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Everybody
has one -- a favorite shirt that is just the
most comfortable thing around. You look
great in it, you feel great in it, and you want
to wear it forever. There's
just one catch: nothing lasts forever.
Believe it or not,
there are people who sit around in labs and
test garments for how long they'll last.
They clean them over and over again, and then
analyze the changes that occur in the fibers.
They test them for how well they hold up, how
soon they rip, how much strength the individual
fibers have. (And you thought you had
a dull job!)
This week, learn how
long Old Faithful may be with you. And
have a laugh learning more about dryer lint
and what you can do with it!
See you soon,
Ed and Mary Longanecker
Iris City Cleaners and Laundering Company |
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Quote
of the Week
"When
I said, 'I Do'
I didn't mean Laundry." |
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The
Shirt Off Your Back Coupon
You
make a great impression in a crisp, pressed
shirt. We do a lot of shirts, and we're
expert at it. You know you don't enjoy
washing, starching and ironing them yourself,
so bring 'em on! We'll
do a shirt at no charge for each four regular
dry cleaning items you give us to handle.
(Include
the first page of this e-mail with your order.
Offer expires 2/06/04. Cannot be combined
with other offers.) |
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What's
Your Life Expectancy?
No, not your personal
life expectancy (a palm reader would have about
as good a chance of guessing that as we would)
but the life expectancy of the average dress
shirt? Does it pay to buy a better shirt?
Are there ways to extend a shirt's life?
The
common cotton dress shirt is generally expected
to last through 35-40 washings.
Of course, they don't fall apart on the hanger
after the 41st washing, but the fibers are beginning
to reach critical mass for failure after that
point. Better-made shirts, and those of
heavier fabric will last longer, of course.
If
you've got a mixture of regular broadcloth shirts and
Oxfords, it might surprise you to know they
don't age the same way.
Broadcloth is
a weave using heavier threads in the filling
direction(up and down -- warp, side to side
-- fill threads.) (Picture your bright
white dress shirts.) Oxfords
actually have twice as many warp threads as
fill threads, and so they start out their lives
with more strength from a fiber standpoint.
They have more tensile
strength (force required to
break several yarns in one fabric direction)
and tear strength
(force required to break one yarn at a time).
However, since the two warp threads are simply
placed side by side and not twisted together,
and the filling yard is as thick as the two
together, the different weights of the individual
threads actually leads to wear and reduction
in strength over the life of the shirt.
While Oxfords start
out stronger than their broadcloth counterparts,
they end up about the same by the 50th washing.
Extending
Your Life
It's tempting to think
that if a shirt is good for a certain number
of washings that if you just wash it less it
will last longer. That's not true.
Stains and the debris of life (dust, dirt, pollen
grains, food particles, pet hair) work their
way into the fibers. Many
of these tiny things actually have sharp edges
to them, and they act like little saws, gradually
abrading the individual fibers.
When enough fibers are damaged in one area,
any stress on the shirt can result in a tear
there.
Detergents and cleaning
solutions work by surrounding the oils, particles
and other things that are in the fibers and
floating them off. In
other words, regular cleaning calls off the
army of chainsaws that are working their way
through your garments. |
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Lint
Season lasts all year.
When fibers on your
garments break off, they become LINT.
You know lint, the stuff on the screen in your
dryer that you clean off all the time -- you
are cleaning it off, aren't you? (Seriously,
it's important to do that, because a build-up
of lint can lead to a dryer fire, which will
destroy clothing at the least and might burn
down your home at the worst.)
It's amazing to see
how much lint is generated in a single load
of laundry, particularly if it contains loose-weave
items like towels or other household textiles.
So, have you ever
thought, "There ought to be something to do
with all this lint"? Believe
it or not, you aren't alone!
The photo at left above
is a lint clay sculpture. (Really.
We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.)
Artist Cheryl Capezzuti has been using dryer
lint to mold into artistic creations and actually
displaying them in galleries, laundromats and
homes. (The
image is a link to the National Lint Project,
where you can learn more.)
This
is one you CAN try at home!
Want to try it yourself?
(OK, admittedly for those who have far too much
time on their hands.) Here's a recipe
for the clay.
Dryer
Lint Clay
1 1/2 Cup Lint from
the dryer (any color)
1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup regular Flour
2 Drops Wintergreen mint flavoring (no
idea what that's about, and you can probably
substitute your own favorite flavor extract!)
Paint for decorating
Sheets of newspaper
Place the lint in
a saucepan and cover it with the water.
When the lint is saturated, add the flour
and stir until it is smooth. Add the
drops of wintergreen oil flavoring.
Cook the mixture, stirring constantly until
it forms peaks and holds together. (Maybe
the wintergreen is to keep this stage from
smelling like... well... wet lint!) Pour the
mixture onto the newspaper to cool, then shape
and model figures, or cover a shape like a
balloon with it. Allow to dry for 3-5
days, then paint as desired.
Other
uses of Lint
- Put
it outside on bushes and tree branches
in spring and summer for birds to use
as nesting material.
- Save up a pile
and use it
as tinder under the kindling
in your fireplace.
- Use it as a
unique packing substance
for packages -- especially when mailing
to someone you're not overly fond of!
- Line your trash
can with it (i.e. Throw
the silly stuff away!)
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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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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 and 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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