A Clean Getaway

So you know how sometimes you buy something, THEN you read the tag and it has instructions that read something like:

Professional Dry Clean ONLY (THIS MEANS YOU. DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT PUTTING ME IN THAT WASHER)



Or:

handwash in 63 degree water from the fujii mountains

then gently pat dry for the next four hours



Or:

Just don't EVER get this dirty. You cannot clean it. EVER.



or something like that.

and all those instructions make me want to do this:

So I was feeling reckless last night, and I decided not to listen to those tags.

hear me out first. It was a silk blouse that I LOVE, but I never wear because its starting to smell funny, because I wore it too much and it said Professional Dry Clean Only, and well, that's not going to happen. It's 100% silk though, which is a cloth that has been used for thousands of years, and last time I checked the ancient Chinese did not have professional dry cleaners.

So here's what I did:

1. Stare at said blouse and decide if its really worth it. Dunked corner into water, and the blouse did not burst into flames. Decide to proceed.

2. Fill sink with lukewarm water and a tiny dab of woolite. Swish blouse around, rubbing nastier parts together gently with a little more woolite.

3. Empty sink, refill with cold/lukewarm water. Swish blouse around some more to rinse.

4. Squeeze gently to get rid of water.

3. Place flat on a towel and let air dry for a day.

4. Laugh because I have flaunted the tag and won.

The result is that its just a little crinkly, not all neatly pressed from the dry cleaners. But I'm just going to hang it in the bathroom and let all the kinks steam out, and it'll be good as new.

The other experiment I did was for a pair of jeans that have gotten stretched out over the years. Easy solution, just do everything the tag says not to do:

1. wash in boiling hot water

2. dry in broiling hot dryer

VOILA! Pants that fit.

Sometimes not listening to directions pays off.

picture by Alli Jiang