AY Honors/Laundering/Answer Key

Laundering

1. Why is important to read the labels in garments before laundering them?

The labels often include the manufacturer's recommended washing instructions as well as the types of material the garment is made from. Instructions often include:

• Wash tempertature
• Rinse temperature
• Ironing temperature, and sometimes ironing method (such as "on the reverse side," or "through a cloth").
• If the article is only suited for dry cleaning
• Drying method (tumble dry, drip dry, lay flat, etc)

2. What is the proper way to prepare clothes for washing?

Remove all items from all pockets, zip up and zippers, fasten snaps and cover velcro. Also tie any strings back. Remove any pins, your name tag, and the "scribe" or "captain" tag from your Pathfinder uniform before washing it.

Seperate your laundry into like items:

• Whites from colors
• Color-fast from colors that may run
• Durables from delicates
• Very dirty from lightly soiled
• Lint givers (towels, sheets, flannels) from lint takers (corduroy, permanent press)

Wash these types seperately, because each of the types of loads listed above need different settings on the washing machine. Finally, pretreat any stains with a stain remover.

4. What precaution should be used when using chlorine bleach? What are the advantages of powdered oxygen bleach? Why should chlorine bleach and ammonia never be mixed?

Precautions: Bleach is a powerful chemical. It can burn your skin, and it can dissolve cloth. Do not get it on your skin; if you get it on your skin, wash it off right away. If you spill it on your clothing, rinse immediately. If too much bleach is used on cloth, the cloth will disintegrate. Bleach will remove dye, so it must not be used on anything other than white cloth.

Powedered Oxygen Bleach: The greatest advatage offered by powdered oxygen bleach is that it removes stains without the use of toxic chemicals. For some stains, it works even better than chlorine bleach. It brightens fabrics and can be used on upholstery and carpet. It is non-toxic to humans and animals, and it breaks down into environmentally friendly components when the oxygen is released (the release of oxygen is what removes stains).

Mixing Bleach and Ammonia: Bleach an ammonia should NEVER be mixed because doing so causes a chemical reaction that releases poisonous gasses. The primary gas released is chlorine gas which was used as a chemical warfare agent during World War I. Chlorine gas is highly toxic. Other gasses that can be released include nitrogen trichloride (which can explode in your face), and hydrazine (a component of rocket fuel).

6. Know how to remove the following stains:

• Blood: If the blood is fresh, wipe it up with a sponge soaked in cool, salted water. Then rinse with clear water. If the blood is dried, use diluted hydrogen peroxide (one part peroxide, nine parts water).

• Chewing gum: Scrape off as much as possible first. This is easier if you cool the gum down with ice cubes first, as that makes the gum brittle rather than gummy. If the item is washable, apply a little kerosene or dry cleaning fluid and rinse it off. You may have to repeat this several times.

• Crayons: Place the stained item in the freezer and leave it there until the crayon freezes. You can then literally break the crayon stain out of the garment. If there is any residue left after this, place the item on a paper towel or a blotter. Then place a second paper towel (or blotter) on top of the item. Appy a warm iron. This will melt the crayon, and the paper towels should soak up the stain. Change the paper towels as often as is necessary.

• Grass: If the garment is white, you may soak it in a solution of chlorinated bleach, then rinse and launder. Otherwise, apply methylate alcohol (wood alcohol) to the stain, rinse in warm water, and then wash.

• Grease: Scrape away as much of the grease as you can. Rub vaseline into the stain, and then wash with a laundry powder or liquid detergent. You can also try a spot removing product.

• Fruit: Try to remove the stain before it dries by rinsing it in cold water. Otherwise, soak white garments in a chlorinated bleach solution. For colored garments, treat with sodium percarbonate or a warm borax solution.

• Ink:

• Rust:

• Grape fruit:

References

• BBC, Dangers of Mixing Bleach and Chlorine
• Oxygen Bleach Research
• Stain Removal Guide (from New Zealand)