Students Stop Stains This Semester (NAPSA)—Manynew college students have little experience in the laundry room. What with going to class, getting acclimated to college life and making new friends, laundry just isn’t a first concern. “When students enter the laundry room for the first time, often they are unfamiliar with the actual laundry process,” said Andrea Streiff, Family and Consumer Education teacher and Phi Upsilon Omicron, Family and Consumer Science Honor Society representative. “Even if they have a basic understanding of the process, many are more concerned with spendingthe least amount of moneyon properfabric care.” For the procrastinator, heading home for the weekend with the dirty laundry in tow may seem like the easiest solution. However, there are plenty of laundry resources available that help get the job done without having to make the trek back to mom and dad. Online resources such as the Institute of Fabric Science offer quick and easy laundry tips so students don’t have to call home for Laundry 101. The institute was created by Whirlpool to teach consumers to maximize their laundry systems—saving time, moneyandeffort. Institute experts offer the following tips and supplylist for laundryfirst-timers: Laundry can be a cinch with the right supplies. Make sure to add a laundry basket or bag, iron and board, drying rack, stain stick, laundry detergent and drying sheets to the back-to-school shoppinglist. The laundry process begins before you head to the laundry A quick lesson in Laundry 101 will give students more time to hit the books. room. First, treat stains by blotting, not rubbing, from the back of the fabric to the front. Next, divide loads into lights and darks. While sorting, check that zippers are closed, hooks clasped and pockets emptied. Ease up on the detergent. Extra suds actually inhibit proper cleaning by holding on to soils and redepositing them on your laundry. Use hot water to keep white loads bright and switch to cold to prevent darks from fading. Think twice before cramming the washer anddryerfull of laundry. Clothes come out cleaner and less wrinkled when given room to move freely. Also, remember to empty the lint trap in the dryer. Doing so increases energyefficiency and speeds up drying to get back to more important things— like studying. Just like schoolwork, procrastination won’t make the task any easier. Fold clothing straight out of the dryer to avoid extra ironing later. Still feeling like a laundry tutor is needed for those tough stains? Additional laundry tips and tricks are available at www.instituteoffabricscience.com.
