The American Cleaning Institute (ACI)

Search

Results (1338)

Forget about the good old days, when Monday was Laundry Day, ironing was an art form, and Grandma starched the sheets. Today, we're lucky to find time to fit meals in, let alone dedicating hours to caring for our clothes.If you're like most people, your fabric care is done on an "as needed" basis — battling spills, smells, and wrinkles as you prepare to face tomorrow. Thankfully, innovations in fabric care products are keeping pace with our hectic lives. Today's fabric…
In order to get rid of a stain, some detective work is required. Identifying the source of the stain will determine the best way to remove it.
Q: I’ve done a good job keeping my skin protected from the sun, and my kids protected from mosquitoes. But now I have bug spray and sunscreen on my clothes. What do I do? While that’s definitely good news for you and your kids, it sounds like the family wardrobe didn’t make out as well. But don’t fear; most commercially available bug sprays and sunscreens do wash out relatively easily. First, pretreat the stains with a prewash stain remover,…
Bathrooms are where the cleaning challenges can really get tough. There are so many surfaces: chrome, brass, glass, porcelain, fiberglass ... plus a wide variety of soils: hard water deposits, soap film, rust stains and mildew, not to mention germs. An assortment of effective cleaning products is available for these jobs. Cleaning Tips Rinse the tub after each use to keep soap film and hard water deposits…
Bleaches help whiten, brighten and remove stains. Here's how to use bleach on clothes: Bleach converts soils into colorless, soluble particles which are easily removed by detergents, then carried away in the wash water. Bleach can also brighten and whiten fabrics and help remove stubborn stains. Sodium hypochlorite bleaches (also called chlorine or liquid household bleach) are the more powerful laundry…
Follow These Rules for Keeping Uniforms Spotless Keeping school, work and sports uniforms looking their best starts in the laundry room! By following these basic guidelines, you can help a uniform to last the entire season – and even beyond. 1. Start with the "right fit." A too-tight uniform can cause excess perspiration (and resulting stains), and one that drags in the sleeves or hem can pick up extra soil. So when possible, try for a uniform that…
Today is the perfect time to stop and think about your laundry routine. We have tips for how to get clothes clean as well as advice to make sure you’re practicing safe laundry habits, particularly around liquid laundry packets and bleach. If single-load liquid laundry packets are your go-to, always keep them safely away from children, out of reach or locked in cabinets and drawers…
Are your black jeans, t-shirt or your little black dress not as black as they used to be? For the most part, it’s pretty inevitable that dark clothes will fade after repeated washings. There are laundry products that are formulated to lessen the fading. Be sure to read the product label and look for features like color guard or "for black" or "dark clothes". And always follow the product and garment label instructions before using. If machine washing is recommended, you…
You may pull an item out of the dryer and find that the heat has caused the stain to set. At that point, you may think all hope is lost, but there are still a couple of things you can try.