San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, July 10, 2011 | Section N

Home&Garden

By Corinne AsturiasSPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

My mini-mutiny be-gan last fall when halfof our formidable frontlawn turned the color ofpale fries. “The sprin-kler system,” my hus-band said impassivelyas we stood before ourdead rectangle, “isshot.” We stood for amoment in silence, sur-veying the large spacein front of our house,half alive, half dead.

The truth is, we’venever loved our lawn orthe concept of lawns.They permeate theAmerican dream anddominate our midcentu-ry, suburban devel-opment in San Jose.Space hogs, water suck-ers and giant leaf col-lectors that have to be

blown, mown anddoused in chemicalswith a great ruckus tolook good, what is thepoint of a lawn otherthan to say: we haveland, time and moneyto waste? When ourkids were young thehome turf had its bene-fits: a landing pad forsoccer balls and dogsand skateboards, and adisplay carpet for theannual holiday tree.

But lately, its useless-ness had started tognaw at us. And staringat the newly dead zoneout front, I realized thatin all the years living inthis home, I’d nevereven thought aboutwhat I wanted for thesunny space occupiedby my lawn. My imag-ination started to roamand a rebellious vision

took shape: the organicvegetable garden I’dalways wanted butcouldn’t plant out backbecause of three dogs,two tortoises and notenough sun.

Vegetable gardeningas a trend, if you’vebeen living under a

rock for the past threeyears, is back, resultingin a tide of so-calledvictory gardens (namedfor war-era attempts toaugment the nation’sfood supply with localplots) and urban farmsof all stripes. There’s adose of recessionary

thriftiness in there, butalso an unmistakabledesire for tangibilityand back-to-basicsmeaning. First ladyMichelle Obama jump-started the nationalconsciousness when sheplunked a veggie patchon the White House

lawn. Throw in thelocavore movement, anE. coli outbreak or two,the guy at the farmers’market charging you abuck for a potato, andyou’ve got the makingsof a mini-revolt.

Our plan was modest:

GARDENING

Edibles takea bite out of the front lawn

Kat Wade / Special to The Chronicle

When half of the author’s front lawn died, she and her husband opted to build two 4-by-8-foot raisedvegetable beds with a buffer of roses closest to the street.

Garden continues on N5

By Chantal LamersSPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE

I’m not opposed to dry cleaning, but I’ve long yearned for the empow-erment to clean my own very beloved cashmere sweaters and assortedvintage frocks. (I wince just a tiny bit when I relinquish control of acherished garment to a stranger.) As it turns out, those little labels af-fixed to clothing dishing out permission on whether you can wash it athome or must march it down to the dry cleaner aren’t always the lastword.

For that you can thank Lindsey Wieber Boyd and Gwen Whiting, co-founders of The Laundress (www.thelaundress.com), a specialty collec-tion of assorted detergents and cleaners.

“Look further at the fabric content,don’t stop at the dry-clean-only label,”says Boyd. “Ninety percent of fabriccan be hand washed safely.” Her at-home laundry list includes trousers,suits and blazers, swimsuits, dressshirts, silk scarves, blouses, wool andcashmere. There are some exceptions:

Silk blends under 50 percent; leather,suede, raw silk and most rayons shouldnever be washed or drenched inwater. Follow the duo’s carefullyresearched advice and nearlyall of a closet’s contents can besafely hand washed or even

How toshrink your laundry bill

Laundry list:Dos anddon’tsFrom viscose rayon to silkand linen, the ladies atThe Laundress havecompiled a nifty chart tohelp consumers determinewhat they can wash athome and how to do sosafely. Here are somehighlights. For the rest goto: bit.ly/ap3nxG

Wool, cashmere,mohair, angora1 Hand wash or machine

wash with delicate/woolen cycle

1 Use detergent specifiedfor wool and cashmere

1 Cold water

1 Turn item inside out;place item in mesh bag

1 Wash with like colors

1 Lay flat to dry in naturalshape

1 Steam only; do not iron

DON’T:1 Use hot water, fabric

conditioner or bleach

1 Use dryer

1 Dry in sunlight

Cotton and linen1 Use regular detergent

for whites or darks

1 Use fabric conditioner ordryer sheets

1 All water temperatures

1 Separate colors

1 For cotton: Use dryer athigh temperature orhang dry; iron hot orsteam.

1 For linen: Line dry or dryon low; always removeand hang when damp;easiest pressed whendamp

DON’T1 Use bleach (weakens

fibers)

Polyester and nylon1 Machine wash on nor-

mal

1 Regular detergent

1 Warm water

1 Line, hang dry or tumbledry on low; iron on lowto medium heat orsteam

DON’T1 Use bleachLaundry continues on N7

“Ninetypercent offabric can behand washedsafely.”Lindsey Wieber Boyd,co-founder of TheLaundress

Dirty secret? Those clothing labelsaren’t the last word on fabric care.

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San Francisco Chronicle and SFGate.com | Sunday, July 10, 2011 | N7

popped into the washingmachine.

While traditional drycleaning employs achemical cocktail, con-sumers actually have theoption of using eco-friendly bleaches andfabric detergents to clean“dry clean”-only items.Conventional dry clean-ing uses the carcinogenPERC. The practice canfade and damage fibers,and the residue can lin-ger.

While taking mattersinto your own hands isn’tnecessarily a time-saver,it will shrink your drycleaning bill and, if doneproperly, can help allsorts of garments holdup longer.

Want to give it a try?First, assemble a clean-ing arsenal. This in-cludes: bleach alterna-tive, stain remover withenzymes, proper de-tergents for silk, cotton,wool, cashmere anddelicates. Always testproducts on a small,portion of fabric beforeusing on the entire gar-ment. Add a washbasin,mesh bags, steamer, ironand ironing board. Toavoid color transfer,choose a metal-famedrying rack that comeswith mesh shelves forlaying items flat to dry.

The women who start-ed The Laundress havegarnered a following fortheir line of eco- andclothing-friendly prod-ucts as well as their “rec-ipes” for at-home laun-dering, available for freeat thelaundress.com.

“That’s what separatesour brand from everyoneelse,” says Boyd. “Weeducate our customersversus just shoving aproduct in their hands.We empower them sothey can do it on theirown.” Here, Boyd sharessome valuable launder-ing lessons, from how tosafely wash wool to tipsfor keeping denim darkand even how to removepesky set-in yellow arm-pit stains.

Never sweat armpitstains again: “The pitstain was actually one ofthe reasons Gwen and Istarted this brand,” saysBoyd. On cotton, linenand synthetic fabrics youcan get rid of those nastyyellow or gray stains (theresult of body oils anddeodorant) by applyingan enzyme-based stainremover. Work the solu-tion into the stain withfingers or a stain brush.Pour hot water over thestain and soak. Repeatthe process until thestain is gone and thenwash. The process workson existing stains butyou can help thwartthese blemishes by treat-ing garment underarmsprior to washing.

Keep denim dark: Boydoften hears people saythat they take their den-im to the dry cleaner topreserve the color. Theprocess can actuallycause fading. Instead,wash denim inside out incold water. Then allowdenim to air dry; placingdenim in the dryer iswhere the majority ofdamage and color fadingoccur, and soften byironing while still slight-ly damp. Spray withfabric freshener betweenwashings.

Put wool and cashmerein the washer: “A lot ofpeople think we’re crazywhen we tell them it’sOK to wash wool andcashmere in the washingmachine,” says Boyd.First, gently removepilling from fabric andplace in a tight knit meshbag. (This process isn’trecommended for use in

industrial washing ma-chines.) Use a detergentsafe for wool and cash-mere, then set the ma-chine to cold on the deli-cate or woolen cycle. Thekey is washing only likecolors together, becauseyarn dye can easilytransfer to garments.

Drying wool and cash-mere: After washingwool or cashmere in themachine, lay pieces flat todry on a rack. If you’veopted to hand launderthese items, press thewater out of the fabric bypressing the garmentagainst the tub or wash-basin. Lay the item flat ina towel, roll it up andplace the rolled item overa dry towel or on a meshrack. Never wring cloth-ing, which can wrinkleand distort the fabric.Avoid using hangers,which can leave indenta-tions on shoulders.

Steam things up: “Iron-ing can be really time-consuming, scary andfrustrating, especially aman’s shirt,” says Boyd,who prefers the ease of ahand-held steamer, about$40. For the best results,turn the garment insideout, steam and let dryovernight. “Always steamsilk scarves. We don’trecommend ironing silkin general. Ironing canalter the color or burn itif you don’t know whatyou’re doing.”

On liquid fabric soft-eners: Avoid traditionalliquid fabric softeners,which are made withanimal fat. The sub-stance doesn’t wash outin a single cycle, and itleaves residue on thefabric that breaks fibersdown.

On using vinegar:“There are more than300 uses for vinegar butour favorite is as an odorremover,” says Boyd.“Soak items in vinegarand wash as normal.”

On stain removal: Eval-uate the stain. Is it old ornew? Treat the stain withan enzyme-stain removerand soak the item in hotwater before washing.(Soak silk and cashmereitems in tepid water;soak silk for no morethan 30 minutes.) Laun-der items with bleach

alternative in hot water,when possible. Heat canbake the stain into thefibers, so don’t dry theitem until the stain isgone.

E-mail comments tohome@sfchronicle.com.

Lycra andspandex1 Use regular detergent

or delicate detergentfor swim or sport wear

1 Hand wash or machinewash on normal

1 All water temperatures

1 Separate colors

1 Tumble dry on low orline dry; dryer will weak-en elasticity

1 If needed, use iron onlow or steam

DON’T1 Use bleach (will deteri-

orate and turn yellow)or fabric conditioner/dryer sheets

Silk and silkblends (50% or more)1 Use delicate detergent

1 Hand or machine washin mesh bag on delicate/woolen cycle

1 Cold water

1 Wash with like colors

1 Lay flat or hang to dry.

1 Use steamer or iron on lowheat; press items inside out

DON’T1 Use hot water, fabric condition-

er or bleach

1 Soak for more than 30 minutes

1 Wring or twist garment

1 Dry in sunlight

FROM THE COVER

Laundry from page N1 ResourcesENZYME-BASED STAIN REMOVERS1 OxiClean Max Force Laun-

dry Stain Remover Spray,$3.86, at drugstores.

1 The Laundress StainSolution, $18, at thelaundress.com

1 Naturally It’s Clean En-zymes Laundry Pre-Treat-ment, $13.50, at greenhome.com

BLEACHALTERNATIVE1 Vaska Oxygen-

bleach, $6.99, atTarget

1 Oxo Brite Non-Chlorine Bleach ,$6.99, ecos.com

1 Ecover Non-Chlorine Bleach,$4.57, ecover.com

SPECIALTYDETERGENTS1 For darks: Woolite Extra

Dark Care, $9, at drug-stores

1 For wool and cashmere:The Laundress Wool &Cashmere Shampoo,$19, thelaundress.com.For delicates: The Laun-dress Delicate Wash,$19, the laundress.com

Val B. Mina / The Chronicle

Never wring clothing — itwrinkles and distorts fabric.

Experts shrink the laundry bill

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