Originally posted – Oct 29, 2012
Can you tell me how to remove yellow wood glue from a pair of cotton pants? I haven’t found anything that will work.
There are a couple of ways to remove glue.
In some instances, depending on the type of adhesive, you can use a paint remover, which can be purchased at any hardware store. In most cases, this will remove wood glue.
However, if the glue is rather rigid and there is a lot of it on the pants, try placing the pants into a freezer. Once the glue is frozen, you often can work it around and, in a frozen state, it has a tendency to turn into a powder and flake off of the garment. This method also works well on gum.
We recently washed and dried a load of white dress shirts. When these shirts came out of the washer, they were bright white. However, after drying them, they had all turned yellow. We have never had this problem before. We have previously experienced yellow spots on garments, but we were able to remove those stains with another wash.
What can I do to prevent this from happening again? And what can I do to get those shirts white again?
In general, white shirts turning yellow or gray is the result of either the detergent or a combination of detergent and bleach not being fully rinsed out of the garments during the rinse cycle. In such cases, when you put the white garments into a dryer, you’re essentially baking the residual chemicals onto the items.
I suggest you check your usage of chemicals, as well as the water level on your rinse cycles to be sure you’re getting enough water to properly rinse out the garments.
To regain the whiteness in those dress shirts, wash them in a regular wash cycle using chlorine bleach, if they’re cotton; however, if they are striped or have colors on them, use non-chlorine powder bleach. Then, repeat the drying process. This will remove the yellow stains.
The price of water in my area is sky high. My washers are set to offer a pre-wash, a wash and three rinses. But I’m thinking of eliminating either the pre-wash or one of the rinse cycles. What do you think?
My first thought would be to increase my vend prices. However, if you feel a price increase would hurt your business too severely, eliminate the last rinse.
Your pre-wash should be set at a low water level anyway to maximize the use of chemicals, whereas the rinse cycle is generally set on a high level to maximize the removal of the chemicals and dirt that are suspended after the garments have been washed. It’s important to maintain your pre-wash and wash cycles to ensure proper stain removal.
In addition, by eliminating a rinse cycle, you’re not only saving on water but also electricity, because the rinse cycle is typically longer than the pre-wash cycle.
But, again, I would consider increasing vend prices before eliminating any cycles.
I own a coin laundry in a small town without a drycleaner, and one of my customers recently brought in a white wedding gown for me to clean. It is made from a synthetic material, which I believe is polyester. How can I clean it?
Before you do anything, be absolutely certain that everything on the wedding gown is synthetic, including the thread, in order to prevent puckering.
Next, take the gown home. Fill your bathtub with warm water, and then pour in about a half-pint of a quality dishwashing detergent and approximately 16 ounces of OxiClean – and mix it into a solution. Place the dress into the solution and gently swirl the garment for five to 10 minutes, and then let it soak for three to four hours.
Drain the water and refill the tub with clean water. Rinse the wedding dress twice and then hang it on a plastic – not metal – hanger until it dries. After it dries, you can steam out any wrinkles.
Keep in mind that most drycleaners will charge anywhere from $50 to $125 to clean wedding gown, so be sure to charge accordingly.
