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Sunday is Mother’s Day, and as history and tradition have shown us, our houses will be filled with flowers soon. Steer clear of lillies! Sure, a beautiful flower, but disastrous to your clothes. Here’s a rather lengthy article about lilly pollen stains:

What Causes Pollen Stains?
Pollen is actually composed of tiny, microscopic grains that transport male gamete (male DNA material) into the female part of the flower for reproduction. A pinch of pollen powder can contain thousands of grains and the grains themselves can come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the species of the plant.

The colour in the pollen is usually a range of pigments, from the water-soluble flavonoids (e.g. the blue and red anthocyanin pigments found in delphiniums and fuchsias) to the fat soluble yellow and orange carotenoids found in flowers like lilies. It is these strong pigments that cause the stains and the most dreaded ones of all are those found in lily pollen.

Should I Try to Rub it Off?
No! This is absolutely the worst thing you can do. Rubbing or even brushing hard will simply push the pigments deeper into the fabric and spread the stain even further. In addition, if you use your fingers, the oils from your skin will actually set the stain. Instead, shake out the clothing very gently to remove as much pollen powder as possible (do this outside so as not to get pollen onto your carpets or transferred onto your upholstery).

Alternatively, you can use a piece of tape and gently lift up as much of the pollen as possible with the sticky side. As long as the pollen is still sitting on the surface of the clothing, it is still relatively easy to remove.

What About Rubbing the Stain With a Wet Cloth?
Again, a terrible idea as this will spread and set the stain even more. You can try rinsing the stained area with cold water from the back but be careful as water will often spread the stain.

So How Can I Remove the Stain?
Try soaking the garment in cold water for half an hour and then rinse it thoroughly, repeating these two steps until most of the stain has been removed. Then apply a spot stain remover to the area and wash the garment in the hottest temperature possible if it is a washable fabric, otherwise rinse as before.

Check the area again before drying the garment – in many cases, you will have to repeat the stain remover and wash treatments several times before the stain completely disappears.

Can I Use an Enzymatic Detergent?
Yes, if your garment is washable then an enzymatic detergent may work well on pollen stains.

What About Another Kind of Solvent?
Reddish pollen stains can often be removed by pouring some 99% Isopropanol (Isopropyl Alcohol) - which can be obtained from pharmacists or hardware stores - over the area and then blotting up the resulting yellow liquid with paper towels. This may be a good idea for non-washable items, like carpets. Regular rubbing alcohol (70% Isopropyl Alcohol) probably won’t work because of its higher water content. Another alternative to try is to blot from the outside of the stain inwards with dry-cleaning fluid.

What About the Dry Cleaner?
If you are unsure about how to treat the stain, it may be best to leave it to the professionals. Try to gently remove as much excess pollen as possible through shaking or using sticky tape, and then take the garment to a good dry cleaner as soon as possible. In many cases, they will be more effective than many home-based cleaning methods.

Will Sunlight Bleach Out Pollen Stains?
Yes, this unconventional treatment does seem to work. Once you have gently shaken off or lifted the excess pollen with sticky tape, you can try laying the garment out in direct sunlight for a few hours – in many cases, the pollen stain will disappear.

How To Enjoy Lilies Without Pollen Nightmares
It is possible to enjoy lilies in the house if you take some precautions first. Make sure you cut off the anthers (the long stalks bearing the pollen) as soon as the flowers open enough for you to get access to them. Bouquets from professional florists will often have this done on the open flowers, before you take them home.

Alternatively, you can also “stick” the pollen to the flowers by giving the anthers a quick spritz with hair spray but this is really only suitable for flowers that are to be used to for a short time (e.g. wedding bouquet).

-StainExpert.co.uk

An interesting video we came across on YouTube that describes the working conditions at most neighborhood dry cleaners—enjoy!

Starting Friday, May 9, Vogue.TV will allow the Web audience to vote on their favorite superhero fashion in the first ever Vogue Viewer’s Choice Awards. Every year the celebrity-filled Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art draws fashion’s most elaborate red carpet eye candy. While anticipation is always high, this year’s theme, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, promises to be extra special.

Participants will also get the chance to enter for exclusive prizes like two roundtrip tickets on JetBlue Airlines, a $2,500 shopping spree at J. Mendel, and a free two night stay at The Lowell Luxury Hotel in New York City.

The top-rated costumes, dresses, hair, makeup and more from The Costume Institute gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be featured in a future issue of Vogue.

Vote here on May 9th:

http://www.vogue.tv/Superheroes

Courtesy of eHow.com—we particularly enjoy suggestion #5!

If you own a lot of clothing that requires dry cleaning, the cleaning bills can add up. Many clothes that are labeled as dry clean, can safely be cleaned at home. The clothing labeling law only requires that the manufacturer lists one acceptable method of cleaning, not all methods. Even with those clothes that do need to be dry cleaned, there are ways to save money.

Instructions

Step 1

Hand wash the clothes at home if possible. Always use cold water and a gentle soap when hand washing. Dove dish detergent works well for hand washing clothing. Do not twist or wring the garment to avoid damage to the fibers. Lay the item flat on a towel to dry. If you are unsure if it is safe to hand wash a dry clean item, test it by hand washing an older or damaged item that is made from the same material.

Step 2

Remove your dry clean items as soon as you get home. Use a garment brush to remove any surface dirt.

Step 3

Spray them lightly with a fabric freshener. This freshens the material and removes any odors that the clothing picked up during the day.

Step 4

Hang your dry clean items on hangers after freshening them to reduce the frequency of dry cleaning. Space the clothing in the closet so the material can breathe and air out after use.

Step 5

Purchase at home dry cleaning kits which allow you to dry clean clothing in your dryer. These kits work well for blouses and dresses but the plastic bag is not heavy enough for use on coats and jackets. If using the at home dry cleaning kit, you should still bring the clothing to the dry cleaner once a year for a more thorough cleaning, as the kit is primarily designed to freshen the clothing.

Step 6

Call the dry cleaners in your area and ask the price to dry clean the same item. This allows you to choose the cleaner that saves you most money. Watch for coupons put out by the dry cleaner for further savings.

So, if you can look past the magical 1-800 PSYCHIC feel of the video, and ignore the occasional sales pitch, this video from ZIPS Dry Cleaning offers some great tips about getting rid of starch buildup, ring around the collar and underarm stains.

While perusing the Web this morning, we discovered a fantastic resource and online store for green clothing manufacturers. Greenloop brings together conscientious designers to promote sustainable fashion and social responsibility. And, they donate a minimum of 1% of sales to support the environment.

Greenloop supports sustainable textiles, recycling and re-use, renewable energy, reduction of green house gases, organic farming, sweat-shop free production, and environmental non-profit groups every single day through the products we offer.

Those of you with baby boys know that changing a diaper can get messy, especially when it comes to those surprise squirts. They make a mess, can stain your clothes and carpet, and, well, your face is just inches away. I think you catch our drift.

Worry no more! We came across a handy little device called the Pee-pee Teepee. They look like little party hats, and they warrant just as much celebration. By containing the pee, you clothes and carpet are safe (of course, the towel beneath your son will still take the hit).

As the website instructs, all you have to do is “place it on the wee-wee” and you’re all set to go. No more errant baby urine!

It’s like giving your Uggs a chinchilla dust bath (if you don’t know what we’re talking about, click here). This simple stain removal tip for your boots will save you lots of heartache and money.

Here’s a fantastic instructional video for removing red wine stains.

Ever wonder what dry cleaners used before the toxic perchloroethylene? Well, believe it or not, they used something much more dangerous (and much more obviously so). Pre-1930s dry cleaners used petroleum-based solvents that resulted in many fires. Dry cleaning plants were so dangerous then that the government stepped in to regulate them. Here’s a safety video from the 1930s, along with the info from the YouTube page.

This clip was taken from the film, More Dangerous Than Dynamite, produced and by the California State Fire Marshall in the 1930s. Early dry cleaners used petroleum-based solvents, such as gasoline and kerosene. The use of highly flammable petroleum solvents caused many fires and explosions, resulting in government regulation of dry cleaners.
By the mid-1930s most dry cleaners had substituted perchloroethylene, (commonly called “perc,”) for gasoline as the ideal solvent. Perc is stable and nonflammable. However, it is highly toxic to both dry cleaning workers and the environment and is a cancer causing chemical. In the 1990s the dry cleaning industry begin to replace perc with less toxic chemicals, including water-based methods. For more information on less toxic alternatives, go to the EPA’s Design for the Environment Garment and Textile Care Partnership at http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/… . This Partnership promotes environmentally safer technologies for garment and textile cleaning. This program was developed by involving representatives from EPA and stakeholders from industry, labor, community action and environmental groups, trade associations, and research organizations.