Q. I picked up my pants from the cleaners and I noticed a stain that was not there when I dropped them off.  What happened?

A. You could have an oil stain on your pants. Oil stains from edible vegetable or cooking oils are often colorless at first, but as they absorb oxygen from the air (oxidize) turn yellow.  After contact with a fabric, an oil stain usually forms small crosses as it spreads out in all directions along individual yarns.

Other food and beverages, such as champagne or white wine can cause stains that are invisible when they first contact fabrics.  As with oil stains they oxidize and darken with age and or heat.  Heat, such as that used in pressing clothing, causes a faster oxidation and a more apparent stain.

If garments are cleaned regularly or soon after something is spilled, the stain can usually be removed.

My white pants turned gray after washing. What happened?

A. The discoloration is usually attributed to one of two problems. Most whites are treated with fluorescent whiteners or optical brighteners during manufacturing to achieve a desired shade of white. Brighteners decompose with age, exposure to light, or, in some cases, the heat of cleaning. Washing the item in bleach will also destroy the brighteners. Decomposition causes the white fabric to appear dull and dingy, or have a slightly yellow or green color.

The other reason is improper washing. Overloading the washer or low water or detergent levels contributes to this problem since soils are not flushed out in rinsing but redeposit on the items in the load. It may be possible to remove impurities from laundered items by rewashing in a load with adequate water and detergent levels.

Q: I tried using hairspray and water to get an ink stain out of my dress shirt. It removed the ink, but left a discolored mark where the ink used to be. What happened?

Drycleaning & Laundry Institute, the premier trade association for garment care, utilized its research and testing expertise to gauge the effectiveness of home drycleaning kits, and found that in general they do not provide complete removal of all types of stains. They also cannot remove ground-in soil. These products can freshen garments by removing odors and imparting a pleasant fragrance.
What do you get in a home drycleaning kit?

Garments are freshened when they are placed inside the dryer with the cloth, which is activated by the heat of the dryer. Up to four garments can be placed in a bag (along with the dryer-activated cloth) when using one of these products. The stain removal solution (which is dispensed form a plastic bottle) is applied directly on the stain, while the user holds an absorbent pad underneath the stained fabric.

Consumers are instructed to apply the solution until the stain is no longer visible or until it is evident that the stain cannot be removed. For kits that employ only a dryer-activated cloth, consumers are advised to use the cloth to remove stains. All kits recommend removing stains before garments are placed in the dryer.

What can you expect?

In general, most of the products work well on freshening or removing odors such as smoke. Therefore, these products can be successfully used to freshen garments; for example, removing odors from sweaters after winter storage.

In terms of stain removal, DLI found that most of the products work well on water-based stains such as cola. Stains that are oil-based (ketchup, lipstick) presented more of a challenge for the home drycleaning kits. In some cases, these products caused the stain to spread, which created a bigger stain. None of the products removed ground-in soils, which consumers typically see as “ring around the collar” or dirty cuffs.

Can home drycleaning kits cause damage?

When using a home drycleaning kit, consumers should beware of the following types of damage they could induce when using the stain removal solutions: rings, chafing, broken fibers on a loose weave, local shrinkage on crepe or water-sensitive fabrics.

DLI’s testing found that home drycleaning kits failed to completely remove stains such as ketchup, lipstick, and cuff soil, resulting in a less-than-satisfactory appearance.

Home drycleaning Kits versus Professional drycleaning
Performance Factors	Home DC Kit	Professional drycleaning
Removes odors
Removes wrinkles
Removes water-based stains (cola, wine, milk)
Removes oil-based stains (vegetable oil, shoe polish, butter)
Removes difficult stains (ball-point ink*, lipstick, makeup)
Cleans (removes dirt, body oils)
Restores creases and pleats
Imparts crisp, tailored appearance
*Ball-point ink stains may be set when initially treated with water-based stain removal solutions.

In an emergency, should I use club soda to treat the stain?

First, there is nothing special about club soda as a stain remover agent. If you are attempting any do-it-yourself stain treatment just remember this:

BLOT, DON’T RUB. Silk will chafe easily or develop light areas if rubbed while wet. Get the garment to us ASAP.

Care Suggestions

• Apply perfume, cologne, deodorant, and hair spray before dressing to prevent color loss and staining.
• Exercise great caution with household products. It’s almost a sure-fire way to ruin a terrific garment if left untreated.
• Never use chlorine bleach or products containing chlorine on silk. It will permanently change the color.
• Store garments in a dark area. Long exposure to sunlight or even strong lights can cause streaks and fading.
• Blot, don’t rub silk when wet.

We have the experience and knowledge to carefully clean all of your silk garments.

Should I dryclean or wash my silk garment?

We know that silk responds well to drycleaning. Washing silk at home may result in shrinkage, limpness, and considerable fading. We recommend following the manufacturer’s care label instructions with a reminder that, in most instances, a garment with a washable label can also be safely drycleaned.

I did wash it at home and now look at it. Can you help me?

Regrettably, some ‘washable’ silk dyes do not react well to water. Oftentimes vibrant colors fade in washing, resulting in fading or multi-colored dyes will run into one another. We see it especially

when light and darker dyed fabrics are combined. We routinely double check colorfastness before we begin any cleaning process. You should too when washing at home.

From time to time, we can brighten faded colors with a special professional process. However, it is only a temporary fix.

Can you get the underarm stains out?

Well, yes and no. We know how to address this problem and we do. But, sometimes perspiration and other conditions of wear result in a permanent color change.

Also, contact with chloride salts weaken silk. In addition to perspiration, chloride salts are present in many types of beverages, food, medicines, and yes, salt water. The most common type of chloride damage is the result from perspiration or contact with an antiperspirant.

If you perspire in it, clean the garment as soon as possible. This may help avoid permanent staining, irreversible fabric damage, color loss, or color changes. Use of underarm shields may minimize some of these conditions.

It looks like the color is gone in certain areas. What happened?

Loss of color in localized areas usually occurs because the fabric came in contact with a substance during consumer use. Contact with any of the following can cause discoloration:

• Hand sanitizers

• Body sprays

• Deodorants and other consumer and household products

• Moisturizers and other skin care products

• Alcohol

• Perfume or cologne

• Hair spray

• Shampoo

• Home detergents and dish liquids

• Toothpaste

• Facial cleansers

• Products containing chlorine

• Mouthwash and other astringents

My sueded silk looks lighter in some areas and darker in others. What’s going on?

Sueded silk refers to a slightly brushed fabric finish which makes the fabric feel and look like velvet suede.

Areas that are repeatedly rubbed during wear may lose this finish, creating lighter areas or a shaded appearance. We typically see this occurrence in the seat, waist, inner thigh, elbows, or other areas of wear. The edges or folds at the lapels, hems, collar, and cuff may show loss of the sueded finish as well.

FICTION – Shirts (and sometimes other garments) don’t shrink.

FACT – Yes they can if the material has not been properly preshrunk or some other element of construction has not been properly stabilized.

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. A fresh, laundered and well-pressed shirt is essential.

We successfully launder hundreds of shirts every day. And we are very good at it. But, like all things, shirts can outlive their useful life or exhibit other problems. Whether your shirts are store bought, custom-made, expensive,or inexpensive, the problems below identifies and explains are those we encounter from time to time.

“I can’t wear my favorite shirt anymore.” The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute tells us that the average life expectancy of a shirt is about 35–50 washes, or roughly two years. But even this will fluctuate depending on the amount of abrasion and strain placed on the shirt during wear, the fiber content, and how the shirt is constructed. Sometimes they simply wear out.

“Do you really have a person whose only job is to crack buttons?” No. But we do quickly check every shirt for cracked or missing buttons and replace them before it is returned to you. Do we sometimes miss a button? Yes. But should this happen, you need only point it out and we will immediately take care of it.

“It’s a brand new shirt and the color has run all over it! You must have washed it wrong.” The Federal Trade Commission’s Care Labeling Rule states that all components in a garment must withstand the recommended care procedures. If one or more dyes in a multi-colored shirt are not colorfast, bleeding will occur whether you wash it at home or we launder it for you. Significant dye failure is attributable to poor manufacturing and should be returned to the retailer.

“The collar and cuffs are full of wrinkles!” Puckering and excess fabric in the collar and cuffs is often the result of the interfacing shrinking leaving an overabundance of outer fabric. We can’t reverse this circumstance. The manufacturer is responsible for using interfacing that is compatible with the shirt fabric.

“What happened to my pinstripes?” At first glance it may look like color loss from bleach, yet a close examination will reveal that only the colored pinstripe yarns are missing, leaving a skeletal framework of the white yarns. Here’s why: the colored yarns were dyed with fiber-reactive or sulfurbased dyes that degrade with repeated laundering. As the shirt nears its life expectancy, the colored yarns can simply wash away.

“Why are the underarm stains still there?” Most damage in the underarm area is directly related to consumer use. Perspiration, if allowed to stay in a shirt will eventually stain and weaken the fabric. Aluminum chlorides, a key ingredient found in antiperspirants, also weaken the area under the arms. Frequent laundering after wear may minimize this type of damage.

“What are these gray stains on my sleeve seams?” Discoloration or gray or shiny specks on the shirt seams, collar and cuffs, or placket occurs when the shirt manufacturer uses excessive and improperly applied adhesive to fuse interfacings with the outer fabric. In most cases, prevention of this damage is not possible since it cannot be identified prior to laundering.

“You shrunk my shirt.” Typically, when a shirt is made, the manufacturer has allowed for two to three percent shrinkage by cutting fabric a little larger. Finished dimensions that exceed a pre-determined allowance may become too tight in the neck, too short in the sleeve length, and too tight around the middle. When this happens it is usually the result of poorly stabilized fabric and other elements of construction. There is very little we can do as professional cleaners that will cause excessive shrinkage.

Your Clothes Matter

The way you dress does matter. In fact, by most accounts, it matters a lot.

We’re Not Casual About Casual Wear

How You Can Help

• Stains and soil left too long can be impossible to remove. Studies by the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute show that after aging for only one week, 20% of stains cannot be removed satisfactorily. After three weeks, this increases to 47%. If staining occurs, bring it to us as soon as possible.
• Don’t press stained or soiled clothes. Heat is another factor that makes stains more difficult to remove.
• Please point out spills such as those from white wine, fruit juices, or soft drinks, or other stains that may not be visible, when you bring in your cleaning. These invisible stains require special attention by us in order to prevent them from permanently discoloring your item.
• Perspiration can cause dyes in fabrics to change color so, if possible, protect your garments from excessive contact with perspiration.
• Always allow lotions, antiperspirants, perfume, and other toiletries to dry before you get dressed. These products can contain ingredients that cause color loss or color changes in your garments.
• Protect your garments from prolonged exposure to direct sunlight or strong artificial lights. This too can affect the color in your items.
• Before putting clothes away for storage, have them cleaned to remove stains first. This prevents insects from causing holes in the fabric, and stains from ageing and discoloring.
• Clean all matching pieces together. Whether your work surroundings call for appropriate casual or traditional attire, we know that how you look does matter. That’s one of the reasons we work hard for you and all that you wear.

Dry cleaning is actually a process by which your clothing is immersed in a solvent instead of water.  By immersing the fibers in solvent instead of water, the fibers don’t swell and therefore shrinkage can be controlled.  Dry cleaning is not completely dry. Fluid is used.  We at Star Bright use 3 main fluids for cleaning garments; Perc, Petroleum, and Green Earth.  Each has different properties making it the cleaning solvent of choice for different situations.

Dry Cleaning is not the answer to all soil and stain removal problems. Sometimes, stains become permanently embedded in the fiber, or fabrics cannot withstand normal cleaning and stain removal procedures, or decorative trim is not compatible with dry cleaning solvent. It is important that consumers as well as dry cleaners read all care labels and follow the instructions.

Once we determine what solvent to use to best clean your clothes, they are categorized with like colors and weights of garments for batch cleaning.  The clothes go into the machine dry, they are immersed in a solvent, then after the cleaning cycle the solvent is drained, the clothes are extracted, and the garments are dried before any operator handles the garments.  Sometimes garments need extra spot treatment prior to or following the cleaning process.  Once garments are removed from the machine, the soils remain behind! Now you know a little more about the mystery of dry cleaning!

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