In my closet is a corner dedicated to beautiful clothes I
never wear. They need dry cleaning, an expensive hassle.
I'm not great at home care either. A wool stocking cap
I bought a few weeks ago snuck into the dryer and came out
a tiny, pet-sized version (if you own a shivering Chihuahua,
give me a call).
But the advent of Proctor & Gamble's biodegradable
Dryel, which claims to take care of dry-clean-only clothes
at home, made me decide to test my luck. I picked up a Dryel
starter kit and tested it along with Nordstrom's concentrated
Silk Wash and Stain Remover, and Folex carpet cleaner.
Here's a rundown of my (somewhat scientific) experiment.
As subjects, I used a vulnerable white silk blouse and
a lavender lambswool sweater torn into three separate pieces.
First, I stained the blouse and sweater pieces with red
wine, tomato-based hot sauce, black ballpoint-pen ink and
lipstick (just like on the detergent commercials!). Then
I let the stains set for 30 minutes, at which point I enjoyed
a glass of the merlot used in the experiment.
| |
methodology |
result |
conclusion |
DRYEL
$10.49 at
Fred Meyer,
various locations |
I rubbed the Dryel stain stick on each nasty stain.
An absorbent pad from the kit underneath picked up the
stains that passed through the fabric. I loaded the
damaged goods into the Dryel garbage-baglike garment
bag, added a pre-moistened Dryel cloth, sealed it and
tossed it into the dryer on medium heat for 30 minutes.
(The bags will melt in a commercial dryer; use only
at home.) |
The wine and ballpoint-pen stains didn't come out
entirely, but the others did. Both the blouse and the
sweater emerged from the dryer with no measurable shrinkage
and smelling nice, sort of like fabric softener, and
the wrinkles had disappeared from the blouse. |
Works well for removing some stains, as well as odors
(like smoke and sweat) and wrinkles from delicate items.
At $10.49 for up to 16 garments, it's a hell of a lot
cheaper than dry cleaning, although dry cleaning uses
hot chemical solutions that actually clean the fibers
themselves. (Tip: Hang garments for a bit after they
come out of the bag before wearing so you don't smell
like a big roll of Bounce.) |
|
NORDSTROM SILK WASH AND STAIN REMOVER
$8 for 20 ounces in the lingerie department,
various locations |
The Nordstrom sales staff assured me it was safe for
hand-washing and spot-cleaning lingerie, silk, hosiery,
cashmere and the like, so I poured a tiny amount of
the concentrate on each stain and rubbed it in the fabric.
Then I hand-washed both fabrics in the dilute liquid
with cold water and laid them flat to dry. |
Took out all of the stains on the blouse and sweater,
followed by impressive results with hand-washing. |
Works incredibly well on stains, and it's also a good
choice for lingerie: Throw bras and panties in a mesh
garment bag in the machine and it won't destroy the
elastic. |
|
FOLEX
$5.99 for 32 ounces at Fred Meyer stores |
This stuff was highly recommended for stain removing
by Ray Tillotson, vintage-wear expert and owner of Ray's
Ragtime at 1021 SW Morrison St. I spritzed the industrial-strength,
odorless cleaner on the stains, waited two minutes before
rubbing them gently with a damp cloth, and hung the
fabric to dry. |
It lifted away all stains on the lavender sweater
and most on the silk blouse. The ink stains on the white
silk grew fainter but didn't disappear entirely. It
did, however, eradicate a longtime grease spot on my
favorite gabardine blouse in a later experiment. |
This stuff is especially handy for removing grease,
makeup, wine, food and old stains without having to
wash the entire garment. Granted, it only comes in a
huge size, but you can't beat the price and you can
use it on your carpet, too. |
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Willamette Week | originally
published February 2,
2000
|
