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jb60606

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 27, 2008
871
0
Chicago
I feel stupid asking this, but what does starching do? Does it "stiffen" the thread or something so that the clothing maintains "shape"?

Are there any negative affects on the clothing or skin? If they offered you "low, medium or high" starch (as I was offered, and I later declined - not knowing what its exact purpose was) what would you normally choose?

The lady behind the counter could barely speak a word of english, so I couldn't really ask her.

Thanks
 

JNB

macrumors 604
It does add stiffness to the fabric, mainly to maintain a crisp, pressed appearance longer into the day. Mainly for men's dress shirts, and also mainly when the fabric is cotton or wool. Man-made fibers shouldn't generally be starched.

My dry cleaners starches all my polyester tropical short-sleeves, and doesn't for my dress shirts. I'm going to have to kill them now.
 

Macaddicttt

macrumors 6502a
Apr 22, 2004
993
3
San Diego, CA
According to Wikipedia:

Wikipedia said:
Clothing starch or laundry starch is a liquid that is prepared by mixing a vegetable starch in water (earlier preparations also had to be boiled), and is used in the laundering of clothes. Starch was widely used in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries to stiffen the wide collars and ruffs of fine linen which surrounded the necks of the well-to-do. During the 19th century and early 20th century, it was stylish to stiffen the collars and sleeves of men's shirts and the ruffles of girls' petticoats by applying starch to them as the clean clothes were being ironed. Aside from the smooth, crisp edges it gave to clothing, it served practical purposes as well. Dirt and sweat from a person's neck and wrists would stick to the starch rather than to the fibers of the clothing, and would easily wash away along with the starch. After each laundering, the starch would be reapplied. Today the product is sold in aerosol cans for home use.
 

Tomorrow

macrumors 604
Mar 2, 2008
7,160
1,364
Always a day away
I feel stupid asking this, but what does starching do? Does it "stiffen" the thread or something so that the clothing maintains "shape"?

It "stiffens" the fabric as you described, yes. It also helps to keep the fabric from wrinkling so easily, so a starched shirt will stay looking fresh and pressed well into the day as you're wearing it.

Are there any negative affects on the clothing or skin? If they offered you "low, medium or high" starch (as I was offered, and I later declined - not knowing what its exact purpose was) what would you normally choose?

I've never heard of any negative effects. Perhaps if you're allergic to starch, but I've never heard of that.

I assume your clothes are cotton or broadcloth, starch won't hurt those; permanent press, nylon, etc. are generally wrinkle-free on their own and don't need starch, plus I don't know if the starch will even permeate them correctly.

I usually only have my dress shirts and cotton slacks/khakis starched, I go for heavy on the shirts and medium on the khakis.

The lady behind the counter could barely speak a word of english,

Seems to be the norm for dry cleaners - I don't really know why.
 

Macky-Mac

macrumors 68040
May 18, 2004
3,489
2,531
I find that light starch for dress shirts gives them a little bit of crispness and keeps the shirt looking fresh.

Give it a try and see if you like the results....that's your best bet
 

r.j.s

Moderator emeritus
Mar 7, 2007
15,026
52
Texas
We used to have to starch our BDU uniforms, but they have since done away with that for the ACUs. It caused them to fade faster and trap heat inside - leaving you to sweat more.
 

jb60606

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 27, 2008
871
0
Chicago
Thanks for the info, folks. I'm going to give light starch a trial run to see how my normally sensitive skin reacts. I always hate how my shirts look at the end of the day.
 

ziggyonice

macrumors 68020
Mar 12, 2006
2,385
1
Rural America
I'm a little OCD about wrinkles on clothing... I just can't stand the appearance, looks very messy. Using starch really helps eliminate them and keeps the shirt looking crisp all day long.

/OCD rant.
 

MacDawg

Moderator emeritus
Mar 20, 2004
19,823
4,503
"Between the Hedges"
I like my shirts with medium starch
Seems to work out well for me

Woof, Woof - Dawg
pawprint.gif
 

iGary

Guest
May 26, 2004
19,580
7
Randy's House
LL Bean makes wrinkle resistant shirts that are so good you never even have to press them (they even have permanent creases on the sleeves and cuffs). I stopped taking shirts to the dry cleaners years ago.
 

millerj123

macrumors 68030
Mar 6, 2008
2,576
2,552
What do you call them? ;)

Is this a trick question? :confused: I do see the smiley.

PIN= Personal Identification Number

PIN number = Personal Identification Number number :confused:

I call it a PIN or an ATM.

As for the starch question, my grandma starches her clothes. I don't even want to iron mine.
 

arkitect

macrumors 604
Sep 5, 2005
7,047
12,032
Bath, United Kingdom
Is this a trick question? :confused: I do see the smiley.

PIN= Personal Identification Number
PIN number = Personal Identification Number number :confused:
I call it a PIN or an ATM.

Read this post… it was in answer to:
BDU uniforms... You're one of those guys who says PIN number and ATM machine, aren't you? ;)

So I just wanted to know what Signal-11 calls them. ;)
 

davidwarren

macrumors 6502a
Aug 28, 2007
782
2
LL Bean makes wrinkle resistant shirts that are so good you never even have to press them (they even have permanent creases on the sleeves and cuffs). I stopped taking shirts to the dry cleaners years ago.

Yeah, all my work shirts are the no-iron shirts from brooks brothers, they have a permanent crease and as long as you hang them up out of the dryer, they are wrinkle free. oh yeah-- you can launder them with your regular clothes too, so no need to dry clean, which is nice.
 

Signal-11

macrumors 65816
Mar 23, 2008
1,474
2
2nd Star to the Right
Except that it didn't explain what the B or D stood for :p

/ No, seriously, what does B D Uniform mean?

Battle Dress Uniform.

They used to come in heavier weight 50/50 Nyco or lighter weight cotton ripstop. Either way, like RJS mentioned, starching them would tended to kill all breathibility and turn the blouse into a heat trap.
 

MarkCollette

macrumors 68000
Mar 6, 2003
1,559
36
Toronto, Canada
Battle Dress Uniform.

They used to come in heavier weight 50/50 Nyco or lighter weight cotton ripstop. Either way, like RJS mentioned, starching them would tended to kill all breathibility and turn the blouse into a heat trap.

I'm betting this is some kind of British language thing where you're a soldier but call your outfit a blouse and dress... Like how pants are underwear.
 

JNB

macrumors 604
I'm betting this is some kind of British language thing where you're a soldier but call your outfit a blouse and dress... Like how pants are underwear.

Nope. Just specific terminology for the type of attire, though we did inherit it predominately from the Brits. Blouse, not to be confused with shirt or coat, but is worn in lieu of either. Also not to be confused with blousing, which is what is done to pants instead of leaving the cuffs to hang open outside footwear.

Dress, not an article of clothing, but denoting a manner or occasion of wear, as in battle dress, dinner dress (aka dress mess), dress whites/undress whites, etc.

Retired 11 years and I still check my gig line… :rolleyes:
 

StealthRider

macrumors 65816
Jan 23, 2002
1,065
16
Here and there!
My dry cleaners starches all my polyester tropical short-sleeves, and doesn't for my dress shirts. I'm going to have to kill them now.

It's worse when they double-crease the whites. Or, worse, double-crease the poly-wool khakis that already have permanent creases. That's a ticket to a new shirt. I've taken to just telling them to clean the shirts without pressing. I do a better job anyway.

Oh, and the gig line thing...yeah...
 
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