As trained professionals, we have encountered every conceivable laundry wash clothes problem. Grass stains on summer shorts, wine stains on dresses, food stains on white linen, smudged ink on dress shirts. We clean anything you’ve worn, loved, and stained. We’ve learned a thing or two about clothing maintenance over the past century.
It’s no exaggeration to say that, as United Kingdom oldest dry cleaner, we know everything there is to know about taking care of your clothes, but we don’t keep that information to ourselves. There is no such thing as a silk wedding dress, a wool coat, or even a cotton button-down shirt. What this means is that we know our customers do a large portion of the clothing maintenance themselves. Here on the Parkers blog, we’ve accumulated all the laundry charts and symbol guides we’ve ever posted over the years for your convenience.
Reading care labels for garments
Home washing machines with standard cycles are fine for things like socks and sheets, but would you wash your silk camisole in the same way you wash clothes your gym socks? Not in our humble opinion.
It’s best to begin with the garment’s own care instructions, which can be found on the tag. They not only contain details about the garment’s construction, but also the instructions on how to best care for it.
This retro blog post includes a useful infographic from Love2Laundry to assist you in making sense of all the teeny-tiny triangles, circles, dots, and stripes.
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e really need to wash Clothes our hands before eating?
Do you have to actually use soap and water to clean your hands if something says “hand wash only”? We thank God that’s not the case.
To “hand wash” something means to treat it with the utmost care and gentleness; you can do this by hand or, if you have a more modern washing machine, you may be able to select “hand wash clothes” as a washing option. This would be the most gradual cycle imaginable, with agitation and rest periods alternating every few minutes.
Understand the ins and outs of hand washing and other laundry jargon.
Oh, you mean wet cleaning?
Just because it’s called “Dry cleaning” doesn’t mean it’s the same as what you do in your own laundry room once a week. It so happens that we are well-versed in the specialized clothing care method known as wet cleaning. On the care label, you’ll find a circle with a W if the item can be wash clothes in water.
As it only requires water and biodegradable detergents, it is much gentler than washing at home and even hand washing. Even if a label says “hand wash only,” it may be best to wet clean the item rather than wring it out in the sink.
That’s why it’s important to learn as much as possible! The good news is that we’re not just a nearby dry cleaner in London; we also offer wet cleaning services in the area.
Animals and cleaning
Anyone who has ever shared their home with a pet knows that critters have a habit of wandering off whenever they please. The most important thing we can tell you about doing laundry in a pet-friendly environment?
We’re talking once a week, if not more frequently than that. You don’t want to be breathing in fur and dander that lowers air quality while you sleep.
Simple advice on doing the laundry
- Sort items by colour, fabric, and soil level before washing, then inspect pockets and pre-treat stains.
- Carefully select the temperature and the cycle. (The use of appropriate care labels will help immensely!)
- You should measure your detergent and fabric softener carefully to prevent any overflow.
- Do not believe the myth that putting too much into the washer will produce clean results. (Intended rhyme — commit it to memory!)
- Please do not leave your damp laundry in the wash clothes machine for an extended period of time after the cycle has finished.
We delve a little deeper into these five guidelines for clothing care in this timeless blog post from a few years ago. The next time you’re doing laundry at home, take a look and see what you need to know to succeed.
