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How Vinegar Can Improve Your Laundry Pile

Vinegar and Your Laundry Pile

We are sure you have heard the saying you will “go a lot further with sugar, than with vinegar”. Normally we would agree, but for the lifecycle of your clothes and your laundry game, the opposite is true. Here’s a little reminder of how distilled white vinegar is every household’s little laundry helper.

woman doing laundry

It Removes Stains

Commercial stain removers are effective at their job, but vinegar is tried and tested for removing stubborn and common stains, such as; blood, grass, ink, mildew, crayons, vomit, coffee & tea, tomato, mustard and rust. Vinegar can come to the rescue in all of these “stain situations” due to the acetic acid in it, that is both mild and effective in dissolving residues, giving a second act to your wardrobe. Soak the stains in equal part vinegar and water for about 15 minutes (longer for grass stains) before rinsing it with cool water. For tough stains, rub salt on the stain as well to help break down the residue (especially good for crayons). Make sure the stain is out after removing it from the wash before you dry the article of clothing.

It Can Help Keep Your Dark Clothing Stay Dark

Did you know that adding half a cup of distilled white vinegar to the final rinse in your cycle can help your favourite dark skinny jeans stay dark? The vinegar helps to remove residual soap and detergent that is responsible for dulling dark articles over time. Which is also the culprit behind dulling your whites. Which explains why it has the ability to…

It Also brighten your Whites

The secret in white vinegar is that the acetic acid in it is mild to all fabrics.

It Gets Rid of Odours

You have probably made “that face” when doing laundry and noticing that certain odours have started to make a home on your clothing, even after being in the wash. For athletic gear and their sweaty odour, fill a spray bottle with undiluted white vinegar. Spray the areas of concern and let the vinegar soak for a few minutes before placing it in the wash. To get rid of the yellowing that can occur with sweat stains, cover the stain in vinegar and rub salt into it. Best to use a coarser salt, but if regular table salt is all you have handy – just add extra elbow grease. Then air dry the garment before putting it in the wash. For smoke odours, add half a cup of vinegar to a hot wash cycle.

vinegar for laundry

It Acts as a Natural Fabric Softener

Distilled white vinegar is a great alternative to commercial fabric softeners. It is both hypoallergenic and safe and can carry less of a heavy scent compared to branded softeners. To use, add one cup to your final rinse cycle.

It Cleans Your Laundry Tools

Over time your washing machine can gather a build up of soap residue and mineral deposits. This can restrict its cleaning performance by blocking the flow of water. It is recommended a few times a year to run a complete wash cycle with the machine empty using hot water and a cup of vinegar. The same build-up can happen with your trusty Iron, causing blockages in its spray nozzle and steam vents. This is remedied by filling its water chamber with an equal measure of water and vinegar. Placing the iron in a safe heatproof place and in an upright position you can let it steam for a few minutes. After the iron has cooled off, rinse out the chamber with water. Fill it with water again and give it a good shake to allow the water to seep through the water vents. Vinegar can also be used to clean any scorch marks on the faceplate of your Iron. First, make a paste of vinegar and salt and rub onto the faceplate of the Iron when it is cool and turned off. Wipe off the paste with a cloth that has been sprayed with vinegar and then once again with a cloth that has been dampened with only water.

*Not only is distilled white vinegar a great option to add to your laundry routine it is also the environmentally friendly option too. Make sure when selecting a vinegar that you chose a distilled white vinegar to avoid any tannins or dyes.

After all that laundry, contact our cleaning professionals to help keep your space clean so you can do more of what you love to do.

Contact Goldstar Cleaning Services Group today at +1 250 423 4029

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Some Back-to-School Organizing Tips

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” Staples Business Depot’s iconic 1996 commercial, featuring an exuberant dad back-to-school shopping with his not-so-enthusiastic kids, captures the feeling of relief felt by many parents at the end of summer. However, the daily school routine comes with its own organizational challenges for both adults and children. So before you start singing from the rooftops, take some time to prepare a back-to-school plan that will make everyone happy to be hitting the books this fall. Start a back-to-school routine Routine is important for school-aged children. Two weeks before school starts, re-introduce kids to a typical school day schedule. Younger children in particular will benefit from earlier bedtimes, while teenagers should be gradually woken up closer to the hour they’ll need to rise when school begins. Make sure you leave enough time for things like breakfast, bathroom time and the trip to the bus stop. As the week progresses, you can make adjustments to ensure everyone has plenty of time to get ready. Create a centralized school calendar Keeping track of parent-teacher meetings, band rehearsals and hockey practices can seem like an impossible task. Take some of the stress out of after-school scheduling by creating a one-stop calendar for events and deadlines. The calendar should be prominent, easy to use and utilize a format that everyone is comfortable with. (A large dry-erase board or a 12-month paper calendar works serves as an excellent visual reminder for younger children, while older kids may benefit from email or text-based reminders). Make the calendar part of your daily routine: Get in the habit of adding events to the calendar as soon as you hear about them (older children can help with posting duties). Talk to your kids about upcoming events so they won’t forget. Organize your back-to-school shopping Involve your kids in back-to-school shopping by having them help you prepare a shopping list before you hit the mall. This (hopefully) will prevent in-store arguments and tantrums. Most schools will provide you with a list of required back-to-school supplies, which can serve as a starting point for back-to-school shopping. With clothing, clear out some space in your kids’ wardrobe before going on a spending spree. Go through each item in your child’s closet, setting aside anything your child has outgrown (older children can help with this). Discard or donate anything your child will no longer wear. Don’t go overboard buying stuff you think your child might need. Instead, wait until the first week of school to purchase any items you may have left off the list. Gather your documents Now is the time to start looking for vaccination records, birth certificates, doctors notes and other documents your child might require for school. Make photocopies of these documents before you send them off to school. Check your school’s website to make sure you have everything necessary to start the year off right!

How to tackle grass stains on clothing

You can be sure these clothes are going to have grass stains on them by the end of the day (istockphoto.com)
You can be certain this kid’s outfit is going to have grass stains on it by the end of the day. (istockphoto.com)
 

If you enjoy spending time outdoors in the summer, you know that nature inevitably leaves its mark on your clothes in the form of unsightly, hard-to-clean grass stains.

You can blame chlorophyll, the chemical that gives plants their green hue, for ruining your favourite pair of jeans. In addition to being a strong dye, chlorophyll binds well with natural fibres, making it notoriously difficult to remove.

While delicate materials like silk or wool should always be handled by a professional dry cleaner, denim and cotton clothes can benefit from grass cleaning solutions you can make at home. The basic steps are similar in each case:

Note: Some cleaners can fade or discolour clothing. Always “spot test” cleaners on an inconspicuous location before applying it to the stain.

Step 1: Give the stain a hot water bath. Run the stain under hot water, preferably using a high-pressure nozzle. This will remove any solid grass pieces and loosen the stain. For best results, you should clean the stain as soon as possible to keep it from setting.

Step 2: Scrub the stain with detergent. Any liquid detergent will do. Use a scrub brush or a toothbrush and thoroughly scrub the affected area, then rinse.

Step 3. Apply a cleaning agent. There are literally dozens of products that claim to remove grass stains, but the simplest and most cost-effective home remedy is a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda on the stain, then pour the vinegar over top and scrub the mixture while it fizzes.

Step 4: Launder in warm or hot water. Most denim clothing can handle your washer’s hot water cycle, while cotton clothes can be washed in warm water. Just in case, you should always follow the washing instructions on the label. Wash with detergent as normal.

If the stain persists after step 4, don’t put the clothing in the dryer – this will cause the stain  to set. Instead, repeat steps 3 and 4 using “harsher” cleaners, starting with rubbing alcohol and then progressing to chlorine bleach. You can also try natural digestive enzymes, which are available at most health food stores. Mix the contents of several enzyme capsules in lukewarm water until you get a mixture with the consistency of toothpaste. Scrub the mixture into the stain and let it sit for 20 minutes, then repeat step 4.

How to remove grass stains from clothing

It’s summer, the sun is out and it’s time to send your kids outside for an outdoors adventure. Don’t worry what state their clothes will come back in – Goldstar Cleaning Services’ guide to removing grass stains from clothing will stop you spending your whole summer doing laundry. 1. Soak Try to keep the grass stain wet until you have the materials and time to clean it. Heat will ‘seal’ the grass stain and may halt any chance of removing it completely, so make sure you inspect the clothing after washing before you hang it out in the sun or stick it in the dryer. If the grass stain is still visible, soak and consider dropping it off at Goldstar Cleaning Services Drycleaning Depot at 1591 10th Ave, Fernie for treatment by Prestige Dry Cleaning. 2. Common household stain busters Apply rubbing alcohol to the grass stain to try to loosen it, leave for 15 minutes then wash with your usual  detergent. You can also apply a paste of equal parts baking soda and vinegar and rub into the fabric with your fingers – the fizzing action should help loosen the grass stain. 3. A sweet way to clean leather shoes Believe it or not, molasses will ‘draw out’ grass stains on your white leather running shoes (or any leather item). Massage a good dollop into the leather, leave overnight and wash the shoes with warm water and a gentle soap. 4. Prevention will save a lot of scrubbing Let kids be kids without worrying about how you will remove the grass stains, and send them out to play soccer in clothes that won’t cause you a lot of extra laundry. Grass stains are less likely to stain manmade fabrics than natural fibres such as cotton, and dark colours show the stains less than light. 5. Know when to hand it over to the professionals Goldstar Cleaning Services is a depot for Prestige Dry Cleaning – drop off and pick up items at 1591 10th Ave, Fernie. You need to get grass stains professionally dry cleaned if: • You have tried one of the stain removers above, washed it as normal and the stain is still there. • The item is fragile or is marked dry clean only. Get it checked professionally as soon as possible after the stain is caused – the longer you wait, the more likely the stain will not be removable.