Aren’t heat resistant materials just grand? They make life so much easier for a number of great reasons, and even are capable of preventing disaster or saving lives. Our heat resistant materials are unspoken heroes, but do we treat them as well as we deserve?
When cleaning them, do we give them the proper attention that they need? How exactly can you ensure that you do, though? In the words below, you will find five great tips for cleaning the heat resistant materials that may be found around your home.
1. Wash Fabrics with Detergent Only
Daily life has taught us what to do when a nasty stain makes it’s mark on our nice and stainless fabrics, we quickly attempt to wash it with soap and water. Well, while that may be appropriate in most cases, that is simply not the case when it comes to heat resistant materials. Any soap will produce insoluble film buildup as it comes into contact with other elements and minerals. This can damage the the fabric’s heat resistant quality. All in all, just keep it as far away from soap as possible and use detergent only.
2. Do Not Soak
Another typical thing that we do with fabrics is to soak them. Yeah, that isn’t a great idea when it comes to heat resistant materials. This, too, can really damage your ever reliant heat resistant materials, so it is highly advised that you merely dampen the fabric when giving it a good cleaning. The extra care that is required to put into cleaning is well worth the heat resistance, so do try to keep that in mind.
3. Dry Clean Only May be Applicable
Typically, when many people see the words, “Dry clean only,” they tend to read that as, “Toss it in the washer.” While that is not advised, quite a few of us are guilty of that, and can usually get away with it. Once again, those pesky fire resistant materials play by their own rules and demand that you follow them or else they’ll go on a permanent strike. As such, whenever you see a suggestion to dry clean your fabric made with fire resistant materials, you should probably heed that warning and take it to the dry cleaners.
4. Watch that Water Temperature
It’s said that you should not wash heat resistant materials in water exceeding 40°C, or about 104°F, ironically. It may be a huge disappointment, as scolding hot water is typically the go to solution for many stubborn stains in fabrics, but unfortunately heat resistant material doesn’t play well with common logic. It could be argued that you could possibly get away with water a bit hotter than 100°F, if you are feeling a bit brave or reckless, but it’s generally suggested that you keep it below that temperature.
5. The Controversy of Fabric Softener
This is an area of a bit of debate, as some experts maintain that using fabric softener will, in fact, damage your heat resistant fabrics, while others say that it it perfectly fine to use. As I am not an expert on heat resistant materials, so I can not put forth my own opinion on the matter. However, I can tell you that the choice to use or not use fabric softener is yours alone. If you’d like to play things safely, avoid using the softener. If you’re feeling particularly brave or bold, though, then by all means try it yourself.
