The primary benefit of using laundry starch is probably related to the clean, crisp appearance it tends to give to clothing. People who use starch on their clothes often find that the ironing process is easier afterward. Laundry starch might additionally make it easier for fabric to resist stains, and washing stains out when they do occur is usually not as difficult in clothes that have been starched. Regularly starching your clothing will also hold that pressed appearance longer.
In spite of the benefits of starch, there are also some disadvantages. Some people choose to avoid starch in laundry because they think it makes their clothes scratchy and uncomfortable to wear, and it might also reduce the overall life of clothing by breaking the fabric down if you consistently use heavy starch.
Laundry starch is used most often on business and formal wear, which tends to look better when the fabric is very crisp. People often skip the process of starching clothes they wear every day, although historically people used it on all their clothing. The use of starch to make clothes look neater has been traced as far back as the 16th century, and back then people made it out of corn and water.
What is Starch:
Starch is a carbohydrate produced by all green plants as a source of energy. It is used in the Dry Cleaning industry as a stiffener for fabrics. There are three different types of starch that are used in a commercial laundry; corn starch, wheat starch, and synthetic starch.
At Classic Cleaners we use a wheat based starch. Wheat starch is a natural starch that has a “glue-like” consistency. It is the starch of choice for most commercial cleaners who use natural starch since it sticks to fibers better than corn starch. Since the particles are larger microscopically, they are able to be caught and entwined in the fibers of the shirt with less being wasted in the rinse cycle.
How much, if any, starch do you like on your pressed shirts? Did you know we will customize your starch preferences and will use as little or as much as you like? It’s in our system under your personal settings so be sure to update us as your needs change.
-S.O.
