Winter in Colorado means layers to stay warm in unpredictable weather conditions. We love to wear our knit sweaters, scarves, and accessories – especially the handmade items with extra sentimental value. But cleaning those items can be tricky! You don’t want to damage the carefully crafted items in your washing machine, or risk shrinking, stretching, and ruining the yarn.

Before you clean your knit garments at home, keep these things in mind:

Type of Material

Yarn comes in as many fibers and materials as fabric, and each has different care requirements. Is your sweater made of cotton yarn? Wool? Acrylic? Check the label on the sweater. For handmade items, you can refer to the label on the yarn itself, if possible.

If you have a sweater without a label, an expert can help determine the material it is made from and recommend the best care options. Bring your hand-knit garments to Green Care Cleaners so our clothing care experts can offer advice or clean the item for you.

Risks to Hand-Knit Items

• Stretching – Natural elasticity can be damaged by normal wear and tear, but washing can expedite the damage. Never hang these items, but instead store folded in a drawer. Do not hang dry either, as wet fibers may stretch even more with gravity.
• Shrinking – Heat from the dryer can cause knit items to constrict and shrink. We recommend laying flat to dry whenever possible.
• Tearing – The agitation of the washing machine can cause some hand-knit items to pull apart, tear, or become damaged. For these items, wash by hand or take to a professional.

Proper Care

If you are going to clean the items at home, always follow the care instructions. If you don’t have instructions to follow, first test detergent on a small, inconspicuous area first to make sure it does not damage the material. Then use a gentle cycle or handwash the items carefully. For best results, bring your garments to our professional wet cleaners for advice on how to wash the item.

Never put hand-knit items like scarves in the dryer, as the heat and agitation can damage the fiber and the weave. Instead, lay flat to dry and reshape to prevent damage.

For advice on caring for your favorite knit clothing and accessories, bring them to Green Care Cleaners in Highlands Ranch! Our professionals will keep your garments and scarves looking their best, without the risk of washing at home. Call us at 303-798-0515.

It’s Halloween Season! If you have young children or are a Halloween enthusiast yourself, you’ve probably already gathered your costumes, props, wigs, etc. for the occasion; if you need to freshen up an outfit before this year’s party or want to clean and store at the end of the month however, here are a few tips for cleaning your Halloween costume:

Keep in mind that Halloween costumes are often made with inexpensive fabrics, cheap materials, and basic stitching.

Unlike your everyday clothing, these outfits are not designed to last but rather for the one time, once per year events of the holiday. However, with proper and gentle care, you can get the most out of your costumes and keep them looking fresher longer!

Bright colors and unique patterns could bleed dye from your costume – before you wash the garment, test for color stay by running a small area of the fabric under water (the same temperature that you would use to wash the costume). If it does bleed, bring the costume in for professional cleaning to avoid ruining the costume or other articles in the load.

Always check for washing instructions that come with the costume or on the label. Typically, it is best to hand wash your costume, inside out, using gentle detergent. Rinse well to remove all traces of soap. Hang dry or lie flat to avoid shrinking and pilling in the heat of the dryer.

If your costume just needs a little de-wrinkling, iron on low heat with distilled water. The inexpensive materials like rayon and polyester can be especially sensitive to heat, so check your settings before putting the iron to the fabric.

You could also try steaming with your bathroom shower or running a no-heat wrinkle release setting in your dryer.

Before storing your costume, make sure it is free of stains and moisture. Pretreat any stains and clean before putting away for the year. Sweat and body odor can cause stains and damage fabric if left untreated – you should always air out, if not clean, your costume before storing.

To have your garments looking their absolute best, drop them off for our organic wet cleaning service! For advice on your specific costume, a tough stain, or to schedule a pick-up, give us a call at 303-798-0515.

Over 50 million Americans suffer from allergies every year. In addition to peanuts, cats, bees, etc., a common allergy for many is the chemicals used by traditional dry cleaners.

Allergic reactions to these chemicals can cause sneezing/coughing, skin irritation, rashes, or even hives.

The solution? Go Green!

While standard dry cleaners use harsh, petroleum-based chemicals solvents like perchloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene and various chlorocarbons, the organic dry cleaning process uses temperature-controlled water, sophisticated computer-controlled machines, and gentle detergents to get your clothes clean. This gentle process is hypo-allergenic and has no scents or perfumes that cause skin irritation as a result of allergies.

If you have clothes that are ‘dry clean only’ but you have sensitive skin, organic dry cleaning is definitely the way to go!

It’s not surprising that brides want to look stunning on their wedding day. When you’ve worked so hard to find the perfect dress, choose the perfect hair style, and thought through every perfect detail, you want everything to be… perfect! This is why taking care of your gown cleaning before the wedding day can make a huge difference.

Even if you’ve bought your gown new, it can collect dirt and stains in the short time leading up to the wedding day. Between designing and sewing the gown, making alterations, storing and handling the gown, the delicate white fabric can collect even the smallest specks of dirt. The seamstress will use care when working on your wedding gown, but anytime the dress is handled it is at risk for getting new stains.

If you’re wearing a used dress, purchased from a consignment store, a friend’s gown, or a family heirloom like your mother or grandmother’s gown, you’ll want to take extra care to clean your gown for the wedding. If the gown was not properly cleaned and preserved before it was stored, latent stains may have appeared and require thorough cleaning and treatment to remove. Certain fabrics can also take on a yellow hue as they age, so ask a cleaning expert like the ones at Green Care Cleaners if that can be fixed in the cleaning process.

The elegant white wedding gown deserves to look its best on your wedding day! Plan enough time before the wedding day to finish all alterations and have your wedding dress cleaned before the big day.

When you bring your gown to Green Care Cleaners for wedding dress cleaning and preservation, our experts will leave your dress feeling fresh, soft, clean and bright! Bring it in to our location in Highlands Ranch or schedule a pick-up and drop-off to your home. Call us at 303-798-0515 for more info!