If you don’t already have plans for your three-day weekend, check out this list of Memorial Day events happening in your area.

Washington DC

As our nation’s capital, DC is the natural host to a wide variety of Memorial Day activities.  Check out these family friendly events over the weekend:

Sunday, May 27: Gates open at 5p for a free PBS concert at 8p on the West Lawn of the US Capitol.

Monday, May 28: The National Memorial Day Parade begins at 2p, starting on Constitution Avenue, going past the White House, and ending on 17^th Street. Marching bands and veterans units from all 50 states will be participating.

Monday, May 28: There will be ceremonies and wreath layings all day—9a at both the Air Force Memorial and the World War II Memorial, 10a at the Navy Memorial, and 1p at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Or, just make your way into town and take in the sights—it’s guaranteed to be a jam-packed weekend, so you’ll have your pick of what to do, even if it’s just people watching!

Maryland

May 25: Start off the weekend with the La Plata Summer Concert Series, which has its first concert at 7p on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend. The concert is free and will be held on the west lawn of La Plata Town Hall.

May 26: The Centreville Memorial Day Parade will begin at 12:00p on Saturday. Bring the family by to see different groups participate in the parade.

May 26-28: Hometown Holidays, Rockville’s street festival, is on all weekend. Stop by for performances, rides, arts, and more festivities.

Annapolis is another good bet for a great place to walk around and find your own amusement on Memorial Day. Capital city and home to the Naval Academy, the city won’t disappoint on this holiday.

Virginia

May 26-28: Head to Vienna for Viva Vienna, a community festival with food, crafts, music, rides, and a special Memorial day ceremony.

May 26-27: Sky Meadows State Park will host the Delaplane Strawberry Festival. Bring the family by for live entertainment, games, pony rides, a petting zoo, 5K, and more—including strawberries!

Monday, May 28: If you’re in the Alexandria area, check out Fort Ward Park from 1-7p for the Memorial Day Jazz Festival. Bring a picnic and enjoy big band, swing, and jazz music with the whole family.

Be sure to check out Virginia’s tourism website for more weekend events throughout the whole state.

Still looking for the perfect event for you and your family? For more ideas, check out a larger list of Memorial Day weekend events here.

And don’t forget--Memorial Day is a great time to put up the flag for the summer. If your flag needs to be spruced up, bring it in to get it cleaned for free at Crest Cleaners!

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If you’re like most of us, there’s just not enough room in your closet to handle all of your clothes for every season, so some of it will have to be packed away. In order to keep your winter clothes in great condition until next year, check out our easy guide to storing your seasonal clothes.

Step 1: Declutter and prepare your storage space.

The seasonal storage shift is a great time to do some spring cleaning to get rid of unwanted clothes and tidy up your closets. Why wash and store something you’re not going to use again? Take a look through your winter arsenal and see if anything can be donated or trashed. And for fast growing kids, you can get ahead of the game by donating clothes you know won’t fit next year.

After you’ve sorted through your clothes and made some space, give your closet and future storage space a good cleaning.

Step 2: Clean the clothes you want to store.

Before storing your seasonal clothes, be sure to wash or dry clean each item. Unwashed clothes can carry oils or particles that can stain if left untreated or attract bugs that will make their home in your clothes for the summer. All you need to do is use a high-heat washing method like dry cleaning to ensure that any bugs that have made their way in are killed, and all other particles are removed. Leave off the starch and sizing step as these items can attract bugs.

Step 3: Store away!

Depending on what you have to store, you’ll probably need to hang some items and put others in containers. For heavy coats and jackets, use wooden or padded hangers that can support their weight. Use garment bags (not plastic dry cleaning bags) to keep jackets safe from dust. For other items you want to hang, avoid wire hangers as they might cause your clothes to become misshapen after a long period of time.

For smaller or lightweight items, a clean, disinfected plastic container will do the trick. Cardboard boxes are too porous to prevent water seepage and critter infestations. Start with the heaviest items on the bottom and move to the lightest items on top. For items you don’t want to have creases, try rolling them instead of folding.

To keep bugs away and keep your clothes fresh throughout the summer, try an environmentally friendly solution of a small pouch of lavender or cedar chips in each container or garment bag. They’ll keep bugs away and are a natural way to protect your clothes. Avoid mothballs, which contain harsh chemicals can give your clothes a permanent odor.

Step 4: Find a good place for your containers.

The last step to solid seasonal clothing storage is finding the perfect spot to put all of it. A good storage spot will be cool, dry, dark, and clean in order to protect your clothes. Pick a place that won’t add wear and tear over the summer from moisture or temperature fluctuations—this means that the attic and garage are out. A guest room closet would do the trick. Or, try under-bed storage containers to put that space to good use.

Storing seasonal clothes is easy—just declutter, clean, and contain! By following these simple steps, you’ll be able to properly store your winter clothes until next time the cold comes around. 

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If that’s you, what better way to give your mom some time off and show her you appreciate her hard work by helping out around the house? You can turn chores into family bonding time and take some tasks off her hands so that she can relax on her day.

Read on for some ideas on how to help Mom around the house this Mother’s day.

1. Use your green thumbs together

A little Mother’s Day gardening is a great way to spend time with Mom and add something to your yard that you can enjoy the whole summer. Pick out your mom’s favorite flower and together you can plant a few around the mailbox or in the back yard. Or, get some vegetable seeds so that later in the summer you’ll have home grown veggies.

2. Take the pets for a walk

Get the whole family together to take the dog out for a Mothers Day hike. Your mom will be happy to spend time with the family and happier that she doesn’t have to exercise the pets herself.

3. Make dinner for the family

Give Mom the night off from cooking when you and the rest of the family pitch in to make dinner. Everyone can contribute a course—appetizer, main dish, dessert, and more! And don’t forget the dishes afterward!

4. Do the laundry

The weekend is a typical time for chores, so lighten Mom’s load by doing the laundry. Don’t know how? She’ll be happy to get you started. Or, take a look through our blog to pick up some extra tips.

5. Clean up your clutter

Even the smallest efforts can make a big difference around the house. Take some time to go through your mail, magazines, and books you’ve left around the house. Take shoes and jackets to the closet, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, and make your bed—your mom will notice the improvement.

6. Learn some green cleaning

If you really want to let Mom kick back, consider doing some green cleaning around the house. Sweeping, window washing, and a bathroom scrub-down will let your mom enjoy her day and know that it won’t mean an extra day of cleaning on Monday.

7. Make it a habit

What would surprise Mom more than if you promised to help her more every day? Choose a chore you think you can stick with and make a habit of doing it every day—make the bed every day, take out the trash, or do the dishes—your mom will appreciate the effort.

Does your family have any special Mother’s Day plans? Let us know in the comments?

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Adopt, Spay, and Neuter

• If you’re in the market for a pet, adopt instead of going through a breeder. It’s a simple way to make a big impact. When you adopt, you both give a home to an animal in need and free up space for the shelter to take in another animal. In addition to shelters, many independent rescue groups can help you find a particular breed or personality type that suits you.
• Spay or neuter your pet to remove the risk of unwanted pets and cut down on hormone-driven behavioral problems. Shelters will spay or neuter pets before they go home with you, but there are also low cost spay/neuter clinics available in many areas.

Feeding

• Buy good quality food in bulk and store in sealable plastic containers to get the most for your money and protect against moisture, pests, and inquisitive noses.
• Avoid overfeeding by talking to your vet and reading the nutritional information on your pet’s food. Feeding the right portions will make your food last longer and will help prevent your pet from gaining weight!
• Rinse and recycle cans if you use canned food.
• Switch to steel or ceramic instead of plastic bowls. Steel and ceramic are sturdier and more environmentally friendly than plastic. Plus, your pet won’t be able to make a hockey puck or a chew toy out of a heavy-duty bowl.

Toys and Treats

• Bake homemade treats to save money and ensure your pet is having a healthy snack. Most recipes are quick, easy, and use ingredients you already have in your kitchen.
• Invest in indestructible toys. Many dogs find ways to destroy plush toys, antlers, bones, and more. Many of these toys are made of a recycled rubber material, meaning they’re eco-friendly. Look for manufacturers that will send you a replacement if your dog manages to destroy his toy—that’s how you know they’re serious!

Cleaning up after your pet

• Use biodegradable bags to pick up your pet’s waste. This is a rare occasion where we don’t recommend repurposing an old plastic bag. Biodegradable bags allow both the bag and its contents to decompose, as opposed to a plastic bag, which stays in a landfill forever. Most pet stores carry these bags, but you can also order them in bulk online if you want your supplies to last for a long time.
• Use baking soda to deodorize. Sprinkle it on your animal’s favorite blanket, couch, or bed and let it sit for 15 minutes, then vacuum it up. This will eliminate odors without you having to do any serious laundry or use chemical-heavy air fresheners.
• Use a vinegar-water solution for accidents or sloppy messes. Vinegar disinfects and deodorizes, and is a safe alternative to cleaners like bleach. Plus, it’s an eco-friendly alternative to detergent when you’re doing your pet’s laundry. Vinegar can be your best friend, especially if you find yourself constantly cleaning up after accidents or muddy paws!

These are just a few ways to start being a green pet owner. Check out your pet store’s eco-friendly selection to see what else you can do!

Do you have any good treat recipes or eco-friendly pet tips? Let us know in the comments!

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We’re giving away these bags to help transition those affected by new legislature in Maryland. Montgomery County’s “Carryout Bag Law,” effective since January 1, 2012, weighs a 5-cent charge on all carryout plastic and paper bags from retail establishments. This ban includes bags from all grocery, convenience, liquor, hardware, department, and drug stores. Other cities in the U.S. are charging a disposable bag fee, including several cities in Texas, California, and most notably, Washington DC.

Charging 5 cents per bag is meant to discourage shoppers from using plastic and paper bags and encourage the use of reusable shopping bags. Plastic and paper bags are bad for the environment and most often end up in landfills. Montgomery County is definitely invested in the future of the planet, however, we know the inconvenience this may put on many of our customers. We’d like to both support protecting the environment and make your lives easier!

Come out to Crest Cleaners’ Gaithersburg, Germantown, Potomac, or Rockville location and receive your free Crest reusable bag (limit one per customer, no purchase required). Supplies are limited, so hurry in to your closest Maryland Crest Cleaners location today!

And don’t forget, this weekend is Earth Day! Crest Cleaners will be giving away free wildflower seeds to the first 200 visitors to all Crest Cleaners locations, just like we did last year. And if gardening isn't your thing, our GreenEarth cleaning ensures that your dry cleaning is always eco-friendly.

1. Do the hanger trick

Spring cleaning is a good time to reevaluate your closet. If you’re like most of us, you have a few too many clothes and you don’t wear them all—but how do you decide what stays and what goes? Try this trick: Hang all of your clothes up, making sure all of the hanger hooks are facing the same direction. Any time you wear something, turn the hanger hook around so it faces the opposite direction. After the end of the month, look at what clothes haven’t been used (they’ll be the ones facing the same direction as the beginning of the month) and consider whether they can be donated.

2. Donate

Donating your gently used or no-longer-needed items is a great way to be green while decluttering your home. Here are some places you can go with your extra things:

• Clothes and furniture: Goodwill or your local thrift store can resell your gently used items for a low price.
• Books: Your public library will take the books you don’t need anymore and put them in their rotation.
• Canned food and other nonperishables: A local food bank would be happy to take extras from your stocked pantry.
• Electronics: Some electronics stores like Best Buy will take your old computers, monitors, and other equipment to use for parts.

3. Set yourself up for recycling success

Sometimes clutter accumulates because there’s no good system set up to deal with the myriad of stuff constantly coming into your home. One way to deal with this is by designating different bins for garbage and recycling around the house. If you have a few stations around the house, it’ll be just as easy to recycle magazines, newspapers, and junk mail as it is to set it on the counter or put it in the garbage.

4. Say goodbye to your plastic bags

Most grocery stores have plastic bag recycling cans either in front of the doors or right inside. Round up all of those plastic bags you have floating around the house and recycle them at the grocery store next time you go. Then, if you haven’t already, invest in some reusable grocery bags that you can take with you to any store so you never have to deal with a plastic bag mountain again.

5. Dispose of your hazardous materials

You might find in the course of your cleaning that you need to take a trip to your local Hazardous Household Waste (HHW) facility. They’ll take things like used batteries, motor oil, paint, and more. You’ll be doing your part for the environment since the HHW facility will dispose of these materials safely, and you’ll also make some room for more important things in your garage, like your spring and summer outdoor gear!

6. Do some green cleaning

Once you’ve decluttered, you’ll be ready to green-clean your house. Check out the rest of the blog for our tips on how to get a great clean using our green staples, vinegar and baking soda. And for your spring and summer clothing that needs to be refreshed after a long winter in the closet, send your laundry to Crest Cleaners. We’ll pick it up from your doorstep and clean it with the greenest methods out there, including using GreenEarth for your dry cleaning.

On a roll with your green spring cleaning? Check out more surprising items you can recycle or repurpose. 

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10. How to Maintain Your Coats and Jackets

9. Strategies for Cleaning and Maintaining Your Swimsuit

8. How to Remove Stains: Avert Summer Clothing Crises

7. Announcing the Lucky Winner of 1 Year of Free Dry Cleaning

6. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Surprising Items You Can Repurpose

5. The Advantages of Dry Cleaning

4. Home Delivery Dry Cleaning: Not the Only Way to Save Time

3. Keeping Your Clothes Wrinkle-Free

2. How Often to Wash 6 Everyday Items

1. My Dry Clean Only Sweater is in the Washing Machine!

The Crest Cleaners Blog is all about helping out our customers, so now we want to know to hear from you! What was your favorite post? What would you like to see more of on the Crest Cleaners Blog? Let us know in the comments!

And remember, if you want to see the newest tips and advice from Crest where you are already hanging out online, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

Smells

Sprinkle a good amount baking soda on rugs, carpets, sofas, pillows, cushions, or upholstered chairs. Let it sit for as long as you can—a few hours or overnight is ideal in order to let the baking soda work its magic. Then vacuum it up. It’s as simple as that! If smells still remain, repeat the process.

Another way to deal with smells is with the other cleaning standby—vinegar. For smelly carpets, leave several small bowls of vinegar around the room overnight. The vinegar will absorb odor in the air, and in the morning you can dump it in the sink. For other items like curtains, use a spray bottle to lightly spray the surface. The vinegar will absorb the odor and will become odorless itself when it dries.

Spot removal and overall cleaning

Sometimes odor removal just isn’t enough. Large items that are dirty or have stains need more than just the baking soda treatment. Unfortunately, not all cushion covers are removable and you certainly can’t roll up an area rug and shove it in the washing machine.

For spot removal and overall cleaning, consider investing in a steam cleaner. A good one will cost about $200, but with it you can clean almost any surface or upholstery in your home. Their versatility more than makes up for the initial cost, especially when you consider how much you’ll save on professional upholstery and carpet cleaning in the long run. Steam cleaners use only water to clean, meaning they are environmentally friendly and don’t require any harsh chemicals. They remove odors and spots while sanitizing your furniture, making your home clean and healthy!

Maintenance

Slipcovers can make your life a lot easier if you have pets or your furniture acts like a dirt magnet. Slipcovers are available for all types of sofas and chairs and protect the original fabric or surface of the furniture. The best part is you can shake them out and toss them in the laundry just like any other fabric.

Making a point to regularly clean your large furniture can also help in the long run. Use the hose on your vacuum to get in the nooks and crannies of your couches and sofas to remove dirt, hair, and crumbs from building up and causing stains or odors.

The task of cleaning large items like couches and carpets can seem like a daunting task, but with regular maintenance and your trusted cleaning supplies, you’ll never need to call the pros to come clean your home again!

Do you have any tricks to keeping your large furniture clean? Let us know in the comments!

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The good news is it’s easy to swap out your harsh cleaning supplies with green ones. Even better is that to do this you won’t have to go any farther than your kitchen. Just by keeping baking soda, white vinegar, and lemon juice on hand, you’ll be able to take care of the majority of your cleaning needs. Read on for how to use these natural products to clean your entire bathroom.

Toilets

To start, pour 1 cup of vinegar into the toilet and let it sit for about half an hour—or, just pour it in at the beginning of your cleaning and wait to flush it down until you’re done with everything else. Flush, and then scrub the porcelain with a toilet brush sprinkled with baking soda.

To clean the outside of the toilet, use a solution of equal parts vinegar and water and wipe with a rag. Go ahead and make a bucket or a spray bottle full of this solution—it comes in handy. The acidity of the vinegar kills bacteria, while baking soda acts as a natural deodorant and mild abrasive.

Sinks and counters

To make the bathroom counter sparkle like new, you can either wipe surfaces down with the same simple solution of vinegar and water, or sprinkle baking soda over the counter and scrub with a sponge. Just don’t do both, or you’ll have a science fair volcano on your hands. For stubborn stains, let the vinegar solution sit for a few minutes and then wipe clean.

Showers

Apply your vinegar solution to the walls of your shower and let it sit for a few minutes to break through dirt. Scrub with a brush and then wipe the shower walls down with clean water. Alternatively, you can put some baking soda on a scrub brush to get the same effect.

If your shower curtain needs a serious rejuvenation that a hand scrubbing can’t provide, put it in the washing machine on delicate/cold and use a small amount of vinegar and baking soda as detergent.

Metal fixtures

A good scrubbing with a toothbrush sprinkled with baking soda does the trick for most faucets. Wipe off any residue with wet cloth, and then wipe the whole area dry to ensure no streaks form. A splash of undiluted vinegar on a cloth also works wonders for putting the shine back in a faucet.

Grout

Make a baking soda paste by mixing baking soda with warm water. With a toothbrush, apply the paste to grout and scrub until the grout is clean.

Glass

A half-cup of lemon juice and 2 cups of water makes a great glass cleaner. But if you want to keep things simple, you can also use your all purpose vinegar solution.

Instead of using paper towels or newspaper to wipe down glass, try using a clean rag or cut up a old cotton t-shirt. You’ll be able to reuse rags over and over instead of running through a roll of paper towels every time you clean!

Floors

For a tile or linoleum bathroom floor, you can use your bucket of vinegar-water to mop or wipe down tiles. The vinegar scent will go away once the floor dries. For an added touch, put a few drops of your favorite essential oil to leave a nice scent behind.

Green cleaning is easy—maybe even easier than your current cleaning routine! A bucket, a few scrubbing tools, and some kitchen ingredients, and your bathroom can shine from top to bottom.

What are your favorite natural cleaning tricks? Let us know in the comments!

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1. Groceries

Think about how much time you spend at the grocery store every week—and now imagine not having to go anymore. With grocery delivery services, this can easily be a reality. Most services allow you to make your grocery list online and choose the brands you prefer. Some even allow you to choose what store you want your groceries to come from!

2. Prepared Meals

Prepared meals are delivered to your door frozen. All you have to do is heat them up to have a high quality meal ready in minutes. Prepared meals are good for:

• Special dietary needs that are difficult to accommodate
• Dieting when you need help with portions and calories
• Keeping healthy meals on the table when you’re too busy to cook

Prepared meal companies offer a huge number of choices, making it easy to accommodate any kind of eater in your family.

Most prepared meal websites have a huge selection to choose from, so even the pickiest eaters in your family should be able to find something they like.

3. Boxers, Socks, and Shirts

We’ve all seen the pair of boxers in the laundry with a hole in the elastic, a toe poking out the top of a sock, and the yellow undershirt that used to be white. To avoid getting to this point, try a delivery service for men’s essentials. They drop off new supplies every few months with the option to opt out, so you never have to worry about going to the store to pick up a new pack of shirts again.

4. Personal Shoppers

Although you may know them from tales of the rich and famous, personal shoppers serve everyone. Personal shoppers can come in handy when:

• You don’t have time to spend hours at the mall
• You want a trained eye to help you pick out your new clothes
• You have an event for which you need a special outfit.

Personal shoppers pick out items for you and then you decide what you like. Some department stores offer personal shoppers as a complimentary service, whie others can be hired on a freelance basis.

5. Dry Cleaning

Leave your laundry outside your door and someone will come pick it up, clean it, and drop it back off—sounds like a dream, right? Crest Cleaners will pick up your laundry from your doorstep and bring it back to you fresh and clean. The best part is there’s no extra cost to have your clothes picked up, so there’s no reason to make the trip to the dry cleaners!

Have you ever used a home delivery service like these? Let us know your experience in the comments!

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Regular Maintenance

A tune up is recommended about every five uses and at the end of the season before you store your skis. It could be more or less depending on the conditions in which you ski. For example, icy slopes take more of a toll on your skis than soft powder and are easier to navigate on tuned up skis.

Although taking your gear in to the shop can get expensive—anywhere from $20-$70 a visit—these trips are crucial to ensure you get the most out of your skis. A tune-up has three basic parts: base repair, waxing, and sharpening the ski’s edges.

• Base repair: During base repair, old wax is scraped off, the bases are cleaned, and any scrapes or gauges are filled in. Usually these repairs are done with P-Tex, a thermoplastic that fills in scratches when it’s melted.
• Waxing: A layer of wax on the bottom of your skis helps you glide across the snow smoothly and makes your skis water resistant.
• Edge sharpening: This involves filing the edges of the skis to ensure they are sharp, which helps you pivot and move side to side.

For the handier among us it’s also possible to do ski tune-ups at home. Talk to your local ski shop’s employees to see what you’ll need based on the type of skiing you do.

Proper Storage

No matter when it is in the season, you should always store your skis in a dry place off the ground where the temperature is fairly constant.

At the end of the season, though, you’ll need to do a little more to prepare your skis for their summer vacation. First, take your skis in for a full tune-up so that they’re ready to go the next year. You’ll also want to make sure there’s a thick layer of wax on the base and the edges to keep the skis from rusting. Then, release the spring tension in the bindings, noting their original settings.

If you tell your shop employees to prepare your skis for storage, they should be able to do all these things for you. Or, at the very least they’ll tell you everything you’ll need to know about how to prep your skis for long-term storage.

Keeping your skis in good shape is easy as long as you stay on top of it. Happy skiing, and remember to follow our tips on taking care of your snow gear so you can get the best use out of it!

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While we certainly hope you're not suffering from cholera or a romance that feels like it, combine flu season with Valentine's Day, and there's a good chance you're feeling ill for one reason or another.

While we might not be able to help you out of the deepest throes of an illness, below are tips to keep your sniffling and coughing from infecting the whole household.

1. Don't just wash, disinfect. If you wash most of your clothes on a cold cycle, they will not be disinfected. If your clothes are too delicate for washing and drying on high heat, add some color safe bleach or even vinegar, which has anti-microbial properties.

2. Wash blankets, comforters, and pillow cases after an illness. Depending on the type of sickness you have, anything you've breathed on may infect others.

3. Throw away those tissues right away! Don't leave dirty tissues sitting around, and wear gloves when picking up other's tissues.

4. Disinfect common surfaces. Your whole family touches doorknobs, toilet handles, refrigerator handles, and faucets handles. Use a good disinfectant spray to knock the germs right off.

5. Wash your hands. Don't just rely on alcohol based disinfectant gels. While those can help, nothing can match a good wash with antibacterial soup.

6. Cough into your arm/shoulder. It's smart to cover your cough—but don't cover it with your hand and then go touch the doorknob. Either wash your hands immediately after coughing, or try coughing into your shoulder.

7. Wash jackets and outerwear. You may have read in our earlier post that it's ok not to wash outerwear every day, but after a cold, they could probably use a good cleaning to wipe out germs.  

8. Sharing is NOT caring! Even if you just feel a cold coming on, politely refuse when someone asks you to share a bite of your food or a sip of your drink—you could be doing them a big favor.

Those are our tips—now it's time to hear from you. What does your family do to keep healthy? Let us know in the comments! 

P.S. Is your sweetie in the military? Crest now offers special military pricing!

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If you don’t want to risk using the smell test to determine when to do your laundry, take a look at our recommendations below to keep your things clean and fresh without unnecessary washings.

Jeans: Once a month, or every 6-7 uses

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Carl Chiara, director of brand concepts and special projects for Levi Strauss & Co, said that he only washes his jeans once every six months, with spot cleaning in between washings. That’s pretty impressive. If you don’t have time to make a science out of caring for your jeans, then keep it simple: if your jeans are dirty, smelly, or have stretched out too much, it’s time to wash them.

Tip: Avoid fading and shrinking your jeans. Turn them inside out before they go in the machine, use cold water, and either line dry or use the delicate cycle on your dryer. And if you really want to have the best cleaned and softest jeans ever, try cleaning them in GreenEarth with Crest Cleaners. Your jeans won't shrink or fade, and you'll stop worrying about their fate in the washing machine.

Coats: Once or twice a year

Outer layers can go a quite a while between washings since they don’t make contact with your skin. Unless you and your coat are coming into contact with a lot of grime, your coat can just be washed before and after the season you’re wearing it.

Tip: Spot cleaning can extend the time between full washings. If you get a splash of mud or food on your coat, give that area a scrub with warm water and a small amount detergent. Like jeans, coats will last longer the less they’re subjected to the washing machine. For a more extensive coat-cleaning tutorial, check out this other blog post.

Scarves: One or two times a month

Skin cells, makeup, and sweat can all make their home in your scarf because it sits on the skin and is near your face. For this reason, scarves can’t go as long as coats between washing.

Tip: Check your scarf’s washing instructions. Some scarves can go in the laundry in a lingerie bag to protect their shape. Others must be hand washed with a small amount of detergent or shampoo. Or, you can have your scarves dry-cleaned if they’re made of a delicate material.

Towels: Once a week, or every 4-5 uses

Despite the fact that you come out of the shower clean, when you use your towel you leave behind dead skin cells and oils. Plus, a warm, damp post-shower bathroom is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria and mustiness. Changing out towels once a week will keep you from having to use so much energy to do a load of towels every day, but won’t have you going so long in between washings that your towel becomes a petri dish.

Tip: If your towel gets musty, add about a cup of vinegar to your normal detergent. Vinegar kills bacteria, so no need to reach for the bleach! Dry your towels right away since old moisture contributes to musty smelling towels.

Bath Mats: Once a month, depending on material

Like towels, bath mats trap dead skin cells, oils, dirt, and moisture. If you’re using bath mats that are similar material to your towels, you can rotate them out just as frequently. Bath mats with rubber backing, however, don’t hold up to washing very well, so these should be cleaned less frequently.

Tip: Line dry bath mats with rubber backing, as the heat of the dryer will accelerate the breakdown of the rubber.

Comforters: Once a month

If you’re using a quilt as a comforter or have removable duvet covers, it’s simple enough to pop them in the wash once a month. If you sleep directly beneath your comforter, it’s important to wash them this often to remove old skin and oils. If you use a sheet between you and your comforter, you may be able to go a little longer than a month between cleanings.

Tip: For large and dry-clean only comforters, consider using a dry cleaning delivery service like Crest. They’ll pick up your comforter from your house, clean it, and bring it back to you looking good as new.

Follow these instructions and you’ll never have to wonder if it’s time to wash an item or not. Any items you want to add to this list? Let us know in the comments! And, as always, if you don’t feel comfortable washing some of these items or just want an extra freshness for the next use, let Crest give you a hand! 

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1. Use natural cleaning products.

Many traditional household cleaners contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that cause harmful indoor air pollution. In fact, according to the EPA, indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than the great outdoors because of these VOCs. Try switching out your normal cleaning supplies for ones that are non-toxic, biodegradable, and made from renewable resources. Or, you can go one step further and use a few kitchen ingredients to do your cleaning. Here are some easy, green cleaning solutions for common surfaces:

Windows: 4 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ gal warm water

Floors: 1 cup vinegar to 1 gal warm water

Metal: Use equal parts salt, vinegar, and flour to make a paste. Cover the affected area, let it dry (this takes about an hour), then wipe the area clean with a cloth

Furniture polish: 2 parts olive oil, 1part lemon juice

Toilet: Sprinkle a toilet brush with baking soda to clean the inside of the bowl, and use vinegar to wipe down the outside

2. Get reusable cleaning supplies.

Not only are they more environmentally friendly, but they’ll also save you money on paper towels and Swiffer refills. Rags can be used over and over again and stand up to cleaning better than paper towels. You can even put your old cotton t-shirts back to work by cutting them up and using them as rags. You might be surprised how much you can do with an old fashioned cleaning kit of a broom, mop, bucket, and rags—and the best part is, you won’t have to go to the store every few weeks to replace them!

3. Clean your clothes more efficiently.

You can easily do this by following our laundry tips, including washing in cold water and using less detergent. Air-drying clothes also saves energy, so on nice days why not put a line up in the back yard?

4. Switch to power strips.

Appliances and electronics can draw a small amount of current when they’re plugged into the wall, even if they aren’t in use. An easy way to be more energy efficient is to plug things like lamps, toasters, and laptop and phone chargers into power strips, which you can quickly turn on and off if you need them. When the power strip is in the “off” position, your individual appliances won’t pull any current from the wall. With power strips, you can still have your things plugged in and ready to go at the flick of a switch, but not at the expense of your electricity bill.

5. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with LED light bulbs.

Although LED bulbs cost more to buy, they last longer (we’re talking years and years) and use much less energy, translating into big overall savings. LED bulbs turn on instantly, are just as bright as incandescent bulbs, and draw no power when they aren’t in use. Investing in a few LED lights for your most heavily used rooms will translate into smaller bills and less time wasted changing bulbs. And according to the U.S. Department of Energy, if consumers rapidly adopt LED lighting, it could reduce overall lighting demand by 33% in the next 15 years.

Have fun adopting these quick and easy tips to be more green and save some money. Want to do more? Check out the EPA’s Energy Star website to make sure your home is as energy-efficient as possible. And, as an added bonus, check out these surprising items you can repurpose if you’re trying to reduce your footprint even more.

What other green resolutions have you made for 2012? Let us know in the comments!

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• Make sure you have the proper supplies for ice and snow. The three most important things to have around the house, in the case of a serious storm with accumulated precipitation, are rock salt, snow shovels, and sand for traction on pavement and cement. You can also purchase a snow-blower or plow for the front of your vehicle, if your driveway or local roads require it.
• Keep dry wood around. A strong fire in the fireplace warms your home and provides comfort during the colder spells.
• Winterize your home. Make sure your walls, attic, and pipes are insulated, and caulk any gaps that might let cold air in. If you have a barn or other outside structure where you store equipment or animals, proof that against the elements as well. Cut down loose branches that could break off in a storm, clear gutters, and repair any leaks.
• Prepare your car. Have a mechanic check a number of things: antifreeze level, the battery, brakes, exhaust system, heater, lights, oil, thermostat, and windshield wipers. You can also keep an emergency kit inside your car that includes things like a flashlight, extra cold weather clothing, and a shovel.
• Seal driveways, patios, and decks. The freezing and thawing of water can damage wood and concrete. To prepare your driveways, patios, and decks, remove debris and make sure there won’t be any water accumulating. Redirect water away from trouble spots by creating a drainage channel or some other mechanism to ensure that there’s no buildup.
• Store your summer and autumn items. Get the equipment that you kn­­ow you won’t be using in the winter stored away safe and sound. Not only does it protect the equipment itself—it reduces clutter in your home and surrounding areas.

Getting your home ready for the winter isn’t difficult; it’s just another thing that has to be done. But don’t let these tasks lag too late into the season, or before you know it, there’ll be snow on the ground and you’ll still have things to do. And if you need help with cleaning those clothes in storage, Crest Cleaners has home delivery cleaning that allows you to get your laundry done without leaving the house, so you can have extra time to prepare!

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1. Hot chocolate. There are few things better after shoveling the driveway or sledding than a nice cup of hot chocolate, but things can get nasty if your son or daughter (or husband or wife) happens to upend that mug. Again, haste is important: fill a bowl with water and mix in water softener, then submerge the stain in the water softener and rub with a wet cloth. Afterwards, wash as normal in the laundry, and the stain should be gone.

2. Salt stains. When there’s snow and ice on the ground, the salt used to melt precipitation gets everywhere, and it can be nasty if it makes contact with your clothes. The first step to take in the case of salt stains—which are usually white and form ring patterns—is to blot (not rub) out the salt with some warm water. Then, make sure to wash the clothes within 24 hours of the stain, and if it doesn’t come out in the laundry, take the clothes to your dry cleaners and point it out to them. Salt stains can also be a big problem when it comes to leather shoes: the best way to deal with them is to mix white vinegar with water and, after dipping a rag in the mixture, wiping away the salt.

3. Coffee. You probably drink coffee year-round, but sometimes when it’s cold out, a hot cup of joe seems even more important. Any coffee spills should immediately be dabbed with water and, a little later, sponged with a mixture of one part dishwashing liquid and two parts water. Then rinse and blot until dry. If milk or cream was involved, though, it might need a dry cleaning.

4. Cranberry sauce. Pretty much the only time anyone eats cranberry sauce is with the Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey; there aren’t many foods more seasonal than cranberries! Scrape up any excess spill and use a mixture of laundry detergent, white vinegar, and cool water to soak the stain, then launder.

5. Red wine. The problem with red wine is that the more wine that is consumed, the more likely someone is to spill. Blot the excess wine out of the garment immediately, and if it’s a dry-clean only piece, just get it to the cleaners ASAP. If not, combine one teaspoon laundry or dish soap and one cup hydrogen peroxide. Using a sponge, absorb some of the liquid, and then blot the stain again. Put a dry towel or washcloth inside the garment, between one side and the other, to keep the stain from seeping through onto another part of the fabric, and then wash in cool water, either in the machine or sink depending on the garment.

Follow these instructions and you can deal with some of the worst stains the season has to offer. As always, if you don’t feel comfortable with the stain or it seems too severe, just bring your clothing in to Crest or the nearest dry cleaners and let the professionals handle it. And if the holiday season has you feeling stressed, let Crest’s free home dry-cleaning delivery take some of the burden off you.

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Great Seneca Creek Elementary School in Germantown, Maryland is not only a superb educational facility but also a model of green architecture and commitment to the environment. Great Seneca Creek has received LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council and has helped the Montgomery County Public School system to offset $2.1 million in electricity.

In addition to these environmental contributions, Great Seneca Creek decided to donate the long-forgotten coats in their Lost & Found to kids in need in their community. Their charitable holiday spirit inspired us, so we were happy to clean those coats free of charge. The coats we cleaned will keep over 60 children warm this winter.

Crest Cleaners thanks Great Seneca Creek Elementary School for their commitment to the community and the environment at large. Donating these coats is only a small contribution to the list of Great Seneca Creek's good deeds, and we’re so glad we could help!

Crest’s Commitment to the Community

Crest is committed to the community year round. Not only do we use top of the line environmentally friendly cleaning methods and provide easy hanger recycling, we also have a Good Will Program to help youth based organizations fundraise.  Learn more about our services here.

Saturday, December 24^th 8:00am-4:00pm (In by 11:00am out by 3:00pm)

Sunday, December 25^th CLOSED

Saturday, December 31^st 8:00am-4:00pm (In by 11:00am out by 3:00pm)

Sunday, January 1^st CLOSED

If you get a little sloppy at your big family dinner during one of the days we’re closed, don’t worry—check out our Thanksgiving spills post for quick answers to most “festive” stains. And, as always, don’t hesitate to bring your special holiday clothing in too your local Crest Cleaners for the best dry cleaning services in town.

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Down jackets: A good down jacket is one of the warmest things you can buy, and, if properly taken care of, it's highly durable. However, down jackets are fragile when being washed, so your best bet is to take down to the dry cleaners. If you would like to wash down jackets at home, use a machine without a center spindle to decrease the abrasiveness of the wash. Set the wash to a gentler cycle, and wash once without detergent, then once using a down detergent. To dry, let the water drip out and then press gently with a towel. You can throw it in the dryer afterward, but make sure to keep the heat low and fluff the down periodically.

Trench coats: Though it’s not quite as warm as the down jacket, trench coats are excellent protection from precipitation, and they’re stylish, too. Also, if well maintained, they’re incredibly durable. With trench coats, only hand wash in cold water, and dry clean for anything beyond just casual, minor cleaning.

Wool coats: As with trench coats, a well maintained wool coat will last you years. Use a suede brush to remove lint and dirt, and hang the coat when not being used—don’t just throw it on a chair. In the case of any liquid or substances getting on the coat, blot—don’t rub—the liquid, and make sure to dry clean if the stain is bad. Never machine wash a wool coat—they're dry clean only.

Fur coats: Fur coats are incredibly fragile, and should be stored at a furrier’s over the summer. In terms of day-to-day care, never store in plastic—use a loose-fitting garment bag that’s open at the bottom—and handle delicately. Keep away from the heat and sun as well as moisture, including perfume or anything else that might get on the coat. Don’t sit on the fur, and take the coat to a fur specialist for cleaning and more elaborate care.

Like with any expensive or important piece of clothing, take care in maintaining your outerwear, and when in doubt, bring it to the pros. Take your coats (except for fur) to Crest or the local dry cleaners as needed to make sure it keeps you warm for years to come. 

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Our new Customer Connect portal streamlines your dry cleaning and laundry process. You will be able to use your own unique login to manage all of your Crest Cleaners account information without leaving your house! Read on to find out all the things you can do using our new feature, or login here to dive right in.

With Customer Connect, you can…

• View your Crest rewards points balance. If you're never quite sure what your Crest rewards balance is, you can simply login to check and know exactly where you stand.
• Update your account information. If you change addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, or credit cards, there's no need to drive to one of our stores or pick up the phone to make sure we're sending your dry cleaning and coupons to the right place—with our portal, you can make changes from your laptop.
• Check if your orders are ready or not. Run your errands efficiently—stop at the grocery store first if your order isn't quite ready!
• View each order's invoice. Don't worry about saving receipts—with our new portal, your invoices are online, complete with pricing and coupon information.

How do I sign up?

If you're an existing customer:

Use the email address you provided to Crest as your username and the last four digits of your phone number as your password to sign in when you login here. The first time you sign in, you will be asked to provide a password. Remember this password, as you will need it to login in the future.

If you're a new customer:

Simply click here and fill out your information. When you go to a Crest store, make sure you provide the same last name and phone number as you did when filling out the form, or inform us of any discrepancies.

Our Customer Connect portal makes your dry cleaning experience with Crest Cleaners faster and easier than ever before. Click here to try it out and let us know what you think, or to read more, including more FAQs, click here. Don’t hesitate to contact us with any other questions you may have—we're glad to help!

• First, figure out what kind of fabric they’re made from. Cotton sweaters can often be treated in a similar way to your other cotton clothes; that is, you can wash them normally. However, wool and cashmere require separate treatment, so always check the labels. A washing machine’s wool or hand-washing setting usually works; just use a baby shampoo or wool/cashmere-specific shampoo. You can also hand wash them, which is as simple as washing them in a bucket and then pressing out the water after laying the sweaters out flat.
• Afterwards, lay sweaters flat to dry in approximately the shape they would be when worn on your body. DO NOT TUMBLE DRY SWEATERS. This will most likely shrink and distort them.
• When you do machine wash sweaters, turn them inside out to avoid pilling. And if you have any doubts about whether it might be a bad idea to wash a specific sweater, just send it to your neighborhood dry cleaner.
• To store sweaters out of season, don’t use mothballs, as they contain toxic chemicals; instead, use cedar balls or herbal sachets. You can buy varieties of these that are specifically intended to keep your clothes safe from moths.
• If possible, avoid hanging your sweaters. But if you do, make sure to use padded hangers, because wire hangers can make permanent and damaging indentations in the shoulders.
• Many people recommend using specifically designed sweater shavers to trim excess material and avoid pilling, but there are also those who say it’s too easy to rip and snag sweaters with these. One alternative is a pumice-like sweater stone, which rubs out the offending materials and is easier on the fabric than the shaver. It’s worth trying both to see what works best for you.
• To avoid pilling or shrinkage of certain fabrics, primarily mohair and wool, it is often easiest just to have them dry-cleaned rather than to try to wash them yourself.
• Sometimes particular knits in sweaters will become overstretched. The way to fix this is called blocking: soak that part of the sweater in warm water until it shrinks a bit—be very careful not to over-shrink, especially with woolens—and lay the washed part on padded towels, which will absorb the moisture. Then, mold the sweater into the shape you desire and, once that shape has been achieved, use pins to hold it down until it dries, at which point it should assume the shape you molded it into.

Because of the tricky fabrics and better quality of some sweaters, they can be difficult items of clothing to care for. Even so, well-maintained sweaters, especially the difficult woolens, can last for years if you care for them properly, so be sure to follow these steps and, when in doubt, let Crest or your local dry cleaner take care of them for you. 

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1. Gravy – Did you miss your mashed potatoes and find the fancy table cloth instead? Don’t worry, you can blame it on that awkwardly shaped little gravy boat. And after, follow these steps to get that stain out:

For linens/clothes: Scoop any excess off the garment and then blot the affected area with a clean towel. Be generous with the pre-treat spray and then soak overnight in a detergent solution.

For carpet/upholstery: Scoop and blot the stain, but then apply a dry cleaning solvent (commonly available at hardware and grocery stores) or a remover specifically for carpet.

2. Cranberry  – Why did whoever make those berries so delicious also have to make them so RED! It's a hard stain, but we can help.

For linens/clothes: Scoop and blot off what you can—be careful not to spread it in the process. Next, mix 1 cup of cool water, a tablespoon of white vinegar and half a teaspoon of detergent.  Soak for about 15 – 20 minutes until the stain is mostly gone, then wash normally.

For carpet/upholstery: Scoop and blot, then gently sponge with a solution of 2/3 cup of rubbing alcohol and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar (careful that the sponge isn't too wet, just a little moist). Then blot with plain cool water and blot to dry.

3. Eggnog  – Gotta have it because you need something yummy and distracting to drink when Uncle Blabbermouth starts telling that snore story about his high school football team again.  Too bad you were only paying as much attention getting the cup to your mouth as you were to his story. Oops…

For linens/clothes: Soak this stain for 30 minutes in a cool water and liquid detergent solution. Next wash it, but if the stain doesn’t come out, make sure you soak and wash again before drying, or risk the wrath of an "invisible stain."

For carpet/upholstery: It's best to blot with a moist absorbent cloth first, and then apply a liquid dish soap and cool water solution again with the moist cloth. Once it has all been absorbed, rinse with cool water and pat dry.

4. Hot Chocolate – Put in as many marshmallows as you want: it’s a holiday! When you cozy up and share funny stories, just don’t laugh your drink all the way onto your lap.  If you do, come back here for our solution.

For linens/clothes: A regular pre-treat should work for this stain, but it may need it twice. Wash normally after the pre-treat.

For upholstery: Blot first, then apply a solution of 1 tablespoon of liquid detergent and 2 cups of cool water with a clean cloth. Continue blotting until the stain is gone, and then blot with plain cool water and then a dry cloth.

For carpet: Use 1 tablespoon of hand dishwashing detergent with 2 cups of warm water to sponge the stain until it is absorbed.  If it is stubborn, mix 1 tablespoon of ammonia and two cups of warm water to sponge the area. Blot with plain cool water and then blot again to dry.

5. Grass – If scrimmage football is a family Thanksgiving tradition,  those nice fall clothes might not be so nice by dinner time. If Aunt Julie has a mean tackle, you might end up on the ground. If grass stains get you down, read on and cheer up!

For clothes: Just lay out the garment and cover the stains with liquid detergent, let soak for one hour and then wash as usual.

For carpet/upholstery: You have bigger problems than the stain, like: how did you even get grass all over your upholstery to begin with!? Good luck.

6. Oil from Turkey – Whether you were the master turkey carver or the master turkey eater, drips of fatty oil might have made it onto your turkey day attire.  If that’s the case, give this a try.

For linens/clothes: Handwash the linen in dish soapy water before the regular wash cycle.  Repeat if necessary.

For carpet/upholstery: Rubbing alcohol is one of the best solvents for this stain. Blot frequently, it may be a multiple day process.

7. Butter – Delicious, but pesky. It's also very slippery, as you may have noticed while watching it slide off your knife and into your lap  If you have a problem getting the stains out, try this:

For linens: Scoop and then blot the affected area, apply a pre-treat spray and then soak overnight in a solution with detergent.

For upholstery/carpet: Scoop and blot, then apply a remover specifically for carpet, the oil removing solvents are best.

8. Wine – Caution: this stain is more likely to occur the longer your Thanksgiving lasts, and the freer the wine flows. Maybe it's better to switch to eggnog at the end of the night since it’s a little less viscous. But if you don’t, we are there for you:

For linens/clothes: Treatment with a pre-wash spray before normal washing should do the job, check before drying – it may need a second round.

For upholstery: Lots of blotting! Special super absorbent towels work best, then use a moist sponge with a tiny bit of dish washing liquid/cool water solution and continue blotting.

For carpet: Keep blotting like crazy, then cover it with table salt to absorb the stain overnight, and vacuum up in the morning.  Again, you can blot with the dish washing liquid/cool water solution.  Then rinse it and blot (yes, again) dry.

Now that you're prepared, you can take some time to stop and smell the turkey without worrying about spills.  Hope you have a good turkey day! If it ends up so eventful that your stain needs get out of control – remember Crest Cleaners is always there to help. For that  last “questionable” touchdown/pass interference call from the family football game, though, you may be on your own!

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Cranberries

Thanksgiving

Hot Chocolate

Wine

Submitted by: Christine Brown

I vant to suck your… pumpkin juice?

Submitted by: Scott Zailer

Pumpkinabalism?

Submitted by: Kristen Knipling Burke

It would be hard to be that happy with only two teeth left, way to be positive!

Submitted by: Blair Michael Hall

You gotta love Eeyore.

Submitted by: Craig Conlon

This is as gross as Eeyore is cute!

Submitted by: Leanne Wieczorek

Nightmare Before Christmas anyone?

Submitted by: David Mark Henderson

Wonder if he likes dogs…

Submitted by: Kristin Townsend

How will they keep the dog pumpkin away from this one?

If you want to see all the fun and spooky pumpkin pictures our fans submitted, visit our Facebook page. And "like" us to stay tuned, you never know what we might post next!

If you posted a pumpkin picture, thank you! If you have not yet received your $20 credit, we're working on it. You can contact us to check our progress. Thank you for your patience!

• First off, make sure you get a good pumpkin. Whether it’s from a pumpkin patch or the supermarket, you want one that fits the shape of whatever design you’re trying to carve, has skin that’s relatively free of dents and deep pockmarks, and a stem that is two inches or so long. Also, pull on the stem—if it comes off, the pumpkin has started to rot, so find another one.
• Cut out the lid by drawing a circle around the stem. Cut with the knife pointed in toward the stem so the lid doesn’t fall in the pumpkin.
• Spoon out the pulp inside with a spoon or ice cream scoop, and scrape the bottom so it’s flat.
• Draw the design you’d like to cut on the front of the pumpkin with a dry-erase marker or grease pencil so you can erase any mistakes. If you’d like to create a more elaborate design, use a stencil—outline the stencil’s design on a piece of paper, tape that paper to the front of the pumpkin, and poke holes along the lines of the design with a stylus or other sharp object. That way, you can cut along the holes to make the design.
• To do the actual carving, take a paring knife and cut along the outlines you’ve drawn on the pumpkin—or, if you used a stencil, the holes you poked with the stylus—and, once you’ve done the cutting, push the pieces in with your finger, then pick them out through the lid you cut in the top.
• In order to preserve the pumpkin once you’ve done your carving, apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to wherever you made cuts to keep it from drying out. If it does start to dry, soak it in cold water, and keep it in the refrigerator during the day.
• You can use whatever sort of light source you’d like inside the pumpkin: candles are good, but if you’d rather not use a flame, electric lights also work fine.
• The lifespan of a carved pumpkin can be anywhere from a day to a week if untreated, but petroleum jelly and soaking in cold water will help keep the pumpkin from rotting or growing mold. You should try and carve the pumpkins a day or two before Halloween to ensure that they’re in good condition for the actual holiday, and if you have the space to refrigerate them when they're not on display, you should.

If you’re carving multiple pumpkins, experiment with the designs—you can show a surprising amount of creativity right on your own front porch. And there are few better holiday activities to enjoy with the entire family. Just make sure to help and supervise children, and do the actual carving for them: they’re free to draw the designs!

We'd love to see your pumpkin carving pictures—head over to Facebook and post a picture of your pumpkin carved for Halloween on our wall and receive a $20 credit from Crest Cleaners! It’s our way of getting in the spooky spirit and thanking you for being a fan. And if you get pumpkin stains on that brand new Halloween costume, bring it in, and we can handle it here at Crest.

Jack Culotta, our Director of Operations, met with Mrs. Hammonds to award her prize, and as we'd expect from Jack (who always goes above and beyond for our customers), he brought some flowers along too.

We're thrilled to award Mrs. Hammonds with this prize.  A Crest customer since 1976, Mrs. Hammonds told us that she hasn't won anything since she was ten years old, when she won a pair of roller skates!

Mrs. Hammonds plans to use the money she's saving on dry cleaning by going out to dinner with her husband more often, and possibly taking a trip to Mexico. She and her husband are retired, and spend a lot of their time scuba diving. Mrs. Hammonds' husband,Larry works with the Wounded Warrior Project at the National Naval Medical Clinic doing scuba diver training. Wonder what they'll do in Mexico, huh? Couldn't be scuba diving!

To all of the wonderful Crest customers and community members who spread the word about the sweepstakes, entered, or just came by to "like" Crest, we can't thank you enough. We were overwhelmed by the positive recommendations, likes, and comments, and can't wait to stay connected.

If you missed out on the contest, don't worry—there's more ways to win with Crest. Here's a few ways you can get the most out of your dry cleaning budget:

1. Post a pumpkin picture! From now until Friday, November 11th, we'll be offering a $20 credit to Crest customers who post a picture of their carved Halloween pumpkin on our Facebook page. Get carvin'!

2. Join our newsletter. Every month, we send out coupons and cleaning tips. Additionally, our newsletter subscribers are always the first to know about new promotions.

3. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Not only do we keep our online community up-to-date on community happenings, housekeeping tips, and green news, we occasionally post about coupons and sweepstakes.

Congratulations again to Mrs. Hammonds, and we hope to talk to all of you soon on Facebook!

A quick note: Facebook has recently disabled their Reviews and Discussion features for pages. If you'd like to tell your Facebook friends about Crest, we'd love it if you could use the "recommend" function on our page. For more extensive reviews, shoot over to Yelp. However, if you have any claim or complaint, the fastest way for us to help you resolve it is if you contact us. Be sure to leave an up-to-date email address where we can get back to you! 

When is the Walk to Defeat ALS?

 Sunday, October 16th, 2011 Washington Monument Grounds

9:00am Registration

10:00am 3 mile walk

Why Walk?

Funds raised from the walk will go towards the DC/MD/VA Chapter's free patient and family services programs and ALS-specific research.

What is ALS?

ALS is a quick and fatal neuromuscular disease that affects a group of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This loss leads to the paralysis of voluntary muscles. Approximately 80 percent of people lose their lives within two to five years of diagnosis. 

The most common type is known as limb onset ALS. In this case, the first signs are usually muscle weakness, cramps and weakened reflexes in the arms and legs. Another type is bulbar ALS.  With bulbar ALS, the muscles for speaking, swallowing or breathing are the first to be affected.  ALS symptoms, and the order in which they occur, vary from one person to another.

ALS is five times more common than Huntington’s disease, four times more common than muscular dystrophy, and as common as multiple sclerosis. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that neuromuscular diseases like ALS will soon surpass cancer to become the second-leading cause of death by 2040 if no cure is found.

Read more about ALS from ALS Ontario.

Quick Facts from the Walk's Official Site:

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease)

• While a person's mind remains sharp and alert, muscle control is lost, resulting in complete paralysis.

• The life expectancy after diagnosis averages two to five years.

• There is no known cause, cure or means of control for ALS.

• Over 5,000 people in the U.S. are newly diagnosed with ALS every year.

• Every 90 minutes, someone dies from ALS.

• The incidence of ALS is five times higher than Huntington's disease, and about equal to that of multiple sclerosis.

• ALS can cost families up to $200,000 a year, depleting entire savings of relatives and patients.

• ALS is not just Lou Gehrig's disease, it is anyone's disease. It occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, age or socioeconomic boundaries.

Want to learn more?

Visit this website for more information about the ALS walk.

Crest's Commitment to the Community

Crest is one of the top sponsors for the walk, and we're continuing our support from many years previous. Crest’s commitment to the community expands even past the ALS walk. Not only do we use top of the line environmentally friendly cleaning methods and provide easy hanger recycling, we also have a Good Will Program to help youth based organizations fundraise.  Learn more about our services here.

Of course, always be careful with delicate fabrics, don't put stained garments in the dryer (read why), and come in and ask the experts at your local cleaners when you're in doubt. But in the meantime, check out our remedies for the toughest of summer stains:

Berries

Boiling water is the trick to getting this stain out. Once you have gathered a kettle of boiling water and a helping hand, you are all set. One person should hold the garment taut over the sink while the other has the kettle about one foot above it to pour the boiling water over the affected area.

Mustard and Ketchup

Warm glycerin should do it here (just place the glycerin bottle in a bowl of hot water). Rub a bit into the stain, let it sit for a few minutes and then wash normally. Glycerin may seem tricky to find, but it’s available at your local pharmacy. Repeat as necessary, and dry only in the sunlight once the stain is out.

Sunscreen

Sunscreen is good for your skin, but not for your clothes. A couple drops of dry white vinegar applied and rubbed with a warm sponge should easily remove sunscreen streaks from your garment. Baking soda will also do the trick.

Pen

Believe it or not, spraying hairspray on a pen afflicted garment will usually do the trick. Be generous, and after spraying, simply run it through the normal wash cycle.

And for those with kids…

After applying band-aids, ice and kisses for boo-boos, your next worry will be their favorite summer outfit. Make sure your kids don’t lose their clothes to tough stains. We have help for you too!

Grass

Just lay out the garment and cover the stains with liquid detergent, let soak for one hour and then wash as usual.

Blood

This stain will come out best with three-percent hydrogen peroxide.  Simply pour it on and let it sit until bubbles form.  It can then be rinsed and inspected for improvement.  Repeat as necessary until the stain is gone, then wash normally.

Clay/Mud

Always let mud or clay stains dry so you can brush off as much excess as possible before washing. Rinse in cold water once you are ready to treat the stain.  Next, mix a solution of one part non-chlorine bleach (for example, Clorox 2) to four parts warm water, plus a splash of liquid detergent.  Let the garment soak in the mixture for 30 minutes, then wash as usual.

You might not be wearing them anymore, but don't put your summer clothes in storage until you've cleaned them properly. And don't forget that Crest is here to help with any tough stains you just can't fix!

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October: Attend Taste of DC in Washington, D.C. on October 8, 9 & 10

Taste of DC is the region’s largest festival featuring food tastings, wine and beer pavilions and several musical acts. Now that you don't have to worry about the laundry, you could spend the weekend enjoying a craft beer pavilion, wine pavilion, culinary stage, farm-to-fork area, and family zone for kids. The best part: no feeling guilty about the money you’ll be spending!

November: Take a Thanksgiving Lunch Cruise on the Spirit of Washington on November 24

Don’t feel like cooking, cleaning and entertaining? Move the whole event to the Spirit of Washington—one of D.C.’s premier entertainment cruises! Enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving buffet with all your favorites while you get close-up views of some of Washington’s most monumental sites.

December: Splurge on a New Year’s dress from Misguided Angels boutique in Ashburn, VA

Named as the best local boutique for women in 2011 by NOVA magazine, Misguided Angels features fun and unique clothing and accessories that you won’t find in just any store. Buy yourself (or your significant other) a beautiful new dress that will definitely stand out at New Year’s parties!

January: See Ethel Merman’s Broadway starring Rita McKenzie in North Bethesda, MD on January 21

Start the New Year off with some of the most popular songs from the Golden Age of Broadway! Hear singer/actress Rita McKenzie belt out the numbers that the legendary Ethel Merman made unforgettable from the musicals Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy and Hello, Dolly. Get the Broadway experience off-Broadway at the Music Center at Strathmore.

February: Send your sweetie a Valentine’s Day gift from Edibles Incredible in Reston, VA

Rated the best restaurant in Northern Virginia in 2011 in the categories Cupcakes, Something Chocolate and Baked Goods by NOVA magazine, Edibles Incredible is the best place to find a delicious and decadent Valentine’s Day gift. Choose a cake, cupcakes, fudge and other goodies for your Valentine and pick them up or have them shipped!

March: Attend the 12^th Annual Shamrock Fest in Washington, D.C.

Although the date and venue are yet to be announced, be sure to mark this event on your calendar for March. Last year’s event included 40+ acts on 10 different stages as well as a wealth of food, beverage, Irish craft and sports attractions.  Be ready for the money you’ll spend on all that green beer, too!

April: Attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.

The festival begins March 20, but the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade isn’t until April 14. The parade includes live music from marching bands and other performers on floats with giant helium balloons and more. Bring the whole family!

May: See a concert at Wolf Trap Foundation of the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA

With musical concerts each month ranging from pop to country to dance as well as theatrical and multimedia performances, you’re sure to find a show you and your friends will enjoy. As the weather begins heating up, hit the outdoor seating at the Filene Center and enjoy a variety of dining options.

June: Attend the 5^th Annual Northern Virginia Summer Brewfest in Leesburg, VA on June 23 & 24

Celebrate the beginning of summer at this festival or artists, crafters, food vendors and bands! The beer is going to be phenomenal, but there are plenty of other activities for adults and families that don’t revolve around the alcohol. There’s even a Designated Driver Ticket program for attendees 16 and older which includes free water and soda included in the price of the ticket!

July: Treat your family to fine dining at Indigo Landing Restaurant in Alexandria, VA on July 4

Make this Fourth of July special by enjoying the fireworks on the banks of the Potomac at Indigo Landing. The menu for the holiday is an outdoor buffet featuring barbecue, fried chicken, seafood and comfort-food sides like macaroni and cheese, but the real treat is the spectacular view!

August: Spend a day at SplashDown Waterpark in Manassas, VA

Make sure your kids get the full summer experience before they head back to school! Take them to SplashDown for over 11 acres of beaches, pools and slides. The park has something for the entire family to enjoy, and children 2 and under get in for free!

September: Save up!

If you won our sweepstakes, your free dry cleaning services are ending soon! Start saving up so even if you can’t get free dry cleaning for another year, you’ll have money for a whole new list of things to do!

Remember, you can't win if you don't enter! Click on this link to "like" Crest on Facebook and sign up for our contest now!

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1. Pay attention to the water temperature. Cold water uses considerably less energy than warm water, and there’s less chance of warping or harming your clothing. Although hot water cleans the most effectively, you won’t need that much power in the majority of cases to get your clothes sufficiently washed. Check the tags, and if you think you can get away with washing in cold water, go for it.
2. Sort by weight as well as color. It’s common sense to sort your loads by color to prevent anything from getting discolored if a garment runs, but did you know that you should also sort your loads by weight? The dryer will generally take as long to dry the load as the heaviest item in it needs, which means that if you mix light cotton shirts with thick towels, the towels will slow down the whole process.
3. Do full loads. As tempting as it is to just toss a piece of clothing you want to wear that night into the wash to make sure it’s clean, it’s highly inefficient to wash less than a full load because it still uses about the same amount of energy. If you really need to wash something, see if anyone else in your family has clothing that needs to be washed, and simultaneously save energy and help someone else out!
4. Use half the detergent. On most bottles of detergent, the amount specified is almost double what you actually need to clean that load size. If you cut the detergent you use in half, you’ll both save money and benefit the environment, minimizing the amount of soap suds and other chemicals that make it into public water.
5. Let Crest pick up your dry cleaning. Crest will come to your house, pick up your dry cleaning, and return it for no extra charge. No reason to make the drive when you can avoid doing so, and since you’re probably on one of Crest’s routes, your clothes will basically be carpooling with other people’s clothes, which also benefits the environment in addition to being convenient.

These days, you’ve probably got enough on your plate without having to spend more time and money on laundry. Do yourself a favor and streamline the whole process—and a few months from now, you’ll look back on what you saved and smile at how easy it was.

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• The way dry cleaning works is a little different than the name might imply. Cleaners wash the clothing in a solvent and then extract the solvent afterwards. Most cleaners use something called Perchloroethylene (Perc for short), which is harmful to the environment. Crest uses a process called GreenEarth® which uses liquid silicone to clean your clothes which is safe for the environment and goes easier on your clothing, helping them to last longer.
• If a piece of dry clean only clothing ends up in the wash, be sure to use only cold water. Oftentimes, fabrics like wool are dry clean only because they shrink very easily. Once the item comes out of the wash, DO NOT put it in the dryer: lie it flat to dry, and shape it with your hands.
• Rayon and linen items usually come recommended for dry clean only, as they are delicate fabrics prone to shrinking, but if you absolutely must you may be able to hand wash in cold water. However, fabrics like these will likely wear down quicker if they’re hand washed than if they were to be dry cleaned, so if you’re looking to extend the lifetime of a garment, follow the instructions on the label.

It’s never easy to predict how a piece of clothing will react in the laundry, and there’s nothing worse than having to replace an expensive (or even inexpensive) garment because it was ruined in the wash. Plus, Crest Cleaners’ home delivery service makes it simple and convenient to have your clothes dry cleaned regularly—it’s even easier than washing yourself!

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Make sure your child gets in touch with his or her roommate beforehand. This way, they can communicate about what each can contribute to the room. Since there’s no need to double-up on things like TVs and refrigerators, collaborating on these items will save both families money and time. Also, this is often the first step toward the two roommates forming a rapport and learning how to communicate with each other, which will be an essential skill once the year begins.

Find out what’s provided by the school. Some dorms will provide carpets and air conditioning, and some won’t. While there’s no need to have a carpet, necessarily, carpeting can make the room feel more homey and comfortable. And rooms without air conditioning, especially in the South, mean that you should bring plenty of fans.

Bring along a toolbox. A screwdriver and pliers can come in handy around the dorm, and they’re the kind of thing everyone always assumes they can borrow from their next-door neighbor—which means that few people will actually bring their own. And when a shelf or desk needs to be built, the toolbox will be essential.

Ship items directly from the store. If your son or daughter is going to college a ways from home, many chains—Bed, Bath & Beyond is one example—will allow you to shop for items locally and pick them up at a branch near the school or can sometimes ship them directly to the dorm. The sheer amount of stuff you need to send along with your child can be surprising, so it’s useful to avoid transporting things yourself when you can.

Check the school’s specifications. Oftentimes, colleges will have certain requirements regarding fridge size and whether or not students can bring their own cooling units beyond fans. Also, it’s important to find out what size sheets are needed: many colleges will have twin XL beds, which regular bedding won’t fit. Laundry is another issue to consider: schools frequently have high-efficiency washers now, and that can require different detergents than the machine you have at home.

Don’t forget these key items: flip-flops for the showers, which students usually share with a number of people as freshmen; power strips, to compensate for the low number of outlets in most dorm rooms; wall hangers from which you can hang towels, coats, etc.; closet hangers for shirts and pants; and vitamins, since colds often run rampant in the close quarters of dorms.

Whether college turns out to be the best four years of your son or daughter’s life or not, it’s almost certain to be a learning experience. The more prepared they are going into it, the better, so be sure to set your student up well: you’ll be making their lives a whole lot easier. 

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Think about the mountain of laundry that piles up over an entire year: pants, shirts, skirts, dresses, maybe your kids' clothes, your special Thanksgiving table cloth, and your flag for the Fourth of July.

Never fear, Crest is here, giving away one year of free cleaning services! One lucky Crest Cleaners Facebook fan and entrant will be chosen to win an entire year our environmentally-friendly dry cleaning services at any one of our convenient Maryland, DC, or Virginia locations.

Entering is simple so it won’t take up much of your precious time: simply like our Facebook page and enter your information for your chance to win. That’s it!

Hurry up and enter for your chance to dig yourself out from under the burden of laundry, contest ends September 30th, 2011.

The fine print: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Sweepstakes will begin on 8/22/11 and end on 9/30/11. Prize is $200 per month for 12 months.  Open only to legal U.S. residents who reside in MD or VA at least 18 years of age as of 8/22/11. For Official Rules, which include entry methods, prize description, and complete details, visit http://bit.ly/pm6dhu. Sponsor: Crest Cleaners. Void where prohibited.

But while you might not be able to avoid spending a bit, there are ways to make back-to-school shopping not only more cost effective but also less time consuming. Here are some areas to focus on.

Books. Although many public school students have their books provided to them, private school and college students are frequently responsible for purchasing their own textbooks—and these can be very expensive, particularly if you buy them new. Some sites allow students to actually rent textbooks for the semester, which is one way to cut costs. Another is to order your books from sites such as Half.com or Amazon.com, where you can get books cheap or used but still in good condition. Also, Amazon now offers Amazon Prime accounts, which come with free shipping, to all college students. Just make sure you’re ordering the correct edition of the books, as textbooks put out new editions every few years. Then try to sell the books at the end of the semester.

Clothes. Many retailers will offer back-to-school sales, so keep an eye out for those. Some states even offer “Sales Tax Holidays” in August, meaning that the state will eliminate its sales tax on a variety of items for a certain period of time. If your child attends a school that requires uniforms, the Gap has good deals on most typical uniform items. Also, end-of-summer sales generally come replete with clothes that can be worn through much of the fall. Keep in mind, too, that once your son or daughter gets to school, he or she might discover that a certain type of lunch box or backpack is in style, so it sometimes pays off to wait on making such purchases until slightly into the school year.

School supplies. School supplies, though cheap on their own, can end up costing you a pretty penny once everything adds up. Rather than purchasing expensive varieties of simple items such as notebooks or pencils and pens—which are often sold at the big office stores—hit the supermarket for the cheapest, most functional varieties of these items. While they might not be flashy, you’ll save money on the things you need to buy the most of, allowing you to possibly spend a little more on a nicer binder or trapper-keeper that your child can show off. Another solid place to look for these items is the Internet: Amazon.com and Classroomdirect.com are both great sources for cheap school supplies.

Lunch. Lunch represents the famous battle of time versus money: you can give your child enough to buy his or her own lunch every morning, or you can take the time to make lunch. But in the long run, that money adds up: five dollars every day is $25 a week, or $100 a month. Instead, try to find a compromise where lunch is bought once or twice a week, maybe on the days where you know you’re most likely to be busy, and lunch is packed the other days, even if this means it’s made the night before. If this is an unpopular decision, you can always negotiate by, for younger kids, buying a cool or desirable lunchbox, and for older kids by letting them help decide what will be in their lunches.

Even the smallest bit of time and money saved will add up in the long run. Just think: you’re doing this every year, so the savings add up over time and, if you have multiple children, the savings are even better. And when you dig those fall/winter clothes out of the closet, if they need cleaning, you can take advantage of Crest’s free home pickup and delivery dry cleaning to save even more time. Anything to make that critical back-to-school process a little easier!

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1. Block the sun. It might seem like the heat is unavoidable, but as anyone who has sought out the cooling shelter of shade knows, it’s the sun that pushes the temperature from warm to sweltering. When you’re in your house, close your shades and blinds to try to reflect the sun’s rays and to prevent them from warming the inside of your house. If your sun blockers are white, even better.
2. Close the windows. Contrary to popular belief, when the temperature rises past the upper-70s, having the windows open can actually make you hotter. The warm air from outside will come into your house and raise the temperature from what it would be if the windows were all closed. (This is most important if you’ve just shut off the air conditioner or the house cooled down overnight.)
3. Have a fan blowing out the window. At night, position a fan in your room so that it’s blowing outside. In this position, the fan will push out the hot air from your home and suck in the cooler air from outside. And of course, having a fan blowing cool air onto your body will help make you comfortable, but make sure it isn’t blowing hot air. (Also, remember that a fan doesn’t cool a room, it just makes you feel cooler; turn the fan off when you leave the room.)
4. Turn off electronics and appliances. The reasons for this are twofold: 1) your laptop and other powerful electronics produce heat, which they expel into the air around them; and 2) the more electronics you have going, the more of a drain it is on the power grid, which raises the likelihood of an outage. Outages during periods of incredible heat are risky and dangerous, so take care to avoid them, and don’t use unnecessary appliances like a dishwasher or washer and dryer.
5. Wear loose-fitting clothes made of light fabrics. Loose clothing allows air to move between your skin and the clothing, helping sweat from your skin evaporate more quickly. Wearing a material like light cotton or, even better, the athletic-type clothing designed to keep you cool lets more air through to your skin.
6. Eat spicy, eat light, drink water. Your diet can help you stay cool as well. Spicy foods make you sweat, and they can provide quick relief as you eat. However, you don’t want to eat heavy or fatty foods; it’s better to dine on vegetables and fruits, which will help keep you hydrated and give you energy. Speaking of hydration: drink plenty of water. As you sweat, you lose fluids, and the only way to stay refreshed is to replace the fluid you lose.
7. Dim the lights. Reducing heat by turning off the lights in your home is a reliable way to cool down the house. Also, changing your light bulbs to the efficient fluorescent variety will help save energy, combating possible power outages, and will produce less heat, making your house far more comfortable. For more information on the light bulbs you should use in your home, read Crest’s blog post on changing to efficient fluorescent bulbs.

As oppressive as the heat might sometimes feel, these strategies give you ways to at least fight back. And remember: October’s only a few months away!

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But just because doing laundry at home is a simple process doesn’t mean it’s all your clothes need. In fact, on the contrary; in addition to machine washing, dry cleaning is an essential part of keeping your wardrobe—and some pieces more than others—in the best condition possible. Here are some of the advantages of dry cleaning:

1. It’s less abrasive. The machine washing process—spinning in water, tossing in the drier, being subjected to heat­—can wear down the fibers and material of clothing over time. Plus, if you use the wrong detergent or bleach, you can often end up ruining your clothes. Dry cleaning, on the other hand, involves a solvent that is easy on the fabric, and Crest’s version, called the GreenEarth cleaning system, is also environmentally friendly. 
2. There’s no water. When you clean clothes in water, colors can run and fabrics often break down or shrink. Dry cleaning preserves the integrity of the garment far better than washing does, and there’s no risk of the appearance or size being altered.
3. Finishing is done for you. Some of the real time investment in doing laundry comes in the ironing, folding, and hanging stages; and if you skimp there, clothes become wrinkled and disheveled. Dry cleaners take this step for you, and we make sure it’s professionally done.
4. Other items than clothing can be dry cleaned. There are limitations in what you can put in the washing machine, however dry cleaners are able to treat a host of household items beyond clothing. Even certain types of shoes, such as UGG boots, can be dry cleaned.
5. Care for particular fabrics.One of the biggest risks in washing at home is how fabrics will respond. While some materials like cotton are generally safe, others, like wool, can go either way, and some shouldn’t be machine washed or dried at all. Dry cleaning ensures that the fabric will be handled properly according to its needs, and it takes the burden off you to decide how to treat it.
6. Odor removal. Certain types of odors, like those from smoke and water damage, are incredibly difficult to remove. Most dry cleaners have processes that can handle these dilemmas, even if the smell in question has been present for a long time.
7. Stain removal. Similar to odors, stains that withstand the most dogged of washings can often be eliminated during a trip to the cleaners. If the our previous blog post on how to get rid of stains fails you, send the clothing our way and we’ll handle it.

As you can see, the dry cleaner is far more than just a laundry service for nice clothes. Make things easier on yourself and take advantage of what we have to offer. Also, for the extra convenience, make sure you look into Crest’s home delivery service. You might be able to phase out your washer and drier altogether!

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However, there’s one important thing to keep in mind as you enjoy the outdoors: protecting yourself and your loved ones from the sun. Although getting a little sun has actually been shown to be good for you—staving off depression and providing necessary vitamin D—too much can lead to skin cancer and other negative results. Here are some tips for making the most of your summer exposure.

1. Use sunscreen lotion. This is tip #1 because it’s by far the most important. Always be sure, when in the sun, to use sunscreen to protect exposed areas of skin, and apply according to directions on the bottle. Most government agencies recommend using an SPF of at least 15 with both UVA and UVB protection, which will block 93% of UV rays,. Also, don’t forget to reapply as the day goes on—sunscreen wears off with sweat, water, and the regular passing of time. Reapply every two hours.
2. Cover up. Obviously, if you’re going swimming you’ll likely take your t-shirt off, but when not in the water be sure to wear a t-shirt or similar cover-up that’s thick enough to not let UV rays filter through.  Interestingly enough, if the t-shirt’s wet, it’ll provide less cover than if it’s dry, so keep that in mind as well.
3. Put on a hat and sunglasses. Your scalp and eyes will thank you. The vast majority of sunglasses sold in the United States meet UV protection standards, so any pair will do, though wraparounds will give more coverage. As for the hat, the larger the brim and thicker the fabric, the better.
4. Seek out shade. Especially during the midday hours. But still wear sunscreen, because sunlight can reflect off other surfaces—and that way you’ll be prepared to venture out into the sun when you need to.
5. Wear sunscreen even when it’s cloudy. This is one of those oft-repeated phrases that comes to seem like an old wives’ tale, but it’s true: you can get burned even on a cloudy day, as the clouds don’t actually block the sun’s UV rays. And even if you think the clouds will protect you and you leave home without sunscreen, you’ll be in a jam if the sky clears up later on, so always be prepared.
6. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Your skin isn’t the only thing to keep in mind when you’re in the sun. Make sure to drink enough water to stay hydrated—that means drinking before your thirsty. You’ll feel better, and you’ll have more energy for the day.

Fear of the sun is no reason to not enjoy the lovely summer. Just make sure you take the right precautions, and don’t stay out in the sun for too long at one time if you can help it—breaks will help keep you energized and safe from sunburn. And if you have any trouble with sunscreen staining your clothes, see our previous blog post for tips on how to get it out!

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Swimsuits are one of those strange consumer items: for so little fabric, they’re often quite expensive! That’s why it pays to learn how to care properly for your swimsuit, especially during the summer months, when you’ll be wearing it most frequently—wear also meaning “wear and tear.”

Tips for buying your swimsuit:

• Needless to say, the better quality the swimsuit is, the longer it will last. A higher spandex content means that the suit will maintain its shape longer. And if you know you’ll mostly be using it in pools, you can look for a chlorine-resistant suit.
• A higher Lycra® content also signifies a sturdier swimsuit, and these generally look more slimming to boot.
• If you know you’ll be active in the suit, make sure you keep that in mind when purchasing, because buying a suit that isn’t made for athletics or watersports means it’s unlikely to survive the stress.

Washing:       

• The first order of business after wearing your suit is to wash it in tap water, which will remove some of the sweat, oils, sand, salt, chlorine, etc. These substances work to break down the suit, and, if left too long, they’ll also harm the fit and elasticity.
• As for a proper wash, don’t use a washing machine with swimsuits containing spandex or Lycra—this will gradually destroy the suit. Use a regular liquid detergent and scrub with your hands, turning the swimsuit inside out. Same goes for drying: let it hang or lie flat to dry, and don’t expose it to the sun.

Other maintenance strategies:

• Try not to overuse the suit: once you wear it, give it 24 hours to regain its original shape.
• When you’re at the pool or on the beach, sit on a towel whenever possible. This helps protect your suit from snagging on rocks or the uneven ground, which can tear and abrade the fabric.
• Avoid contact with suntan lotion as much as possible.
• After the suit begins to bag or lose its shape, despite your great caretaking, it’s probably time to look for a new one.

Men’s swimwear:

• Buying for men comes with some different considerations. Depending on the purpose of the swimsuit—swimming, tanning, casual wear—there’s a wide range of different fits and types.
• Because they aren’t formfitting, some men’s suits will be blends of polyester and cotton, which can be machine-washed normally. But still keep in mind other tips for keeping the suit healthy.
• If you opt for an athletic suit, they’ll likely be a blend of nylon, spandex, and/or Lycra, so remember to wash by hand and rinse as soon as possible after wearing.

Lastly… AVOID HEAT:

• This means saunas, hot tubs, steam rooms, and so on. The combination of extreme heat and the substances in hot-tub water will wreak havoc on the fabric and material of your swimsuit.
• When you know that you might be exposing your suit to heat, try and use an old one or something that you don’t mind getting worn, because this sort of stressor can ruin new suits very quickly, especially if they’re made of more expensive materials like spandex, Lycra, or nylon. 

The bottom line: swimsuits are expensive, can be hard to buy, and they’re meant to make you look your best. Help them do this by taking good care of your suit.

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1. It’s in the wash. Some experts recommend throwing a few tennis balls in the dryer to keep your clothes from clumping and even help them dry faster. While this may seem silly, the main reason clothes come out of the wash all creased is because of clumping. However, there are others who claim that the heat from the dryer will make the color in the tennis balls run, so it’s worth testing this first.

Another way to avoid clumping is to shrink the size of your individual loads. This gives the clothing more space to move around, and with this space comes the necessary fluffing and drying. But always remember to remove clothes from the dryer as soon as possible; the longer they sit, the more likely they will settle and wrinkle.

2. Storing clothing. How you store your clothing after washing it is highly important for avoiding wrinkles. If the item has proven wrinkle-prone in the past, hang it in the closet to avoid creasing from folding. If it’s still coming out of the dryer with wrinkles, you can also hang it or lay it flat to dry. And be sure to shape the clothing after it has left the dryer, when it’s still hot and pliable.

3. Strategies for packing. How you pack your suitcase goes a long way toward keeping the clothes wearable. First, lay flat your pants, shirts, skirts, and so on against one edge of the suitcase and let the excess clothing fall over the edge. Then, wrap all your underwear and socks in a plastic bag, and use this bag as a pillow to fold the clothes over. Use the rest of your items to pad the clothing against the sides of the suitcase. If you’re tight on space, some people recommend rolling your clothing; the trick is to do whatever will create the least creasing, whether it’s from a tight fold or the pressure of other items.

4. If all else fails… Break out the iron. Ironing is a reliable but often time-consuming way to get rid of wrinkles. Make sure the piece of clothing has been laid flat on the ironing board, and go part-by-part. There are different strategies for ironing a shirt vs. a pair of pants vs. a dress. And always remember to turn the iron off after you’re done, and never leave the iron flat and hot against a piece of clothing.

For day-to-day laundry, these tips should help keep clothes looking presentable. And of course, you can always send clothing to Crest or your local dry cleaners to ensure that your nicest items are pressed, pristine, and wrinkle-free.

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1. When displayed or flown, the flag should never touch the ground. When flown at night, the flag should be illuminated.
2. Flags should never be thrown out or improperly disposed of. If the flag becomes tattered or worn so that it’s unfit for display, it should be destroyed in a proper fashion, usually by burning. On June 14, which is Flag Day, the American Legion and some other groups will have flag-burning ceremonies. And, though many people believe that a soiled flag must be destroyed, this isn’t accurate; just have it dry cleaned properly and it’ll be fine to display.
3. Flying the flag at half-staff represents mourning. To properly bring the flag to half-staff, it should be raised to full-staff first and then lowered. National, state, and local governments can mandate for their respective areas that the flag be flown half-staff, but private citizens can also choose to fly their own flags at half-staff.
4. Though it’s commonly thought to be illegal to damage or dirty the flag, it would actually be a violation of the First Amendment if this were the case.
5. When not in use, the accepted way to properly fold a flag for storage is in a triangle.
6. In addition to the American flag, each state has its own particular emblem. When state flags are being flown alongside the American flag, though, the Stars and Stripes should always be flown above them, but not above the flags of other nations.
7. Dipping the flag to anyone or anything is considered disrespectful, but flying the flag upside down is meant to convey distress or emergency.
8. Interestingly enough, the flag design isn’t technically supposed to be embroidered or represented on clothing, furniture, or other items. This is often disregarded, though, and it’s never really enforced.

Because of its tremendous historical and contemporary significance, the flag should always be kept clean and fit to fly. We wish you a safe and happy 4th of July, and for those of you living near a Crest location, bring those flags in for a free cleaning.

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1.     Cell phones

Like most new electronics, cell phones tend to become outdated quickly. But even if a phone doesn’t have all the features you want anymore, it might be a big upgrade for someone else. Organizations like Flipswap will give you cash and plant a tree when you trade in your old phone, and groups such as Donate a Phone will retain a phone's 911 capabilities and give it to a victim of domestic violence.

2.     Computers

Like a cell phone, your computer is liable to become obsolete or break, but unlike with a cell phone, it's hard to just throw your computer in a drawer instead of tossing it in the trash. Various resources exist specifically to recycle computers; the Environmental Protection Agency has a list on its website.

3.     Sneakers

Ever get to that point with a pair of shoes where the sole is falling off or the color has changed to dirt-brown, and they just can’t be worn any longer? Instead of trashing the shoes, send them to Nike. Through their program Reuse A Shoe, your old trainers will be ground into raw material to be reused as rubber, padding, and foam.

4.     Styrofoam

One of the most notoriously unrecyclable materials, Styrofoam has long been thought to be a hopeless substance for green efforts. It also makes up a huge percentage of landfill content because of its large size. However, Styrofoam can be utilized over and over as packing material, and if you don’t have a use for it, various local agencies may. Other companies exist to compress and diminish leftover Styrofoam, so you can always find a better use for it than just taking up space!

5.     CD-Roms

There are tons of creative ways to reuse old CDs. They can amplify lights, serve as mirrors, turn into lamps, and much more, as described in this extensive list on Squidoo.

6.     Hangers

Styrofoam isn’t the only thing that clogs landfills in disproportionately large numbers. According to the Hanger Network, every year 3.5 billion hangers end up in the trash—the equivalent of 60,000 cars. But at Crest Cleaners, we’ll recycle your used and discarded hangers; just ask for a cardboard caddie at one of our locations, and you can use that to store and return your hangers. If you're not located near Crest Cleaners, look for a dry cleaner who offers something similar.

Almost anything can be recycled or reused—sometimes it just requires a little ingenuity. If you can’t send an item to be recycled curbside, repurpose it. We'd love to hear how you recycle surprising items here in the comments.

P.S., if you want to teach the kids about reducing, reusing, and recycling, this Youtube video from Jack Johnson is a great start!

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