Freshman Laundry Tips for a "Clean" Transition to College Life

(NAPS) - Freshman year at college is chock-full of new experiences, and doing laundry is at the top of the list for many students. When faced with an overflowing hamper, even the most independent collegiates wish Mom was around.

For students, laundry-room horrors like shrinking, stretching and fading are par for the course. But the makers of Gentle Cycle Woolite Fabric Wash have come to the rescue with some easy washing tips. Posting them up in the dorm laundry room is sure to salvage more than a few washloads and save costly trips to the dry cleaner.

1. "Study" your care labels. Reading care labels on your clothes is like preparing for an exam. If you pay attention, you'll do a great job. In many cases, you may have the option to machine wash your favorite clothes, as long as they don't have linings or decorative trim. If the care label says "Dry Clean" or "Hand Wash," then you have the option to wash it in the gentle cycle of your machine. If the label says "Dry Clean Only" or "Hand Wash Only," take a road trip to the dry cleaner. But before washing, do the quick colorfast test below.

2. Test for colorfastness. All tests should be this easy! Separate your colors. Then place the inner seam of that favorite red (or any color) garment on a paper towel. Saturate a cotton swab with cool water and press down firmly. If it doesn't bleed, you've avoided a washing disaster. If the garment does bleed, go ahead and wash it by itself by hand or in the gentle cycle, but only use cold water.

3. Caring for cotton. Cotton is a cool fabric whether your campus is in sunny California or chilly New Hampshire. To ensure those favorite cotton items will make it to next semester, wash, don't dry clean, colorfast cottons unless they have a lining or complicated construction. Dry cleaning may gray or yellow cotton. Wash in cool water in the gentle cycle to help reduce any color-running and give your cotton garments longer life. Tumble dry dark colors infrequently, since the tumbling action can cause fading. Iron while garment is still damp.

4. Get an A in knitwear. It's Laundry 101 that many cotton knits and wovens labeled "Dry Clean" (except for open-weave or loosely woven knits) are better cleaned with Woolite in cool water in the gentle cycle, since repeated dry cleaning may cause yellowing. Tumble dry instead of flat drying the garment to restore its original shape. Never hang knits, as they will stretch.

5. Don't sweat it. Finals week alone can cause a freshman to sweat profusely, never mind the challenges of daily college life. You can eliminate any smell of perspiration by just soaking garments in a solution of four tablespoons salt to one quart water, then rinse and wash in Woolite. To prevent chlorine and saltwater from harming swimwear fabric, wash in cold water after every swim. Lay flat to dry, away from sun or heat.

6. One large pizza, hold the polyester. Although polyester resists water-based stains, it attracts and absorbs oil stains (like the kind in that late-night pizza). Don't wash your polyester with any grease-stained clothing.

7. Stop the spot. If a washable colorfast fabric has a spot or stain, pretreat it with Woolite. Just wet the spot, apply and let stand for a minute before washing in the gentle cycle.

For a free booklet that contains more fabric care tips on specific fabrics, write to: What's in a Label, P.O. Box 8126, Grand Rapids, MN 55745-8126. Offer good while supplies last.......