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About Laundry Shirts |
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There just isn't anyway at home, that you
can make a dress shirt look as nice as a freshly commercially laundered shirt.
There is, however, a down side to having your dress shirts commercially
laundered - they wear out slightly faster. Commercial shirt laundries uses a
strong alkali detergent in hot water. The alkalinity has to be neutralized with
a mild acid solution. The shirt is then pressed while still damp with a very
hot chromed press which literally bakes in the smooth crisp finish which makes
commercial shirt laundry so desirable. This process can be hard on the fabric.
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These types of problems are beyond
the control of the commercial shirt laundry:
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Disappearing pinstripes. Close examination of damaged
pinstripes will show the colored yarns are actually missing, leaving a skeletal
framework of white yarns. Most manufacturers are now using dyes that are not
affected as much by the acid neutralizing solutions, and most dry cleaners are
now using a "pH controlled" or "buffered" acids olution.
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Puckering around the collar or cuffs. It is usually caused by
shrinkage of the interfacing within the collar or cuffs. This is a
manufacturer's defect, and if it can not be corrected by your cleaner, the
shirt should be returned to the store from which you purchased it.
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Mottled gray or shiny look to collar or cuffs. The problem
occurs when excess adhesive is used to fuse the collar or cuff fabric to the
interfacing. When pressed, this excess adhesive softens and penetrates the
outer fabric. This is a manufacturer's defect.
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Yellowing of collars or cuffs. Some interfacings react
adversely with chlorine. If your cleaner used chlorine bleach, this type of
problem may occur. Most dry cleaners use oxygen-type bleaches which do not
react with chorine retentive resins.
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Fugitive Dyes. The care label rule states that the color in a
garment must withstand the recommended care procedure. If the dyes in a
multicolored shirt are not colorfast to water, bleeding will occur. The dye
will migrate into adjacent areas during the washing process. Some dyes dissolve
in water and are partially removed during laundering. After the first
laundering, the lightening of color may be apparent, or it may be progressive
and only noticeable after several laundering procedures.
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Consumer Spillage. Household products like medicinal agents,
strong acids, the acid residue of some foodstuffs and beverages, or liquid
chlorine bleach can easily damage a shirt. Spillage of a strong household
product causes localized fabric weakness or color loss in the area of contact
with the fabric. This type of damage may not show up until after washing. This
type of staining is not unique to shirts
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| Wear Life Expectancy: |
Determining how long a shirt should last is difficult due to
the variances in frequency of wear. However, industry experience show that, on
the average, shirts have about a two year wear life expectancy. The number of
launderings is a better measuring method. The average shirt should have a wear
life of 35 to 50 washings. This will fluctuate depending on the amount of
abrasion and strain placed on the shirt during wear, the fiber content, the
type of fabric, and the laundering procedures.
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There is nothing like a fresh, crisp, commercially laundered
dress shirt to help you feel good about yourself. Try it.
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