Caring for Clothing
Discussion
How can organizing your clothing help
make a little space seem like a lot more?
 What household items can be used for
storage?
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Routine Care
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Open all fasteners ( buttons, zippers, snaps)
when dressing to help prevent rips and tears
Take your shoes off before getting in and out of
pants
Check for stains right after taking clothes off
Remove stains as soon as possible
Check for needed repairs
Put dirty clothes in a laundry basket away from
clean clothes
Hang up or fold clothes that don’t need washing
Storing Clothes
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Drawers
◦ Keeps smaller items in place
◦ Clothes will be less likely to wrinkle when
you have ample storage space
◦ If you don’t have a lot of drawer space, use
plastic containers
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Closets
◦ Organize clothes:
 Color
 Seasonal
 Long sleeve/short sleeve/ sweaters
Family Activity
What is your family technique for sorting
and pretreating clothes?
 If you don’t know, watch tonight and ask.
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Washing Clothes
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Care Labels
◦ Label will tell you steps to follow to wash and dry clothing
◦ Also tells you what not to do with clothing
Sorting Clothes
◦ Helps to prevent colors from running together
◦ Keeps garments in good condition
◦ Separate clothes into the following piles:
 Delicate fabrics that require warm water and a gentle cycle
 Sturdy white and light-colored clothing
 Permanent press and knit fabrics
 Dark-colored clothing
 Heavily soiled garments that should be washed separately
Washing Clothes
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Pretreat clothes
◦ Any special attention you give a garment
before laundering
◦ Helps to remove stains and heavy soil
◦ Necklines and cuffs need special attention
◦ Follow label directions
◦ Sometimes extra scrubbing with undiluted
liquid can help the stained area
L.A.
Read laundry-product labels.
 What does each term mean?
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Washing Clothes
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Choose Laundry Products
◦ Detergents- primary job is to remove dirt
◦ Bleaches-used to remove stains, brighten
clothes, and whiten
◦ Fabric softeners – reduce static cling , make
fabric softer, and reduce wrinkles
Select Cleaning Action
Avoid overloading washer
 Hand washing
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◦ Use a sink or container large enough for clothes
to move freely
◦ Choose a soap or detergent to suit clothes
◦ Put water in the sink, add detergent, mix, and
add clothes
◦ Soak clothes 5 to 30 minutes, depending on the
amount of dirty clothes
◦ Drain the sink and add fresh water, gently
squeeze sudsy water through garments. Use at
least two rinses to remove both suds and soil
Math Activity
Read the Energy Guide label on a dryer.
 Find the cost of drying one load of
clothes.
 How much energy does it use?
 What would be the annual cost?
 Annual amount of energy used?
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Drying Clothes
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Clothes can be air dried or dried in a dryer
Generally, if it can be washed together it can be
dried together
Check information on care labels
Shake out clothes before putting in a dryer
Helps to dry faster
Avoid overloading dryer-increases dry time and
wrinkles
Avoid over drying clothes- can cause shrinkage
Clean lint filter- improve circulation and avoid a fire
Air drying is an energy saver
Pressing and Ironing Clothes
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Pressing- process of lifting and lowering the iron
onto areas of fabric
Ironing involves moving the iron back and forth over
the fabric
Knits and wools should be pressed to avoid
stretching
Woven fabrics can be ironed
Temperature depends on the content
Check care labels
If it is a blend, set it on the lowest setting
Press dark and wool fabrics inside-out to keep them
from becoming shiny
Ironing Discussion
Convenient times to iron?
 Think of two times where you could be
ironing while doing something else.
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Dry Cleaning
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Dry clean- to clean with chemicals rather than with
water and detergent
Garment is then cleaned and steamed to remove
wrinkles
Not all fabrics can be dry cleaned
Check care labels
Professional dry cleaning
◦ More expensive, but can remove more spots
Coin operated machines
◦ Cost less, but don’t always provide special treatment
for spot or stain removal.You must do your own
pressing
Clothing
Repair
Rips and Tears
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◦ Easy to repair. Use thread that matches the color of the fabric
◦ Make a new line of stitching by hand or with a sewing machine
◦ Begin and end just beyond the ripped section
◦ Iron on mending tape can help repair clothes
◦ Can be repaired with patches
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Buttons
◦ Two types of buttons:
 Sew-through
 Comes up and through the button
 Should make a shank when you sew this button on
 Shank
 Underneath to hold the thread
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Snaps, Hooks, and Eyes
◦ Use black snaps for dark fabrics
◦ And silver for light ones
◦ Hooks and eyes- found on necklines, waistbands, or neck edges
◦ Colors for hooks and eyes- same as above