Finally, fall has arrived. Time for corduroys, wool sweaters and tweed jackets. And pulling clothes out of winter storage isn’t always a chore. Especially when you find great clothes you forgot you owned during the long summer. Even great garments may not be closet-ready, however. Storage bins have a certain smell, and clothes may need freshening. But there are plenty of products meant to make sprucing simple.
— Emilie Le Beau
Clothes freshly unpacked from storage often have a musty smell. But is it worth a trip to the dry cleaner? Dry Cleaner’s Secret is a new at-home dry cleaner that doesn’t require a bag. Stains are first treated with a cleaning cloth. The cloth is then tossed into the dryer with up to four items. During a test, the cloth wasn’t as moist as advertised. But it was able to remove light dust stains off black pants and freshen a wool sweater. $9.99 for a box with six cleaning cloths. Available at stores such as CVS Pharmacy, Dominick’s and Jewel-Osco.
All your efforts, ruined. You carefully unpack winter clothes from storage. You clean, organize and have all your garments ready for wear. Then, you sit on a couch covered in dog hair. Scotch has a new lint remover that is meant to travel in a suitcase or purse. The Lint Sheets Pocket Packs are sticky sheets stacked and stored in a mini-pouch. In a test, the sheets were able to remove lint and animal hair from fabric. And they’re less clumsy to transport than a lint roller. $2.79 for 40 sheets, available at stores such as Target.
B.O. and fleece are not a nice combination. And after fermenting in storage during the warm weather, winter workout clothes may need a deep clean. Win detergent is aimed at athletes and uses an oxygenated system to help remove embedded odors. On a test wash, Win was able to remove odors from unfortunate-smelling workout clothes. The product performed well, but it is expensive. Each load averages about 50 cents, so we’d suggest saving Win for serious odor issues. $6.99 for a 21-ounce bottle. Available at sporting goods stores such as Dick’s Sporting Goods and Fleet Feet Chicago.
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Here’s a cheaper alternative, tried when a spouse with a sensitive nose threatened to toss his stubbornly smelly Nike Dri-Fit clothes: For a normal-size load, prewash in warm water bolstered with a half-cup of white vinegar. In the regular wash cycle, add about a half-cup of Borax ($6.95 for 76 ounces) along with regular detergent. The payoff? The part-bloodhound spouse buried his face in the test batch and detected only freshness.
— Denise Joyce
