Home&Garden San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, July 10, 2011 | Section N
Laundry list: Dos and don’ts From viscose rayon to silk and linen, the ladies at The Laundress have compiled a nifty chart to help consumers determine what they can wash at home and how to do so safely. Here are some highlights. For the rest go to: bit.ly/ap3nxG
Dirty secret? T aren’t the last hose clothing labels word on fabri c care.
Wool, cashmere, mohair, angora
How to shrink your laundry bill
1 Hand wash or machine wash with delicate/ woolen cycle
1 Use detergent specified for wool and cashmere
1 Cold water 1 Turn item inside out; place item in mesh bag
1 Wash with like colors 1 Lay flat to dry in natural shape
1 Steam only; do not iron DON’T: 1 Use hot water, fabric conditioner or bleach
Val B. Min
a / The Ch
ronicle
1 Use dryer 1 Dry in sunlight
HOME ECONOMICS
for whites or darks
1 Use fabric conditioner or dryer sheets
1 All water temperatures 1 Separate colors 1 For cotton: Use dryer at
1 For linen: Line dry or dry
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Lindsey Wieber Boyd, co-founder of The Laundress
1 Use regular detergent
high temperature or hang dry; iron hot or steam.
By Chantal Lamers
“Ninety percent of fabric can be hand washed safely.”
Cotton and linen
on low; always remove and hang when damp; easiest pressed when damp
I’m not opposed to dry cleaning, but I’ve long yearned for the empowerment to clean my own very beloved cashmere sweaters and assorted vintage frocks. (I wince just a tiny bit when I relinquish control of a cherished garment to a stranger.) As it turns out, those little labels affixed to clothing dishing out permission on whether you can wash it at home or must march it down to the dry cleaner aren’t always the last word. For that you can thank Lindsey Wieber Boyd and Gwen Whiting, cofounders of The Laundress (www.thelaundress.com), a specialty collection of assorted detergents and cleaners. “Look further at the fabric content, don’t stop at the dry-clean-only label,” says Boyd. “Ninety percent of fabric can be hand washed safely.” Her athome laundry list includes trousers, suits and blazers, swimsuits, dress shirts, silk scarves, blouses, wool and cashmere. There are some exceptions:
DON’T 1 Use bleach (weakens fibers)
Polyester and nylon 1 Machine wash on normal
1 Regular detergent 1 Warm water 1 Line, hang dry or tumble
Silk blends under 50 percent; leather, suede, raw silk and most rayons should never be washed or drenched in water. Follow the duo’s carefully researched advice and nearly all of a closet’s contents can be safely hand washed or even
dry on low; iron on low to medium heat or steam
DON’T 1 Use bleach
Laundry continues on N7
GARDENING
Edibles take a bite out of the front lawn By Corinne Asturias S P ECI AL TO THE CHRONICLE
My mini-mutiny began last fall when half of our formidable front lawn turned the color of pale fries. “The sprinkler system,” my husband said impassively as we stood before our dead rectangle, “is shot.” We stood for a moment in silence, surveying the large space in front of our house, half alive, half dead. The truth is, we’ve never loved our lawn or the concept of lawns. They permeate the American dream and dominate our midcentury, suburban development in San Jose. Space hogs, water suckers and giant leaf collectors that have to be
blown, mown and doused in chemicals with a great ruckus to look good, what is the point of a lawn other than to say: we have land, time and money to waste? When our kids were young the home turf had its benefits: a landing pad for soccer balls and dogs and skateboards, and a display carpet for the annual holiday tree. But lately, its uselessness had started to gnaw at us. And staring at the newly dead zone out front, I realized that in all the years living in this home, I’d never even thought about what I wanted for the sunny space occupied by my lawn. My imagination started to roam and a rebellious vision
Kat Wade / Special to The Chronicle
When half of the author’s front lawn died, she and her husband opted to build two 4-by-8-foot raised vegetable beds with a buffer of roses closest to the street.
took shape: the organic vegetable garden I’d always wanted but couldn’t plant out back because of three dogs, two tortoises and not enough sun. Vegetable gardening as a trend, if you’ve been living under a
rock for the past three years, is back, resulting in a tide of so-called victory gardens (named for war-era attempts to augment the nation’s food supply with local plots) and urban farms of all stripes. There’s a dose of recessionary
thriftiness in there, but also an unmistakable desire for tangibility and back-to-basics meaning. First lady Michelle Obama jumpstarted the national consciousness when she plunked a veggie patch on the White House
lawn. Throw in the locavore movement, an E. coli outbreak or two, the guy at the farmers’ market charging you a buck for a potato, and you’ve got the makings of a mini-revolt. Our plan was modest: Garden continues on N5