Care And Maintenance Of Garments : Drying, Pressing - methods and equipment

DRYING AND PRESSING

1. Drying: The old fashioned method of drying was to remove excess water by hand wringing followed by laying the goods flat in the sun or hanging them on a line. In today's automatic washing machines excess water is removed automatically. Clothes should be taken from the dryer to avoid wrinkling, stiffness or shrinkage. If an item is to be dried on a line, the line should be wiped clean, clothes should be shaken and smoothed out as they are hung, all seams should be straightened and removed from the line before they are fully dry inorder to avoid dampening and insure ease in ironing.

Drying equipment

a) Outdoor drying: Clothes cord,, cotton, hemp or coconut rope or galvanized wire, either solid or twisted may be used as clothes line. The wire lines are more permanent, they must be wiped of with damp cloth before being used and must be free from rust. The best place to dry clothes is out of doors in clean air and sunshine.

b) Indoor driers

When outdoor drying is out of question, or in long monsoon, same provision must be made for indoor drying.

a). A good drying rack for a small home is a wooden frame equipped with rope and pulleys that will hold it up to the ceiling. Long thin bamboos are often used in most homes.

b). A folded rack which can be easily made will be useful.

c). A heated drying cabinet is a boon for drying clothes where during the monsoon weather outdoor drying is not possible with most cabinets the heat is adjustable - one temperature for drying and the other for arising. In large modern hotels or institutions a drying cabinet heated by gas or electricity is sometimes provided.

Outdoor drying is best for all white articles as sunlight helps to bleach the cloth, quickens the drying, disinfects and freshens the clothes. Articles should hang out on a line by the selvedge thread and then clipped to the line with wooden clips. They should not be left out in the sun too long but removed as soon as they are dry.

Indoor drying is best suited for coloured articles, to preserve the fastness of the colour.

2. Pressing and Ironing:

Most articles needed some pressing after cleaning to restore them to their original appearance. Finishing is the process used to straighten the clothes, so that the appearance is attractive and neat.

i. The methods used for finishing the laundry are,

a) Ironing      b) Pressing c) Steaming d) Mangling e) Calendaring.

a) Ironing: This process consists of running a hot iron backward and forward along the selvedge threads of the cloth with pressure. The heat of the iron and the pressure applied is controlled according to the texture and the nature of the fabric.

Method of Ironing

            Essentials for good Ironing are a hard padded surface and a clean hot iron.

            For saris and sheets use a table 4 x 2� ft. and about 3 ft high. For other articles use an ironing board. Have a bowl of water, a piece of muslin and an iron stand.

            Open out the damped article, stretch it and iron by running the hot iron backward and forward on the selvedge threads.

b). Pressing: This process consists of placing and then lifting it up. It is not a continuous running of the iron to and fro on the surface of the cloth.

c). Steaming: This process consists of allowing the steam to pass through the surface of the cloth. Fabrics with pile surface such as velvet and velceteen are finished by this process.

d). Mangling: Is used only in cases of rough articles, where the surface is expected to be neat but not very smooth.

e). Calendaring: Used in commercial laundries to finish straight pieces of cotton and linen articles such as table clothes, curtains and bed sheets. The articles are passed through two heated metal rollers which continuously rotate.

ii.Irons

Various types of irons are now available, heated by charcoal or electricity.

        Charcoal Iron: Is the most commonly used iron commercially.

         Electric irons: Non-automatic, automatic and steam irons.

The modern automatic electric iron has a dial by which one may select the amount of heat needed. In general silk and manmade fibers needed low heat, while cottons and linens require highest heat. If the right heat is dialed clothes will not be scorched and wrinkles will come out.