the stain to reduce its density while it’s still fresh.
Soak up the excess
Use a dry absorbent like baking soda or cornstarch to soak up the excess spillage. This is particularly useful for tough greasy stains.
Pre-treat the gunk
Depending on the nature of the stain, pre-treat it with a stain remover or presoak it overnight to separate the gunk from the fibres.
Wash off the residue
The remaining residue is the hardest to remove. Spin the fabric in hot water using a strong detergent. For stubborn stains, add some vinegar to the last cycle.
Limit the furring
As clothes age, they fur. Lower quality fabrics age faster than others, but there are ways to control and limit the furring.
Turn clothes inside out before wash
Increased exposure to water causes more friction. Protect the outer surface of clothes from the wear by turning them inside out before washing.
Roll the lint out
Lint is abrasive for cloth fibres and causes them to fur. Prevent lint build-up by regularly rolling it out using a lint remover.
Use a fabric shaver
If you notice furring, immediately shave it away using a fabric shaver. This will prevent the fibres from further damage.
Let the white shine
White is perhaps the most soothing of all colours. But it is also the most difficult one to maintain. Always separate your whites to avoid mixing of colours. Here are some other useful tips to ensure your whites always remain the colour they are meant to be:
Add a whitener
Sometimes strong detergents can take their toll on white fabrics. Use a whitener once in a while to retain that sparkling shine.
Use vinegar or lemon
Add in two tablespoons of vinegar or lemon squeeze before the final rinse and hang out in bright sunshine to dry to keep the whites fresh and crisp.
Clean up your bed sheets
Spending one-third of the day resting in bed, we leave behind hundreds of microscopic dead cells that flake off the skin, in addition to the sweat we perspire and the oils we secrete. This necessitates a through wash of the bed sheets every once in a while to keep them clean and hygienic. Here are a few tips on how to wash them effectively and make them last longer:
Roll sheets into a ball
Prevent the sheets from stretching out and losing shape by balling up them before tossing them into the washer.
Always wash separately
Since sheets are big, they require more washing space. Overloading could damage the sheets and cause them to age faster.
Use medium or low setting
One small wear can render the entire sheet to waste. Always wash at low to medium setting as high heat can cause fibres to weaken.
