About clothing care labels
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Q. “I have a women’s three piece suit and each piece has a
label that reads ‘100% BRT & dull.’ What’s that
mean? The care instructions say ‘Do not bleach, dry clean only.’”
A. BRT and dull are terms used by yarn makers and have nothing to do with
fiber content. BRT and dull mean the brightness and dullness of synthetic
fibers. For example, Nylon F. textured yarns used for weaving can be purchased
as SD (semi-dull) or BRT. Spandex yarns can be SD or BRT for use in stockings,
foundation, swimwear, and fashion wear.
Q. “When the clothing care label sewn into a garment says
“washable,” does this mean it cannot be drycleaned?”
A. Not necessarily. The Care Label Rule states that only one suitable
method of care must be on the label. Cleaners usually follow the care
instructions, unless otherwise requested. If you want your washable items
drycleaned, a cleaner may ask you to sign a waiver.
Q. “Is it safe to wetclean a garment with “Dryclean
Only” care instructions?”
A. When determining if a garment can be safely wetcleaned, the cleaner
will look at the fiber content, fabric construction, colorfastness, trims,
and other components such as interfacings and linings.
Q. “I ordered a garment from a catalog and was surprised
when I read the care label that it was actually quite difficult to clean
because some of the trim requires special cleaning. What do you suggest?
A. You’re not the first one to encounter this problem. Catalog shopping
is wonderful, as we all know. But when buying clothing, it’s a good
idea to ask for care label information before you place the order. And
when you receive the garment order, make it a habit to read the care label
before wearing it. If it’s not what you expected, you can return
it without a problem.
Q. “The care instructions on my imitation fur coat say that
it should be cleaned by the Pile Fabric Method. What does that mean?”
A. A professional dry cleaner recognizes those instructions as a set of
procedures to follow in cleaning imitation fur coats and the imitation
fur trimming on non-fur garments. Unless a cleaner follows the prescribed
Pile Fabric Method procedures completely, the garment may be damaged.
By the way, the Furrier Method cleans real fur garments.
Q. “The care label on my favorite summer dress says ‘Do
not dryclean’. I am nervous about washing the dress myself. What
can I do?’
A. “Do not dryclean” does not mean that a drycleaner cannot
clean your dress. Drycleaners launder clothes (wetcleaning) as well as
drycleaning. Wetcleaning is a process that uses water as the solvent,
but that is were the similarity with home washing stops. In wetcleaning
each garment is analyzed to select the appropriate water temperature,
agitation, chemistry and drying process. Not all drycleaners wetclean
garments; at Anton’s we have the necessary equipment and training
to properly wetclean garments.