Oregon Dry Cleaners Assoication
-Friday, September 29, 2000 By Maria Gallagher
FOR THE INQUIRER
You couldn't resist buying that velvet quilt, down comforter or tapestry bedspread.
Now, how can you keep it looking like new?
The International Fabricare Institute, the leading trade association for dry cleaners and launderers, recommends dry-cleaning or professional laundering for bedspreads and comforters that are tailored or quilted.
Save the care instructions and take them along when you drop off the item. The institute also recommends cleaning all matching or coordinating items - including accent pillows - at the same time, and by the same process, so that any color changes will be uniform. At home, silk bedding should be shielded from sunlight, which degrades the fibers.
A dry cleaner or launderer that specializes in high-end garment cleaning may be best-equipped to handle luxury bed linens. Gem Cleaners in Mount Airy and Carriage Trade Cleaners in Feasterville are two such specialists, and both share a secret: They wash almost all bedding, even "dry-clean only" fabrics.
"We dry-clean all of them first, because there are certain oily stains that only dry-cleaning can get out, like body oil or skin lotion," said Tom Vecchione of Gem.
Other stains, such as perspiration, urine, vomit, wine, coffee or food can be removed only by treatment with a digestive enzyme and a soap-and-water wash.
Brett Sackarowitz, co-owner of Carriage Trade, urges people to bring stained items in immediately, and not to try treating them at home with hair spray or club soda, which can remove the initial stain but leave a new one.
Gem and Carriage Trade test the fabric first. If it is colorfast, but the cording or tassels are not, the ornamentation is removed, then resewn after washing. Fillings may be removed from bolster or accent pillows before cleaning. Fabrics with unstable dyes are washed very quickly in cold water.
Gem allows down-filled and other high-end comforters to air-dry after dry-cleaning. They are then washed by hand, one at a time, in a large tub. After a centrifuge extracts excess water, another period of air-drying follows, which can take up to a week. The comforter gets a final fluffing by tumbling in a dryer with no heat for up to three hours.
In other words: Don't expect it back tomorrow, Vecchione said.
Cotton sheets are washed and pressed on large flat presses. (A couple of Gem customers are so fussy that they provide their preferred brand of detergent.) Delicate borders, such as organza, may require hand-ironing at a lower temperature. Satin sheets must be ironed by hand, Vecchione said. Gem charges $8 per sheet, and $3 or $4 for pillowcases.
Because velvets are tricky in water, Carriage Trade tumbles them with extra dry-cleaning solvent, carefully controlling the agitation. The biggest challenge is restoring the nap, which is done by hand with a light steaming and brushing. Some velvets, such as those made from acetate, do not respond as well as others.
Vecchione, who has several pets, said he would never buy bedding that couldn't tolerate soap and water.
"Last night, our dog threw up on the bed," he said. "That's a perfect example of why these things have to be able to be washed."
