Dry Cleaning and Laundry Tips

Women spend an average of 17 minutes per day or almost two hours a week on laundry-related chores. If this is time that you don’t have or simply want to spend with family or other important matters, you can take advantage of our same-day laundry service and other time-saving options at Starcrest Cleaners.

That being said, we noticed that the time people save thanks to our laundry services is sometimes offset by more ironing. One reason is that many customers immediately stow their all clothes inside drawers and dressers after getting them back from the cleaners. While this is indeed a benefit of wash and fold laundry, some forget that certain types of fabrics need special care.

Here are some tips on how to fold laundry the right way so they don’t wrinkle as much or require ironing:

Fold your t-shirts

T-shirts are meant to be low-maintenance and ideally folded. There are various folding methods for t-shirts, like the Flip-Fold method using a laundry folder and the KonMari Method. Both have a similar style: folding the left and right sides of the t-shirt towards the center and the sleeves along the armpit seams.

To prevent folded t-shirts from wrinkling, lay them on a flat surface and smooth out the wrinkles before folding.

Avoid keeping too many folded t-shirts on one shelf. When folded shirts are jam-packed in a tiny space, you're leaving the ones at the bottom susceptible to wrinkling.

Fold dress shirts

Most people instinctively hang dress shirts, but they’re actually more prone to wrinkling if you already have too many clothes hanging in your closet. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you can afford to space out the hangers of your dress shirts, hang them. Fold them otherwise.

To keep a folded dress shirt wrinkle-free, fasten all the buttons and straighten out all the seams first. Next, fold the left and right edges towards the centerline, then fold the sleeves down towards the bottom hem at 45 degrees near the armpit seams. Lift the bottom hem and fold one-third up, and again such that the folded edge reaches the shoulders perfectly.

As with the t-shirts, avoid packing too many dress shirts on one shelf. If you lack shelf space, hang the ones you’ll use for the week and fold the rest.

Fold and roll heavy sweaters

Never hang chunky, heavy sweaters because gravity will eventually stretch them out. Chunky sweaters are the best clothes to fold and roll because they’re thick and are unlikely to wrinkle. Rolled sweaters also take up less storage space than folded or hanged sweaters, so that’s another plus.

Hang light, flowy fabrics like silk and chiffon. Linen shirts, too.

Light fabrics that easily wrinkly are best placed on hangers. Common examples are silk and chiffon blouses, scarves, and dresses. Note that these fabrics are also difficult to iron (either too delicate or wrinkles don’t smooth out easily), so they are better off on hangers.

Linen shirts and dress pants should also go on hangers because they are very prone to wrinkles.

Fold denims (or hang them, either works).

Denim is a durable fabric: it won’t wrinkle easily if you fold or even roll it. However, many like to hang their denims, especially jeans because it makes it easier to find a specific pair when you need it.

You can do either or both. If you have enough space in your wardrobe to hang jeans, hang the pairs you plan to use soon and fold the rest. Just don’t force all your jeans on one tiny shelf. Denim doesn’t wrinkle easily, but fold marks become visible if the crumpled fabric stays squished for days or weeks.

Make the most of wash, dry, and fold laundry services by handling your clothes the right way. Put your folded t-shirts, sweaters, and denims in the closet straight away, but make sure to hang your silks and linens.

Get tips on how to take care of your clothes on top of stellar, same-day washing and drying services at Starcrest Cleaners. Contact the nearest branch today.