White Shirt Preservation?

Apr 11, 2007 12:21

My boyfriend works at an Italian restaurant, and needs to wear white polo shrits for work ( Read more... )

cleaning, clothing

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Comments 43

sarahcb1208 April 11 2007, 16:30:33 UTC
Pre-treat stains.
Bleach (I use Clorox 2, since it's gentler, but they came out with a more gentler Clorox for whites)

Other than that, no idea. I'm still trying to figure it out courtesy of two kids.

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My Mom is a LAUNDRY GODDESS, or completely obsessed... havocmangawip April 11 2007, 16:33:59 UTC
This is what's working for me thus far!

Zout gets out most stains. It is AMAZING.

Also? Greased Lightning. Spray it on all stains, the pits and the neck.

My Mom uses an Amway product called L.O.C.

It got pen out of the carpet after I accidently ran over a pen and it shredded and spattered the floor.

If you have pen problems again, spray it immediately with the CHEAPEST most alcoloh filled hair spray you can get. White Rain or Aqua Net.

Pre-treat EVERYTHING as soon as it gets home. Check it RELIGIOUSLY before putting it in the dryer. If it's still stained? Hang it to dry.

I've had really good luck with the new Clorox Ultra bleach. It doesn't yellow things, gets out stains and was safe on my really soft 100% cotton ivory flannel sheets.

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Re: My Mom is a LAUNDRY GODDESS, or completely obsessed... swingsister_t April 11 2007, 17:10:04 UTC
my parents sold amway for a while - and yes LOC is pretty amazing. I always had good luck with it!

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Re: My Mom is a LAUNDRY GODDESS, or completely obsessed... geminigirl April 11 2007, 19:58:23 UTC
My Mom used to use it for our bubble baths when I was a kid.

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ginnygoblin April 11 2007, 16:41:53 UTC
My mother SWEARS by vivid, which is a color safe bleach. She pre-treats the stains with the vivid, lets them sit for half an hour or so, and then washes as usual.

For grease stains, pre treat them with dish soap! Dish soap is meant to cut grease and works beautifully. I just used this trick over the weekend when I got a taco bell stain out of my husband's work shirt (he wears solid color dress shirts).

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snowdevil906 April 11 2007, 17:03:23 UTC
I wish someone would have told me this years ago! My fiance and I have a long history w/ food service work and yucky grease stains!

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anchasta April 11 2007, 16:57:42 UTC
I agree!

Oxyclean spot treatment, then whole soak overnight, before putting in the dryer, if there is any remaining coloration, treat with diluted bleach and scrub, then wash again.

Good luck! They should get nice black polos...much more fair to the employees!!

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msretro April 11 2007, 19:01:20 UTC
He's the sole server there. I've been planning a campaign to switch to black!

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nymphatacita April 12 2007, 06:42:39 UTC
black is just as bad... the bleach in the water you use to clean the tables and the towels will spot shirts like no other. It took me six tries to find bleach-proof black pants.

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beaq April 11 2007, 16:53:27 UTC
White polo shirts. Absorbent knit material. At an Italian restaurant. Don't tell me the restaurant sells the shirts to the employees ...

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hotcoffeems April 11 2007, 17:10:10 UTC
I had the exact same reaction. I used to work at a restaurant where they made us wear their white polo shirts -- with white pants.

Fer crying out loud, people...it might be "traditional" to associate white clothes with food service, but it's counterintuitive.

Also, for the OP...always pre-treat, with something enzymatic for preference. Bleach is great. And the water quality will make a huge difference in how clean your whites will get (a lesson I learned when I moved to a house with a well system, and discovered that my white clothes actually would be *truly* white after washing, with half the bleach used), so keep that in mind.

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msretro April 11 2007, 19:03:21 UTC
No, he has to buy his own. The best price I've found for new shirts so far is $9. I've lucked out and found one or two used, but it's tough to find second-hand white cotton polo shirts, with no adornments, in decent shape.

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blackguyzonly April 12 2007, 01:39:38 UTC
When the kids start going back to school, Walgreens sells uniform shirts 3/$12. If you're in a part of the country that makes kids wear uniforms, you should be able to find them.

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