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"never
let 'em see you sweat" -- that
was the advice of a well-known ad campaign several
years back. And most of us said, "Oh,
yeah? HOW?" Of course, they thought their
product would solve all problems, but the truth
is that we sweat in many areas besides the underarms.
So, unless we're
going to coat ourselves in antiperspirant, we
need some other strategies to keep dry.
This
week, we're looking at a few ideas to help you
maintain your cool while everyone around you
is losing theirs in the summer sun.
A little planning, a little preventative maintenance,
and you can be cool even when the mercury goes
higher than your thermometer cares to register.
Some people have a
knack for always looking cool and together.
We'll help you can swipe a few tips from their
playbook and look just as good. We'll
also be here when your clothes need that all-important
freshening up. No sweat!
We hope to see you
soon!
Ed and Mary Longanecker
Iris City Cleaners and Laundering Company |
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Very
DRY Statistic
It is
reported in trade publications that the
antiperspirant and deodorant
category of products
generates over $1.6 billion in sales
each year. |
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Whole
lotta sweatin' goin' on COUPON!
Unless you're from
some other planet, you sweat in the summer.
(Or, if you prefer, you GLOW.) One of
the best ways to preserve your summer wardrobe
items is to have them cleaned frequently so
that the sweat salts don't break down fibers
or bleach out colors permanently. Let
us dryclean three pieces, and we'll do a fourth
of equal or lesser value at no charge.
Pass the sunscreen, will you? (Include
first page of this e-mail with your order.
Offer expires August 19, 2004. Cannot
be combined with other offers.) |
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Perspiration
Stains are no laughing matter!
They're annoying, they're
embarrassing, they're everywhere in summer.
Those ugly wet circles beneath your arms, around
your neck, across your back or chest.
If you've just worked
out, it might look macho to be sweat-stained,
but the rest of the time you'd rather not.
Perspiration includes
a good dose of salt. The salt
it contains is salt you're losing, and that
can upset the electrolyte balance in your body,
as well as have other effects.
Perspiration is your body's way of cooling off.
In the summer, if it's a humid day, you may
not be able to sweat (which is not what you
want if you intend to stay healthy.) The
reason for the lack of perspiration is that
the air is already saturated with water, so
it can't evaporate off your skin. This
can lead to a rise in your body's core temperature
to dangerous levels, even resulting in heat
stroke or death.
- Read
about preventing heat-related illness!
- Heat
Index -- the real effect on you.
This site has charts to help you estimate
the heat index by comparing temperature
to relative humidity or dewpoint.
It also has a handy calculator so you can
figure the heat index for temperatures not
listed on the charts (or, if you're a real
glutton for mathematical punishment, they
have the actual formula, so knock yourself
out!)
That salt, as we've
told you in other newsletters, can also be hard
on your clothes. If
you find bleaching of the colors of a garment
in areas where perspiration tends to gather,
you know what we mean.
That color loss is permanent, so it's a good
idea to have clothes cleaned frequently in summer
to protect them from damage. Salt crystals
are sharp-edged, as well, and can even begin
to weaken the fibers of the garment. |
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Look
COOL, any time!
There are ways you
can look cool, and even feel cool, despite the
temperature and humidity. Haven't you
ever felt like you were about to wilt from the
heat, and then around the corner comes someone
in a white linen get-up with sandals and a shady
hat? Just looking at them makes you feel
cooler, doesn't it? And envious, of course.
Here
are some tips to keep cool by.
- Wear
appropriate antiperspirant.
It sounds silly to have to say it, but
sometimes we just don't think about it
until it's too late. If you are
an excessive perspirer, you may have a
condition called hyperhidrosis.
If so, you can get a prescription for
special antiperspirant from your doctor
that will have many more times the amount
of sweat-preventing aluminum ions than
regular over-the-counter stuff has.
- Wear
light, breathable fabrics in loose layers.
This way you can remove a layer if necessary,
and benefit from the ability of air to
pass through the fabric to your skin and
evaporate that all-important perspiration.
Fabrics that are polyester-based
tend not to breathe as well as cotton,
for instance.
- Wear
undergarments or items that will soak
up sweat before it gets to your visible
garments. Cotton
t-shirts and underwear will absorb a lot
of sweat before it leaks through to your
clothes. There are also
pads you can purchase that are attached
to a very light strap harness to keep
them under your arms. In the days
before antiperspirants, this is how people
controlled sweating, and it still works.
- Stay
out of the sun.
Not only will this help reduce your risk
of many types of skin cancer due to UV
rays, but will keep you cooler, as well.
If you are going somewhere that
doesn't have shade, bring your own --
wear a hat that shades your face or carry
an umbrella. And don't
forget sunscreen for protection.
- If
you know you're going to sweat, select
colors that don't show it so much.
Some fabrics and colors darken considerably
when you perspire, and make it obvious
even from a distance that you're sweating.
Colors like white, black and navy
blue tend to look the same wet or dry.
Colors like red, tan, gold, and
light gray can be discolored by even a
drop of perspiration. To test a
garment, touch a small corner or
bit of a hidden seam with a wet finger.
What you see is what you'll get!
- Do
like the army and camouflage the target!
You can wear clothes in colors other than
the ones that don't show perspiration
by wearing things with an abstract pattern
or print to them. Almost
like camouflage, the pattern will confuse
the eye and keep it from being able to
detect the hard lines of perspiration
circles as easily.
To
keep yesterday's sweat rings from ruining today's
look, be sure to wash or have cleaned garments
that you've perspired in as soon as practical.
Repeated stains can become permanent --
permanently removing that item from your wardrobe. |
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We
are enormously appreciative of the opportunity
to share our weekly newsletters with you.
We feel that much of the content is valuable
for anyone who purchases fine clothing and is
interested in their preservations and cleaning.
Click on the symbol to the right if your would
like to send this and future newsletters to
a friend.
Thanks a million, Ed and Mary
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The
Iris City
Cleaners Connection
is
a weekly news letter dedicated to the interest
of fine garment care, restoration,
and conservation. It is published
in Mt Pleasant, Iowa by Iris City Cleaners and
is an extension of our services described in
www.iriscitycleaners.com
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International
Fabricare Institute
Iris
City Cleaners
is a proud member of the International Fabricare
Institute, a premier association of Dry
Cleaners, Wet Cleaners, and Launderers dedicated
to the advancement of technologies and service
to the textile industry. |
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