Refreshing Your Winter Bedding

Everyone who's been through a real winter at college has had the same experience. You've kept your light bedding on your bed through the fall, perhaps only a sheet and light blanket, but now it's colder and it's time to find that heavy comforter you made sure to bring. When you pull it out, though, it's wrinkled and crushed from being in storage so long. What can you do to refresh it so that your bed looks nice and doesn't smell like a closet?

The best option is to use the Tobi Steamer. Your Tobi will relax the fabric of your comforter (or a new pair of flannel sheets), plump up the stuffing, and help the fabric lose that musty closet smell. In college, it's really hard to find space to store everything, especially with a lot of roommates. It's good to know that if things do end up crushed and wrinkled, your Tobi appliance can help keep them looking good.

Sorting - Not Just for Hats!

There are five main categories you can use when separating your laundry. They consist of: Whites, Lights, Darks, Reds, and Delicates. Whites are normally washed using the hot setting and bleach is a common add on to this type of load. Lights can be washed using the warm or cold setting. Darks are washed using the warm or cold setting as this category normally includes items that may fade or bleed if washed using the hot setting. Reds should be added in with your darks because red fabrics have a nasty tendency of releasing their dye when being washed. The failure to properly wash red items has resulted in numerous pairs of pink socks being ruthlessly cast aside by their owners. Delicates should only be washed using the cold setting because choosing warm or hot may cause damage. While the Tobi Steamer is useful for refreshing clothing in every category, it's especially useful for delicates, which are easily damaged by the chemicals in detergents and the heat from dryers. Tobi refreshes and plumps fabric fibers without damaging them, so anything safe for steam is safe for Tobi.

Examples of Whites: light colors, cotton, cotton blends, wash rags, white socks, pillow cases, white cotton undershirts and t-shirts, bath towels and dish towels

Examples of Lights: lightly patterned items sheets or socks, items that are mostly white that have small amounts of color, light colored t-shirts and articles of clothing that are pastel colored

Examples of Darks: jeans, dark colored pants and shirts, dark colored socks, sweat pants, dark colored skirts, any red items should be washed with your darks to prevent the dye from bleeding onto your lighter items

Examples of Delicates: wool, satin, lace, sweaters, nylons, under garments and any clothing with an appliquÉ such as beading, sequins or embroidery

Of course, you don't have to use all five categories...you may not have that much laundry. Most college students (if they're being really careful) separate lights and darks. That's how you make sure you're not walking around in pink underwear and socks that aren't supposed to be. If you only have one bright red shirt, consider hand washing. Your shirt gets clean and the rest of your laundry doesn't get pink.

Steam it...Steam it Good

For almost all young men and women, the college experience encompasses more than the pursuit of higher education. Quite often for many, this is the first step toward lifelong independence and self-reliance. Along with being responsible for themselves, they also take on the responsibility of wardrobe care. This can be a confusing time for some college students - many of them are unsure how to care for their clothing. Oftentimes trial and error is unfortunately used to figure things out in the world of apparel care.

We have all seen the college freshman with the dark t-shirt that has been splattered with bleach, the button down shirt that is missing a few buttons, the khakis with a tear in the pant leg or the popular wrinkled shirt and pants combo. Granted, some of these fashion statements are intentional. Many are not.

This is due in large part to the fact that the majority of college students have learned all they know of laundry care from passively watching one parent or another do the laundry. While all parents hope the kids will have laundry figured out by the time high school is over, that's not always the case. The other problem happens when someone knows the proper way to do laundry and make themselves look presentable to the world, but they don't want to take the extra time. This is especially true in the case of college kids. They tend to have other things taking up their time such as writing term papers, studying for midterms and let's not forget the very occasional party. The bottom line is if it's not convenient for them and easy to use, more then likely they aren't going to be interested in ironing their clothes. They would prefer to wear wrinkled and unkempt clothing, rather then take the time to fiddle around with a conventional iron. The Tobi Steamer is a great tool to equip you college goer with. It takes up less space then an ironing board, (space saving is always a plus in a dorm room) it is overall much more user friendly and convenient to use then the typical iron.

Use Steam Not Quarters

Most college students don't want to be stuck in local laundromats trying to make sense of “darks”, “lights” and “delicates”. They would rather throw everything together in a jumbled mess and hope for the best. Lets stick to the basics, shall we? It is a statistical fact that the two things every college student needs more of are time and money. So why not just explain to them about the Tobi Steamer? Instead of throwing everything into the hamper (or worse, onto the floor) after it's been used once, tell them that they can use the Tobi Steamer to refresh clothing and wear it again. And you can forget trying to get your kids to iron; with the Tobi steamer, you don't need to! Even better, tell them that steaming will mean fewer trips to the laundry room, which means less time hauling bags of clothes and less quarters down the drain. That's a language they understand.

Washing Machine and Dryer Guide

If you are unsure which setting to use when washing your clothes, check under the lid of the machine to see if the instructions are listed there. Most washing machines have the instructions posted there for easy reference. There will be a basic guideline for how to utilize the different settings, water temperatures and suggestions on how to clean most types of clothing and fabric.

If you are still confused after consulting the instructions, you can always ask for advice. In the dorm laundry room, chances are someone will be able to help you out. If you are in a laundromat, there is normally an attendant who can explain things to you. You want to make sure the dryer you use is working properly and the correct settings are selected. There is nothing worse then shelling out money to use the dryer only to realize once the cycle is over, it was on the “no heat” setting.

Some dryers may get excessively hot - this can scorch or melt some types of fabric. Others may not get hot enough - leaving you with damp clothing that needs to get dried (and paid for) again. An easy way to check the temperature is to open the dryer door a few minutes after you start the dryer and feel how much heat is coming out. If it seems the temperature is too high, lower the heat setting, and if it seems too cool, raise the setting. After a few trips when you have fine tuned your laundry skills, you will learn which machines work best for your needs and won’t require you spend extra time to change settings. It's also a good idea to use the Tobi Steamer when your clothes come out of the dryer to remove wrinkles. With some clothes, you can even use the Tobi instead of the dryer.

When to Surrender to a Stain

You have tried pretreating, and yet that pesky stain just wont lift. What do you do now?

There are many options to choose from when dealing with permanently stained clothing. You might find that with time and repeated washings the stain will fade. If you think this could be a possibility for your tough stain, do not put the article of clothing into the dryer again. The heat from the dryer will permanently set the stain and squash any hope you had of it eventually fading. Instead, if you need to wear it despite the stain, use the Tobi Steamer to remove wrinkles and plump the fabric for the time being. The Tobi will refresh the fabric without needing to use the dryer.

Depending on how important the damaged article is, you may find that it is worth spending a few dollars to have the stain professionally removed. If this is out of your price range or you are not terribly bothered by your stain, sometimes there is a simple cover up. A carefully placed button or patch can render your stain unnoticeable. You can also roll up the sleeves on a shirt, wear a jacket to hide a stain on a dress shirt, add a scarf to your favorite dress or sweater, or use the stained item as an undergarment.

Who Needs Dryer Sheets?

It's terrible to feel a tap on the shoulder in class and turn around to some complete stranger telling you that there's a dryer sheet stuck to your back. Unless it's stuck there with tape, you probably put it there yourself last time you did laundry. One great way to avoid this problem is to use the Tobi Steamer to refresh clothing rather than expensive and potentially embarassing dryer sheets.

Fabric softener is basically meant to undo the damage that dryers do to your clothes. They're chemicals that make your clothing feel softer to the touch, but there are better ways to get those results. With the Tobi Steamer, you can use the power of steam to remove wrinkles and plump clothing to get the same benefits without the added chemicals. Even better, you can use the Tobi on lightly worn clothes instead of putting them through the wash in the first place, so they don't get scratchy and wrinkled in the dryer.

Dry With Caution

After your clothes are clean, it's time to toss them in the dryer. However, the heat from dryers can damage many kinds of fabrics. While you can't always avoid this, it's a good idea to machine-dry your clothes as infrequently as possible. Favorite items like jeans and cotton shirts often come out scratchy, wrinkled and out-of-shape. Worse, over time dryers will shorten the lifespan of your clothes, making them more prone to ripping, fading and other damage.

So how do you avoid using the dryer too often? The trick is to recognize when clothes just need to be refreshed before they can be worn again. The Tobi Steamer can remove wrinkles and plump fabrics with far less time and effort than putting a load through the wash. The clothes look as good as ever, and because they were steamed rather than put through the dryer, they'll continue looking that way for a long time to come.

Has it Been too Long Since You've Done Your Laundry?

Some may not think it’s a big deal to have a mountain of smelly tube socks, unmentionables, t-shirts and jeans cluttering up your room or closet. The problem is, your roomie might not share your affinity for the smell of three week old dirty gym socks...this could affect college roommate relations in a very negative way. College is tough enough without having to deal with an upset roommate who tries to send you subtle hints about your lack of laundry upkeep by using a whole bottle of air freshener in your dorm room each day.

Keeping up with your laundry doesn't have to be difficult! The secret is to avoid washing clothes that don't need to be washed. Instead of throwing that barely-worn shirt from your interview on the floor, go over it for a few seconds with the Tobi Steamer and hang it back up in the closet. Give your jeans a little attention with the Tobi and then put them back in the drawer. When lightly used clothes don't end up in the hamper they stay clean longer. With the Tobi Steamer, you can vastly reduce the amount of laundry you need to do.

Know Your Laundry

Let's face it. It's really embarassing to drag your laudry down to a dorm's laundry room and then have to ask some random stranger what to do next. People come to college from all different backgrounds, but you don't want to be the one whose background is "18 years old and still doesn't know how to do laundry." Knowing how to care for your clothes will help you avoid looking silly, and will also give you an opportunity to help others and maybe make some friends in the process.

A great laundry tip to use and pass along is the power of Steam. Most lightly used garments don't need to be washed again if you use the Tobi Steamer to refresh them. You can even get a handheld Tobi to bring down to the laundry room with you, so you can steam wrinkled clothes while the rest of your laundry is in the wash.

Pretreatment of Stains

Many stains, when left untreated, will set in deep. This results in permanent blemishes, spots, streaks and stains being left on clothing. Have no fear, you might be able to save that article of clothing yet. By pretreating a stain quickly you lower the risk of ruining your clothes because either you got a little over zealous when eating on pizza day or because your pocket protector failed in its duty to keep your pocket a "no ink zone." There are many forms of pretreating products out there that will work just fine to get rid of basic stains. Apply them to your clothes and then follow the manufacturers instructions for use.

Here are a few other tips to keep in mind. Never run hot water on the stain in hopes that it will remove it; this will only set the stain. Dryers are also notorious for setting stains, so if you need to wear a garment before it can be completely cleaned, use the Tobi Steamer to remove wrinkles rather than putting it through the washer/dryer or going over it with an iron. Do not rub/scrub the area containing the stain, it is best to use a pretreater and let it sit for at least an hour or overnight and then steam and wash it. After you pretreat, you can run the problem area under cold water to rinse away the treatment to check the status of the stain. If it is still present you can repeat the pretreatment process again but if after seventy-two hours the stain has not lifted, sadly the chances are you are stuck with it.