The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1943-08-20
DONALD NELSON
URGES CARE TO
MAKE CLOTHES LAST
Drycleaners' Association Adds
Suggestions For Helping
Cleaners Help You

Donald Nelson, Chairman of the
War Production Board, has now told
us that the public's contribution to
program designed to avoid clothing
rationing can be stated simply as:
Buy what you need. when yon need it,
and make it serve as long as possible.
Since drycleaning plays SO large a
part in making clothing and home
furnishings last, here are some sug-
gestions from the National Associa-
tion of Dyers & Cleaners to help you
do your bit in making the War Pro-
duction Boards program success.
First, there are ways you can make
cleaning job last longer. The biggest
factor here, apparently, is alternating
garments instead of wearing the same
one for two or three days. When not
in use, clothes should be hung where
they can get good airing. Wrinkles
will tend to chang OUT during this
"rest period" and, incidentally, you
can reduce your cleaning bills consid-
erably by this means.
Home spotting can sometimes be
done with reasonable success, if you
don't expect the same kind of job a
professional cleaner would turn out.
Care should be taken to avoid exces-
sive rubbing and the treated edges
should be "feathered" out. Some
stains, especially when fresh, are
quite easily removed - some simply
with water and others with spotting
fluid 1t is largely matter of judg
ment to know when to attack them at
home and when to send the garment
out. If in doubt, consult your cleaner
since good spotting is not as easy as
it might appear. Mistakes are inclined
to be costly. Furthermore, cleaners
tells us that they have the most
trouble with spots which have already
been wrongly treated at home. Some
times they can do very little with
them.
One of the simplest ways of avoid
ing spots is to wear an apron IN and
around the kitchen. Similarly, dress
shields will help you get more wear
between cleanings. Home drycleaning
is not recommended because of the
dangers of fire or of inhaling fumes.
Furthermore, home cleaning fluids ac-
cumulate greasy soil, which you
haven't the means Of removing, and
spread it over other garments which
develop what used to be known as
"drycleaning odor" We now know
that this odor is caused by greasy soil
turned rancid. 1t is definitely not
clean smell
In addition to making cleaning jobs
last longer, and thus reducing your
drycleaning budget, you can help your
cleaner make his existing limited ia
cilities go farther by removing fragile
buttons and ornaments before having
garments cleaned If you don't he will
have to and this takes time and man
power, which is the critical factor in
the drycleaning situation today. The
same goes for dress shields. Also, the
Drycleaners' Association emphasizes,
one of the most important things you
can do is to perform minor repairs
yourself. Remember, the cleaners's
time is valuable these days and it is
in the interests of everyone that it be
devoted as far as possible to dryclean-
ing.
If belts or vests are not soiled, don't
send them along with the garment.
When it comes to belts with artificial
leather or composition backings, it
would be a good idea to keep them
home anyway since even in pre-war |
times the best cleaners could do little |
with them. And as for belt buckles |
made of fabric glued to some kind of
a form, cleaners can do nothing at all
with them.
Elaborate drapes, lamp shades and
cushions are things most cleaners
have no time for under present condi-