Thrilling Sunday activities

[rikibeth]

I just used the ENTIRE contents of one $2.99 Clorox Bleach Pen on ONE load of laundry.

I don't care how well it works, that's seriously not cost-effective.

What was the detergent whose commercials harped about ring-around-the-collar? Was it Wisk? I don't get ring-around-the-collar, but I sure as heck get ring-around-the-cuffs. I just tried the bleach pen on that. AND on the Rampant Attack Strawberry Juice, and the blodge of wearable chocolate from the truffle tortes, and the butternut squash puree.

Maybe if I just add bleach to the wash water, and make sure to turn the sleeves inside-out, so that the grungy parts get more exposed to it?

Yeah. I'm being obsessive again. And yeah. I wish my boss would just get coats from the linen service so I didn't have to fret about it. But she says people stole the coats before. Poo.

They obviously have some magic they can work on aprons, 'cause I get my aprons FILTHY every day, what with cinnamon, and chocolate, and tomato, and squash, and strawberry, and OMG blueberry, and the random carbon grunge that comes of sometimes using the apron as a potholder... be clear, I have not the faintest idea of how chefs who work in open-kitchen restaurants manage to do it without getting filthy in front of the customers. Have they got their prep cooks sequestered somewhere doing all the grungy stuff and they're just sauteeing and plating and letting the customers think that's all there is to it?

Of course, the linen service just picks up a hamper full of the aprons and towels I dirty and drops off our quota of clean ones. For all I know, they're saying, "Oh, look, it's THEM again -- don't even BOTHER washing them, just throw 'em away and jack up the price again."

But there's gotta be a better answer than a $2.99 bleach pen on every damned load.

Comments

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

-Ring-around-the-collar doesn't happen much anymore. It was an artifact of the days when people would sometimes send their shirts to be professionally laundered (with starch on the collar), and sometimes wash them at home. Nowadays, people who get their collars starched _ever_, are likely to _only_ get those shirts professionally cleaned.

[kcarp.livejournal.com]

Unless my honorary laundry goddess degree is completely useless, ring around the collar is FILTH from a dirty, oily, sweaty neck. It happens to unstarched shirts that have never been professionally laundered.

That said, the "easiest" treatment is adding 1/2 c. chlorine bleach to the laundry load. But, bleach tends to degrade cotton pretty quickly. You can also soak just the nasty parts. This is when it'd be really nice to have a full muck room with sink. Someday...

I have excellent luck with Shout laundry spray--and it has the added bonus of being able to spray the shirt then dump it in the hamper to get to when you have time.


Oh--and REALLY hot water for the whites.

K

[woodwardiocom.livejournal.com]

[shrug] I defer.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

And here I was wondering if the presence of quantites of flour in my cuff-grunge had any relation to the starch culprit.

Bleach in the wash water was NOT ENOUGH to take the icky entirely out of my coats. Hence the experiment with the pen.

[wyomingnot.livejournal.com]

Have you tried Oxy-Clean?

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Great on general purpose, not so good on the Ring O Grunge where I turn up my cuffs.

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

I use something like Wisk on my husband's collars and cuffs. Works every time.

*does laundry like a world champion*

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

I have not the faintest idea of how chefs who work in open-kitchen restaurants manage to do it without getting filthy in front of the customers.

They change during the night, at least that's what Todd used to do, also, most mess is around the belly and down, not on the chest/shoulder area that is usually all you can see.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Clearly in an open-kitchen setup they are not hefting twenty-five quart mixer bowls to pour batter into pans in front of the customers. This is how I get chocolate under my ARMS.

The Attack Strawberries were at the hem of the coat.

[lintra.livejournal.com]

Ring around the collar I believe was Tide.

[eponis.livejournal.com]

Hrm. I wish I had a suggestion; we had a similar laundry service at Panera. What I wish I knew was how to, um, bleach away bleach; I've splattered it on my black work pants one too many times . . .

More importantly, I just got your package! Thank you so very much - it's super-fantastic!!!

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

1) Have you tried coloring in the bleached spots with a permanent black marker? Cheap but might serve.

2) I'm glad you like the stuff! It was so much fun sending out goodies.

[cleverthylacine]

It washes out eventually, alas. I wear black so often, it's sad that I know this. I've used Sharpies, taggers, anything.

[olofd.livejournal.com]

Pure white cotton can be boiled. That should kill most stains. Just boil it in a large pot for something like half an hour, together with some of your ordinary detergent (well, simple detergent for washing linen and stuff should work best here. Enzyms and stuff might not work so well at boiling temperatures...)

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

Hm. I am starting to think I need a bar of Fels Naphtha yellow laundry soap and a washboard.

I suppose I could use the washboard for musical purposes when I'm not cleaning things...

[ghilledhu.livejournal.com]

I think Wisk was "ring around the collar."

Speaking of cleaning commercials, am I the only one who loathes Clorox's "Mama's got the magic" ads with the fiery passion of a thousand fiery things? I know cleaning products tend to be pitched at women in general, but the constant stressing of "Mama" at the beginning of every single line in that damn jingle drives it home -- Mom is the one who's doing all the cleaning. Dad and kids make the messes, and Mom smiles indulgently and cleanes them up.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

No cable, and I listen to NPR and the CD player... I've never seen/heard this commercial.

Mama's Got the Magic

[greeneyes-rpi.livejournal.com]

Oh my, yes.

Only my incredible self-control has kept me from throwing heavy objects at the TV when that commercial was on. That, and I can't afford another television set.

[tryslora]

Ring around the collar was Wisk, pretreating it first.

I use a very specific cocktail of laundry detergent to kill the ring around the cuffs on my daughter's white blouses and spaghetti stains on t-shirts from Boo. I start with Shout Stain Stick. I add oxy-clean to the load, and I use Tide with Bleach because it's the only bloody thing I can use which works. Oh, and Shout Color Catchers so that the hot or warm water doesn't bleed everything together.

Laundry takes me a while. On the other hand, Dani's blouses are actually white. *smiles*

[misia.livejournal.com]

You don't need to spend money on bleach pens. Get a small jar, put your bleach in it, and use a Q-tip to apply it if it needs to go on that precisely.

I have found that a lengthy cold water soak, overnight if possible, makes a lot of stains highly soluble. Cold salt water works well on protein stains (like blood); cold water with baking soda dissolved in it works well on a lot of other stuff.