Memorial Day is almost upon us and if you forgot, that means white party season! With all the craziness that comes with enjoying the summer and especially summer in the Hamptons, I want to help you get your Summer Whites ready now; so come June, your whites are prepped and styled for a chic summer of fun. Whether it be white slacks for a lobster bake or your best white gown for the it-party.
Wayne, CEO of Meurice Garment Care and CLEAN by Meurice, which is located on The Circle in East Hampton, has been known as “The Stainmaster” for over 20 years and is the expert of all experts to trust for guidance on fixing and whitening your whites.
If cleaned and stored properly, your white summer wardrobe should be ready to wear; but if you didn’t clean your whites prior to storing them or had stored them incorrectly, now is the time to do damage control and attempt to resurrect your summer whites.
The first step to cleaning anything, but especially a garment that is white is to take a look at the manufacturer’s care label sewn into the garment. If the care instructions are dry clean only, it is best to follow the label as to when your whites are tampered with, it can be hard to bring them back. You should bring your dry-clean only whites to a reputable cleaner, like us! Next, you must be cognizant of how you are storing your summer whites. Clothes should not be stored in dry cleaning bags. These bags begin to decompose as soon as they are exposed to light. The byproduct as they break down is a gas, which can cause yellowing and fading. Sometimes this is correctable but other times it is not. Most consumers are under the misconception that all textiles are white and dye is added to them to make them colored. White textiles are in fact dyed white and often an optical brightener is added to further luminous the fabric.
When attempting to restore a dingy or stained white garment yourself, first examine it thoroughly. Are there stains that have developed over the off-season? Usually, these stains are either protein-based, tannin-based, or oil-based. It is best to try and address the stained areas before an overall cleaning. Oil stains identify as cross-hatched stains because the viscosity of the oil follows the trends in the fibers. Dawn dish detergent can be applied to oil stains while a general stain remover such as shout works best on protein and tannin stains. I recommend soaking dingy and stained white items in a bath of warm water, detergent, and oxy clean. Oxyclean is a great safe sodium-based bleach. If you weren’t sure, there is a correlation between time and temperature when soaking. Newer machines have a soak cycle that will keep the water warm or hot to achieve the best results. A proper rinse is necessary to ensure all of the soap and bleach are removed from the garments. As the weather is warmer, air drying works best. If you are to machine dry medium heat is best and remove items while still damp to prevent shrinkage. Shrinkage occurs during the last 16-20% of drying. If ironing the items again follow the label’s directions but damp ironing works best for your white cotton and linens.
Always Stay Clean and if you have any further questions feel free to reach out or find me aka “The Stainmaster” at my store CLEAN By Meurice this summer to take care of all of your white party bests!
