More on the Care & Fluffing of Down Comforters

I found some guidelines for the care of down bedding items.

1. Always keep the bedding covered with another washable fabric cover. 
2. Do not sit on the comforter or put heavy covers on it--this includes the dog.
3. Fluff D A I L Y.
4. Spot clean the stains immediately.
5. Air out to reduce trapped moisture weekly.
6. Clean the comforter or featherbed with special down soaps every 2-5 years.
7. Clean the pillows more frequently. Yearly is recommended.
8. Always use cold water and dry on the lowest setting. It may take 3 hours to dry. Pull it out and manually de-clump the feathers periodically.
9. Do not use a washer with an agitator as it will clump the feathers. Use a commercial spinning basket washer.
10. If the cover is silk do not wash in water as it may shrink.
11. When storing away, hang rather than fold so that the feathers are not crushed and do not put in a plastic bag.

Joan

123 Wash N Dry
5211 Geary Blvd.
933-9222

The Care & Fluffing of a Down Comforter

We finally opened the Dry Cleaning part of the business again this weekend.  One item of interest I noted was the cleaning of down comforters. 

My personal comforter (less than 1 year old) is already under-performing.  I noticed that all the down had shifted to the other side and not the side where I sleep.  After reading up on some of the manufacturer sites I realized that the reason down comforters have simple, light-weight duvet covers is because you don't want additional weight on top of the down to crush the loft created by the feathers.  I had added a rather heavy matelasse bed cover on the top to add warmth. Well, it did just the opposite.

The recommended course of action is to throw the comforter in the biggest dryer   in the laundromat on the low setting with my dryer balls (or a few tennis balls) to fluff it back up.  The recommended time is about an hour.

Joan

123 Wash N Dry
5211 Geary Blvd.
933-9222

Progress on the Hole in the Wall

As I mentioned before, the former occupants ripped the washer units out of the wall along with huge chunks of the wall itself.  I finished some of the spackling and wallpapering last night but we are planning to rip out the peculiar shelf they built when they ripped out the professional counters.  The counter is only about 18 inches deep and not really useful for anything like folding.  When that is out, I can finish the last strip of wallpaper.


Joan
123 Wash N Dry
5211 Geary Blvd
933-9222

Update on the Shooting

Scott was there for the set up of the commercial in the laundromat. He said it was very interesting. We'll have to wait about 2 weeks for the results which I'll post here for everyone.


My apologies to the lady who came in, saw the cameras,- and went back out the door. IF we do this again, it will be after hours or we will let you know well in advance. This was just a spur of  the moment request by another local, small business so we thought we'd help them out.


Joan
123 Wash N Dry
5211 Geary Blvd.
933-9222

Shades of Grease

Yesterday, Scott was contacted  to allow a filming crew into the laundromat for a Hair Styling commercial for a salon on Post. 


It should be quite interesting to watch.  They will be here Sunday (tomorrow) between 3 & 5 PM.


More fun to come  . . . 




Joan 
123 Wash N Dry
5211 Geary Blvd SF

Dryer Balls

The jury is out on this one. Some love them & some think they aren't worth the money.  I have some and they do help get wrinkles out of sheets and blouses.  They have a bit of weight so it keeps the clothes from clumping together. Also, I have a washer/dryer combo at home (yes, I love it!) but since it is not vented, the hair (we all have l-o-n-g hair) was statically clinging to the clothes. Now, the hair gets trapped in the dryer balls like a brush.  I'm sure that was not the intended outcome, but it works for me.



Joan   123 Wash N Dry




Reviews on Garden Web    Reviews on About.com   Consumer Search   Amazon Reviews

SOAP SCAM

  Have you ever been offered those over-priced balls? You know the ones I’m talking about. You are invited to a mysterious "business opportunity" meeting at a friend's house and by the end of the evening you're convinced that an inert ceramic ball is going to save you years of detergent costs.  You shell out a few hundred dollars, 'cuz you can't buy just one--OH NO!--you have to sell them to your innocent friends and family to make back the money you shelled out for the first "investment".    


Yeah, that happened to me. My brother-in-law, who is otherwise a gem, got taken and had to quickly recover from his poor decision before my sister found out.  I used the balls--just to see--and my clothes did feel a lot softer and scentless. All I was doing was washing out the residue soap from months of overuse.  After 3 or 4 washings, the placebo effect was over but I did realize that I had been using too much soap.  So, I guess, in a way, I ended up saving money over time since now I put a plastic pill cup on top of the washer with a marked line and never overfill the cup.


Here are a few sites with more words to the wise.    Joan  123 Wash N Dry

Too Much is NOT Always a Good Thing

One of the biggest misconceptions is that more soap will clean better. Unfortunately, with HE (high efficiency) washers, too much soap product is a bad thing. The soap product won't rinse out completely, it creates too many suds which lessen the tumble effect of the front loader washer action,  and it will build up on your clothes. HE washers use less water during both the wash and rinse cycles.  Our washers use approximately 2 gallons of water per dry pound of dirty laundry.  So, our smallest washer uses 40 gallons to complete the cycles.  Our largest washer uses 100 gallons.


Measuring your soap product will save you money in the long run and avoid the soapy film build-up on your clothes.  Using a low-sudsing product is also a better choice.


We're fortunate to have great water in the SF Bay Area. Soaps dissolve well and we don't have to add water softening agents to the washer.


Joan         123 Wash N Dry

My Treky Laser Stun Gun

Last Friday, I spent the whole day with our new General Manager, Scott. We had been diligently checking the temperatures on the dryers with our hi-tech therma-gun and decided to take a break and check out the competition in the neighborhood.  


On Clement, I was drawn (like Eve to an apple) into Orgasmic Pizza--ostensibly, to check out the brew list. But, after a few minutes, our Scotty was in the Star Trek mode shooting up the customers with his laser stun gun. They were lining up to get zapped. Boys and their toys!

One poor kid, asked me to take his temperature since he didn't feel well. He did have a fever. That gun is pretty accurate. Others, walked up and wanted thermal verification that they were alive or "cool headed"--it created quite a buzz.


Another fun day evening in The Richmond!


Joan
123 Wash N Dry

Gunk & Other Objects Found at the End of the Wash Day

A couple of weeks ago I was describing the consistency of some "stuff" i scraped out of one of the dryers I was cleaning. It was "gunky"--no other word aptly describes it. I was quickly reminded by another patron that that was a 70's term--possibly even a 60's term. H-m-m-m-m 


 So, I ran over to the laptop & pulled up the Urban Dictionary to verify for myself.  The description was there with 2 spellings but no history of when the word entered mainstream usage.  It's never really gone out of style in my vocabulary.


Hey, Ridonkulous--my daughter's favorite description of things I do!  


  Joan
123 wash n dry

Deciding on Laundry Products to Offer You

I am researching the top laundry products.  Consumer Research Report


Consumer Research has the top 4 as 

Tide Coldwater Liquid                         37 cents per load

Tide with Bleach Alternative Liquid       37 cents per load

Seventh Generation Liquid                  36 cents per load

Country Save Laundry Powder             19 cents per load

Runners up are
Mrs. Meyers                                     24 cents per load
Kirkland Signature Ultra 2X                  16 cents per load


And my personal favorite for the past 3 years     ECOS Review
ECOS Laundry Liquid, Magnolia & Lilies Original Formula      11 cents per load

The product has mixed reviews but it passed the skin test for my daughter, the allergy sniff test for my son, and the cleaning test for me.

I'll bring some in to add as an option for our laundry customers.

It's good to have variety and try new products without having to buy an entire bottle and decide it's not for you.

Meanwhile, I found another local Blogger who had some interesting findings in her research.   Pretty interesting stuff . . .check it out here.

 Maia of Gimmethegoodstuff

Joan


123 Wash N Dry

It was a busy day at the laundromat. Many new faces to meet and greet. Thanks for stopping in!


Joan


123 Wash N Dry

Happy New Year!

It was a quiet day at the laundromat today. I'm sure people were sleeping in and enjoying the games.


Joan


123 Wash N Dry

H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R    E V E R Y ON E  !!