Care guide

With home care, you can wash your clothes right in your own home.

Linen hire companies collect, wash and redistribute your clothes.

Professional maintenance, in particular by dry cleaners, guarantees appropriate care and optimum use of resources.

Here are a few simple tips to keep your washing machine running smoothly.

• We recommend descaling your washing machine twice a year, depending on the number of cycles you run. To do this, pour 1 litre of white vinegar into the drum before running a short cycle at 30°C. All parts of the machine are descaled and any bacteria eliminated.

• The rubber bellows on the drum of the washing machine are serviced once a month by running it “dry” without detergent at 90°C. To avoid damp and mould due to humidity after using your machine, leave it open until it is dry.

• It’s important to clean your filter properly! After removing small objects and dirt, clean it with lukewarm water and dry it before carefully replacing it in your machine.

There are a few tricks you can use to extend the life and quality of your clothes. Here are a few examples:

• Before washing your clothes, check that the zips are closed properly.
• Remember to sort and wash your clothes according to colour, but also according to how they are cared for.
• Lots of things get caught in the pockets of your work clothes: nails, screws, handkerchiefs… Remember to remove them to prevent them from damaging your machine and your clothes!
• Don’t hesitate to detach your clothes before washing if the stains are stubborn or very pronounced. The machine wash will then remove the rest of the stains.

You should have thought of that!

There are natural and effective alternatives for staining your clothes: black soap, bicarbonate, Marseille soap, lemon or even terre de sommières!

Caring for your clothes and respecting the environment are not mutually exclusive!

Simply opt for concentrated products, eco-refills with no unnecessary over-packaging, or avoid using non-degradable wipes.

You should have thought of that!

No need to sort your rubbish if you’ve run out Make your own natural, responsible detergent by grating 2 tablespoons of Marseille soap and pouring a litre of boiling water over it before stirring. Leave to cool while the product gels, and your detergent is ready!

There are two drying options, but we recommend air drying, which is more environmentally friendly and preserves the fibres of the garment, as opposed to tumble drying.

The latter consumes more electricity, but it is sometimes necessary to use it for lack of space or time. If this is the case for you, remember to use a cycle that wrings out your clothes as much as possible before using the tumble dryer.

You should have thought of that!

Slip a dry bath towel into your tumble dryer with your clothes to dry, and it’ll cut drying time in half! As an added bonus, you’ll do less damage to your clothes and use less electricity.

There are a few simple and effective tricks you can use to make ironing a thing of the past! Spreading out your washing at the end of the wash cycle will limit creasing, for example.

You can also put your dry clothes in the bathroom before taking a shower, where the moisture will take care of removing the wrinkles.

You should have thought of that!

To get rid of static electricity on your synthetic polyester clothes, simply apply these two little tips: use hairspray, or moisturise your skin with cream if you’re wearing skirts or trousers.

Despite its name, dry cleaning does use a liquid during the cleaning process. Generally, these are chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, whose use is prohibited for private individuals because of the harmful effects they can have on health and the environment. Alternatives are therefore preferable, such as sodium percarbonate.

As part of a more environmentally-friendly approach, dry cleaners are moving with the times!

The use of biodegradable cleaning products, shorter washing cycles, or even adapting the machines used, have enabled some dry cleaners to earn the status of guarantors of respect for the environment, or even certain labels. This makes it all the easier to turn to these dry cleaners to carry out certain professional treatments, such as re-impregnation, certain types of dry cleaning or bleaching.

The aim of bleaching is to restore a white garment by reducing the colour or removing it altogether. This industrial operation requires the use of solvents such as trichloroethylene, a hydrocarbon, or percarbonate, making a trip to the dry cleaners compulsory.

You should have thought of that!

Grandma’s tricks” are the best way to whiten your clothes naturally! Try lemon juice, bicarbonate of soda or white vinegar and see for yourself.