Wash with Wally: Comforter Questions

By Wally Makowsky | Feb 03, 2012

I just washed a white, queen-sized down comforter. I read the attached washing instruction label, which warned against using bleach. Are these labels always accurate?

First of all, it doesn’t sound like that particular care label was specific enough. Most of the time, when the labels give an instruction regarding the use of bleach, they qualify it by saying, “Do not use chlorine bleach.”

The only bleach I know that could be harmful is chlorine bleach. You can try using non-chlorine bleach. Put a little in a glass, mix it with water, and then take a cotton swab and go over the stained area to see if there is any fabric damage. If you don’t notice any fabric damage, you can feel safe washing the comforter with non-chlorine bleach.

My recommendation: If you’ve got cotton items, wash them in hot water with a quality detergent and non-chlorine bleach.

I have a question about fragrances and scents. Is there any way to add something different to the wash to get it smelling fresh, aside from the normal scented detergents or fabric softeners? Sometimes I wish there was something to add for customers with pets who need a boost of fragrance in their blankets or comforters. Any suggestions?

There are certain odor-removing and fragrance-adding products that your local distributor likely has available. Some of these items are sold frequently to drycleaners and even veterinarians’ offices. Therefore, I would suggest first calling your distributor to see what types of commercial-level products he carries.

On the retail shelf at your local supermarket, there are a couple of odor-neutralizing products that leave a pleasant after-scent, include Febreze. If you add a product like that to the last rinse of your wash cycle, you not only remove certain odors but you infuse a little fresh fragrance into whatever you’re washing.

Of course, the retail products are on the lighter level. To tackle stronger odors, talk to your local distributor about the many commercial products that are available.

I recently washed a load of white garments, which came out with several yellowish-brown spots. I used standard products – detergent, bleach and softener. And the spots won’t come out. What can we do?

Most likely, those spots have been created either by iron deposits in the water, or by fruit, tea or coffee stains. Try using a product called Iron Out, which you can get at your local supermarket. Test the spots. If they disappear, they are obviously iron stains – and you can use Iron Out in your wash cycle to remove the rest of the spots.

If the spots remain after testing them, more than likely they are fruit, tea or coffee stains. At this point, call your local distributor and see if he carries either Tannin Remover or YellowGo. One of those products should work on the stains.

When it comes to iron and fruit stains, the red flag is the yellow-brownish color. Unfortunately, when stains get into the darker brown shades, then they can be almost anything.

I do a lot of drop-off laundry at my store and was looking for a good spray spotter. Do you have any recommendations?

Yes, I would get Liquid Wisk. This product is good on food stains, some inks and some light oils. It is probably one of the easier products to purchase, because it’s available at most supermarkets or grocery stores.

For general spotting, I would recommend that you mix one part water with one part Liquid Wisk into a spray bottle. This will make a very effective spotter for most wash-dry-fold applications.

Another option is a product called Streetex Spray Spotter, which you can purchase from most drycleaning supply distributors.