The Dryer Trick

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The Dryer Trick



by Randall Whitlock

Many of the garments you will find at MoiRandall's are not suitable for machine washing. These might be made of 100 percent wool fabric (which tends to shrink) or cotton velvet (which loses strength when wet and may pull away from the seams).

Ultimately, these garments will need to dry-cleaned. In the meantime, you can keep them fresh and relatively clean for quite a while using mom's old dryer trick.

Moisten a clean bath towel with water and a splash of liquid fabric softener. The towel should be damp, but not soaked.

Toss the towel and your garment into a dryer. Set the dryer to "fluff" or the equivalent non-heat setting. Set the timer for about 90 minutes and turn it on.

The garment will flop around in the dryer, shaking off the dust and lint. The softener-moistened towel helps absorb odor and reduce static. You might add a dryer fabric softener sheet or a spritz of fabric deodorizer to enhance the effect. With more delicate garments, you might place it inside a mesh bag. These are available in the laundry aisle of most supermarkets. The moistened towel goes outside the bag.

The dryer trick is particularly effective against dry dust and dead grass (inevitable in Arizona). You will be amazed at the amount of lint that will come off of a wool, corduroy, or velveteen garment. Dried mud should be brushed off as much as possible before you try the dryer trick.

Unfortunately, the dryer trick won't help much with food or chlorophyll stains.




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