Sharing is Caring, Especially When It Comes to Cleaning

Cleaning Facts 101: What is Dry Cleaning Anyways?

January 30 by

Have you ever wondered what makes dry cleaning different from hand washing or normal machine washing? I know I have.

So I set out on some investigative blogging to reveal what really happens when you send your garments off to the dry cleaners.

Dry cleaning is a cleaning process for clothes and other textiles without the use of water, although, in this laundering method, clothes actually get wet. Tricky little name.

As opposed to soaking the clothing and textiles in water, dry cleaning uses a special chemical solution, called perchlorethylene (abbreviates as perc), that washes away all dirt, stains and other messes.

During the dry cleaning process, the clothes go into a large capacity machine (normally with a maximum capacity of 50 pounds). The clothing and textiles tumble around in the main cleaning basket with the dry cleaning solution. The machine starts by removing the surface soil then rotates to penetrate deeply into the fabric fibers.

After completing the cleaning process, the clothes remain in the same machine and dry completely in the tumble dry setting. Once dry, the clothes and textiles receive a professional pressing to remove all creases and wrinkles.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

Fun Facts About Beer

January 20 by

We all know that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and that a glass of red wine is good for the heart, but what about a nice cold beer?

While beer is high in calories, it is high in B vitamins too! A Dutch study showed that beer drinkers had higher levels of vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid. Moderate beer drinking has also been shown to decrease your risk of stroke and kidney disease, while at the same time decreasing the risk of dementia.

Most women are likely to make the switch from beer to wines or hard liquors because drinking too much beer leads to the well known weight gain phenomenon called the “beer belly.” However, when it comes to quality calories, beer isn’t as empty as it seems. The key is to drink in moderation. Instead of focusing on light beers with no flavor, try to find out what styles of beers you most enjoy. Sipping a well made, great tasting beer will give you many more benefits that quickly tossing back something with a few less calories.

Last but not least, beer had very high levels of silicon, which can help increase bone density.

Cheers!

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

All You Need to Know About Berber

January 19 by

If you’ve ever seen the comedy “Get Him to the Greek,” you may know a song from the feature film called “Furry Walls.” Although set in a very silly context, this song talks about the comfort of carpeted, furry walls.

From the moment I saw the movie and heard the song, it always made me think of Beber carpeting. So I decided to share some “Jeopardy” worthy info with you, my dear readers.

Early Berber carpets came from the northern part of Africa where the Beber people spent hours creating hand spun wool. They used this wool to create all types of textiles and clothing items, including the Berber carpet.

Modern Beber, now made world wide, still features that thick, wool fluff feeling—although now offered in both synthetic and natural fibers. When laid across the floors in your home, because of its thick loop design, it offers extreme comfort, durability and long life.

Beber carpeting, made of either synthetic or natural wool materials, adds that super comfortable, furry feeling to your home (whether it covers the floors or walls). When you step into Beber carpet, you feel the soft caress and gentle support of its hand-looped fibers.

So if you want that furry, super comfortable feel in your home, consider the coziest of all carpet styles, Beber. If you’re lucky you may even get, as the song says, your “furry walls to kiss you goodnight.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , ,

The Origins of Natural Dyes

January 15 by

Ever wonder where that beautiful red in your rug comes from? If your rug is colored with natural dyes then it could likely come from small insects called Cochineal or Kermes. Natural dyes are often used in hand area rugs because of their bright, lasting colors and the beautiful variation in colors that makes a rug unique.

Although rugs and other fabrics have been dyed brilliant colors for thousands of years, synthetic dyes have only been developed in the past 200 years. Before the 19th Century, almost all dyes were derived from plants, animals or minerals. Here’s a list of the most common sources for natural dyes.

Red – Cochineal and Kermes (insects), madder, redwood bark and Brazil wood (plants), cinnabar and lead oxide (mineral).

Orange – Henna (plant)

Yellow – saffron, safflower, tummeric weld and many other plant sources, ocher (mineral)

Green – a mix of blue and yellow dyes, or malachite (mineral)

Blue – Woad (plant), lapis lazuli and asurite (mineral)

Purple – Although purple can come from mixing red and blue dyes, the Royal Purple that is famous in royalty comes from the secretions of a sea snail. Since this purple is exceptionally rare and expensive it was saved for the highest classes.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , ,