Mitchel Groff

The photographer captures images from your big day. The florist may press a sample flower to remember the beautiful blooms that decorated your event. You’ll wear the ring on your finger for a lifetime. But what about your wedding gown? How can you preserve this precious garment? To ensure your beautiful dress remains in mint condition, use the following tips. Your dress will be available for the next generation or simply to preserve your wedding day memories. Understand the Process Many brides don’t know exactly what wedding gown preservation involve. What is this process? It involves specialized cleaning and packaging techniques provided by dry cleaners. Your professional preservationist reviews your gown, the materials and any stains, and develops a specific cleaning procedure to ensure the preservation of your dress. Prep Properly To keep your wedding gown in the best shape, you should take a few steps before sending it for cleaning and preservation. First, a...

Summer is here! That means lots of cookouts, pool parties and other outdoor activities. But eventually you’re going to need to clean all those summer materials and fabrics. Some are pretty straightforward—just throw them in the wash like always, and you’re good to go. Some, however, require a bit more TLC and have specific directions on how to keep them looking good. You could just skip the whole annoyance of washing those summer clothes and leave it to a wash and fold laundry service. After all, couldn’t you use that time to do better things? And it would be nice to have peace of mind that your clothes are being well taken care of. Without the help of the pros, you will need to take some steps to ensure those summer fabrics look fresh and clean all season long: Beach towels: It’s pretty easy to forget about the sand that’s built up on a beach towel. Make sure to shake it off thoroughly to get all the sand out. If you don’t, you risk damaging your washing machine...

If you’ve ever had to lug your laundry bag down five flights of stairs and across three long blocks to the nearest laundromat (and back) you know that having a laundry room–whether it’s a nook in the kitchen, a corner of the basement, or a dedicated room just for cleaning clothes–is a beautiful thing. But you might not be sure exactly sure what you should put in this space. Laundry soap is a given, but what else? What should be stored in the laundry room as opposed to the bedroom or linen closet? And how should all of this stuff be organized? If you’re wondering how best to utilize this space, here are some basic tips on what you should keep in your laundry room and how to organize everything to make washing and drying clothes convenient, easy, and maybe even enjoyable. Laundry Room Essentials Stock your laundry room with essential supplies: Detergent Bleach Dryer sheets Stain and odor removers Anything else you ...

Rust stains are some of the most difficult stains to remove from fabrics. It takes time and patience and, unfortunately, removal is sometimes impossible. But there are several things you can try, including basic household items like salt, lemon, and cream of tartar. One thing that's tricky about rust-colored stains is that they're not always caused by rust. Caramelized sugar and benzoyl peroxide (acne medicine) stains also can look like rust. When in doubt, do a bit of investigating before treating the stains. Rust stains cannot be removed by normal laundering and using chlorine bleach will make them permanent. If the stain remains after initial treatment, repeat the same steps or try a different solvent or cleaner. Do not put the rust-stained clothing in the dryer because high heat will set the stain.  Warning Do not use chlorine bleach on any stain that looks like rust. If it really is a rust stain, the ble...

Tips to Remove Laundry Stains Let's face it. Tossing clothes in a washer with some detergent is pretty simple. It's those stains that can really cause the problems. But if you master these ten basic tips, you can feel confident tackling almost any type of stain removal from A to Z. Timing  Take care of stains as soon as possible. Fresh stains are much easier to remove than those over 24 hours old. However, if stains are "set-in", you should still follow the same steps for removal; it may just take longer or repeated treatments. First Things First  For fresh liquid stains, blot up any excess liquid with a clean white cloth, paper towel or even a piece of white bread (great for grease stains!). Remember to keep moving to a clean, dry area of the blotting cloth so as much of the stain is absorbed as possible. Avoid rubbing the stained area with a linty terry towel or a dark-colored cloth. You may make matters worse. For stain blobs, remo...

  Baking Soda in Laundry  That same box of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) that you have in your fridge is also an inexpensive way to remove odors from clothes, boost detergent and bleach performance, soften clothes, clean an iron and control detergent suds. Safe to use in both standard and high-efficiency washers, it is one of the top two best products (along with distilled white vinegar) to green your laundry by reducing your dependence on chemicals. So, what can baking soda do? Learn how to: Reduce and remove laundry odors Boost detergent and bleach performance Soften fabrics naturally Clean an iron Control excess suds Reduce and Remove Laundry Odors Body odors on our clothes and linens are caused by bacteria. The bacteria are removed when detergent molecules break up the bacteria cells on the fabrics to be flushed away. However, less expensive detergents that don't contain hard-working enzymes to tackle bacteria need a boost to work more effec...

Don’t fall behind on treating your clothes this fall. Your leather, suede, and jeans require extra special care. And don’t worry if your pumpkin spice latte ends up on your shirt. It happens to the best of us! We have tips for the most common fall stains, too. Our Fall Laundry Guide has you covered. How to Treat Common Fall Stains Pumpkin Stains:  It’s pumpkin season! Pumpkins can get messy and end up on your clothing. Scrape off as much as the pumpkin as possible. Soak in cold water with liquid detergent for about 30 minutes. Launder as usual. If the stain persists, take it to a professional. The Mulberrys team is trained to remove all types of stains, like pumpkin stains. Caramel Stains:  Caramel apples anyone? For caramel stains, scrape off as much as the caramel as possible. Don’t rub! Combine 1/2 tsp of detergent, 1 tbsp of vinegar, and warm water. Soak the fabric in the mixture for 30 minutes to remove the stickiness. When finished, blot the stain w...

As the weather begins to warm up, it's time to start thinking about storing winter clothes in the attic, basement, or upper shelves of our closets to make room for spring and summer essentials. While it's tempting to toss every winter sweater and wool coat into a big plastic bin and shove it in the attic for the next six months, taking the time to store your winter clothes the right way will pay off by helping your clothing last for longer. Avoid these common mistakes when storing winter clothes now—and you'll thank yourself in six months when you go to unpack your sweaters and find them fresh and free of moth holes. Mistake #1: Not Washing Clothing Before You Store It  You're not going to be wearing this clothing for a while, so there's no need to wash it, right? Wrong! Storing clothing with food stains and odors on them not only makes it much harder to remove the stains later, but it can also attract bugs and pests. Instead, wash or dry-clea...

Your oriental rug isn’t only a beautiful investment piece in your home, it’s also a surface in your home where your family walks, sits and relaxes while enjoying the space. Like any other surface in your house, keeping your rug clean is an essential part of keeping your home clean. Keep reading to learn our tips for oriental rug cleaning in Scottsdale, AZ. No shoes in the house If your home doesn’t already have a “no shoes” policy, consider implementing one. Shoes bring in bacteria and allergens from outside, not to mention whatever else is on the ground (like from public restrooms). Get tough and don’t allow guests to wear shoes on your rug to keep it free from damaging agents, both visible and invisible. Treat spills quickly Treat any spills liquid or solid with the utmost urgency. Removing a spill from a rug is a time-sensitive challenge. First, scoop up anything solid to remove it from the area. Then, blot away moisture with a paper towel. Blot from the outs...

Leather looks good and you look good wearing it. To keep it that way, CLEAN IT EVERY YEAR. Our leather specialist knows how to best clean and restore your leather garment. Always clean all matching items at the same time. If staining occurs, bring it to us as soon as possible. DO NOT try to remove spots yourself. And because we are very good at what we do, if there are concerns about a particular garment, we’ll take time to advise you before proceeding. Selecting a Leather Garment Buy from a reputable retailer Look for careful matching of textures and colors throughout the garment; however, suede will never be completely uniform Avoid a snug fit. Some relaxation shrinkage can be expected in use and cleaning Read and save accompanying leather care information To Keep Your Leather Looking its Best Between Cleaning Wear a scarf to protect the collar area from body oils and perspiration. Heavy staining of any kind and ground-in dirt is not a friend...