If you’re lucky enough to enjoy an outdoor clothesline, there are a few tricks to drying laundry outdoors. Shake damp laundry to smooth out wrinkles before hanging. Dry shirts on hangers for crease-free results, ready for touchup ironing. Hang pants by the bottom hem. That’s the way to hang t-shirts and polos, too. Hang “departments” of like items to make sorting and folding go faster. Splurge on good wooden clothespins and don’t forget to wipe down the clothesline when it gets grimy.

For some of the lucky ones, that might be a margarita order.  For the rest of us, winter isn’t so kind. If you slogged through winter snowbanks or slushy curbs your cuffs, coats and hems picked up more than frosty dew. Urban winter brings a special mix of grime, salt, road dirt and grit that can soak in and leave a mess. We have years of experience removing the soils of winter on everything from cashmere to cotton and know how to remove the salt, the splash and the stain.

The next sunny day’s a good time to strip off winter bedding and clean pillows, comforters/duvets, quilts and blankets. Our commercial-size machines treat your fine bedding gently and we press and finish to perfection with professional equipment. Now’s a perfect time to clean everything before storing winter heavyweights.

a little goes a long way. Related to soap, fabric softeners coat laundry with a waxy lubricant that lets the fibers slide past each other, reducing wrinkling and softening scratchiness. They also make napped fibers stand on end for fluffiness and reduc...

is an old-school favorite for comfort and warmth. To protect the pile, launder corduroy garments inside out, following care instruction labels to a tee. Iron inside out while still damp, then turn right side out and smooth the pile in the right directi...

The stain removing “magic” of club soda works part of the time for part of the stains. It never works on grease or oil. Greasy stains look absorbed and have no “ring.” Never use club soda on fine fabrics like silks. The dyes may bleed and run. Splashing club soda on wine, coffee or colored sodas will loosen and dilute the stain. Blot – never rub – to prevent the stain from bleeding into surrounding areas. And bring the garment to us as soon as possible.

Most washing machines have a Delicate setting, some go so far as to label it Hand Washables. When the care label calls for hand washing, it’s calling for gentle squeezing rather than machine agitation to minimize stretching and mis-shaping. If the label says delicate or gentle machine washing, the garment will stand up to longer, more active laundering. Any time you want to reduce agitation and stress on the garment structure, use a net “lingerie” bag. Or skip the extra steps and bring your delicate sweaters and garments to our experts. We provide gentle care, every day.

Ever wear a new pair of jeans straight from the store and notice your hands and shirt turned blue? When dye transfers by friction, it’s called crocking and the indigo dye in blue jeans is a notorious crocker. Before you leave blue everywhere, the washing machine is your first stop. Do a first wash with cold water, before the rinse cycle starts, stop the machine and add two cups white vinegar and let soak for a couple of hours. Then turn the machine back to finish. Hang and air dry your jeans, then press with the hottest iron setting. Then throw them back into the machine for one more cold-water wash.

It’s not your imagination that some workout clothes reek after ten minutes while old-school all-cotton stays relatively sweet. NPR reports that researchers have found there are certain malodorous microbes that only thrive on polyester. The traditional solutions for stinky gym clothes like vinegar or baking soda just can’t fight the tenacious Micrococcus bacteria. Impregnating polyester fabrics with silver particles or triclosan antimicrobial pesticide have serious side effects. Scientists think the best answer might found by using good bacteria to fight the bad. Probiotic deodorant? We’ll rely on professional laundry products until then.

Using too much fabric softener on towels can leave a waxy, water-resistant coating on the fibers that is the opposite effect of a good towel. Would you use wax paper or a paper towel to blot water? To get your towels back to absorbency, add a quarter cup white vinegar to the rinse cycle for a few washes – without softener, ever. If you have the luxury of a clothes line, nothing beats air dried towels for a crispy, fresh feeling.