The laundry book The definitive guide to caring for your clothes and linens

In this comprehensive debut manual, Zach Pozniak and his father, Jerry, who together run a luxury Manhattan dry cleaning service, outline best practices for cleaning and caring for fabrics. Detailing how various cleaning agents work, they explain that "surfactants" in detergents "loosen" stains so water can wash them away, and that oxygen bleach transforms into hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate in hot water, both of which whiten clothing. There are plenty of tips for washing (cold water causes less shrinkage and is more energy efficient than hot water) and drying (throw tennis balls in with down items to ensure they don't get clumpy), but the most useful guidance details how to remove various kinds of stains. For instance, they suggest cleaning barbecue sauce by tamping on amylase-based stain remover with a soft-bristle brush. To get rid of glue, they advise blotting it with nail polish and rubbing alcohol. The Pozniaks bring a professional's precision, as when they provide a table showing the ideal temperature at which to iron various fabrics, and though they somewhat predictably emphasize that dry cleaning services are necessary to deal with certain delicate fabrics and hard-to-treat stains, the bounty of tips will help with everything else. It's everything readers ever wanted to know about laundry, but didn't know to ask. (Oct.)