I was hoping the answer was going to be "tomorrow", because that's my laundry day.

Love the picture. Alot of spelling mistakes. And they really want you to not bleach nor bleech it.

Am I the only one who noticed a distinct lack in the part where they tell you it's safe to do some stuff by hand, with specific advice?

People wash leather?

Eke.

Dry cleaning? PHEH! What a scam, I buy all of my work pants at Marshalls and wash them with the rest of my clothes and line dry them; dry clean only labels be damned. I've been doing this for over three years now and have only lost one pair, which I didn't like that much anyway.

@socalrob: *a lot
(sorry, i couldn't resist correcting a spelling mistake in a post complaining about spelling mistakes :P )

@twophrasebark: I guess it gets wet when it's on the cow...

@tungstencoil: This article really only tries to tell you to take your stuff you care about to the dry cleaners, without telling you what and how to do anything else at home.

re: that photo (yes, it says "LOW LRON")
if you click through to the flickr page, someone posted this request:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Evil Evil Scientology, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.

@twophrasebark: yes. i buy used leather for my art stuff [barbie dolls need to wear more leather] from thrift stores and i always wash the non suede pieces [suede gets specially made cleaner spray.] the key is in not changing the temperature quickly.

i find most garment leather can be washed by rubbing with saddle soap and then lathering it up with a damp cloth. then i soak it carefully with limited agitation in a bathtub or sink [depending on the size of the piece] with white vinegar and room temperature water for a couple of hours. if it's got a funky smell i add some febreze.

then drain, add more room temperature water to rinse. then hang to drip dry for a while. while still damp, i drape it over something like a garment drying rack - make sure no pieces are overlapping or making contact, no sharp creases, they WILL set permanently. close it in the bathroom with a space heater on low for a couple of days. yes, i said days. if you dry leather quickly it will crack as the different layers of the skin dry at different rates.

you may at this point want to oil the leather if it's especially old or flaking.

drying leather this way also works for your rained on leather coats and such. for handbags and boots add crumpled newspaper to keep the sides from touching and to hold the item's shape. depending on the finish of the leather it can stick to itself when drying.

I have a pair of pants that I've been wearing, and washing, for about a year. The other day I was folding them and noticed a tag I hadn't seen before that said dry clean only. I was confused, because I'd washed it in a normal washer and dryer many times and it had always been fine. Why would it tell me it was dry clean only when it's perfectly evident that I could wash it with no ill effects?

DON'T BLEACH!
DON'T BLEECH!

This shirt says "dry clean only." That means it's dirty.

RIP Mitch Hedberg.

@tungstencoil: Nope. Not that the article's bad, but it sure doesn't live up to the summary.

@tungstencoil: It sounds more like an advertisement for this guy's business.

I have long hated the "dry clean only" labels on so many clothes. I do it if I must, but I truly believe in 2009 this is scam to keep the dry cleaning industry in business.

Modern washers have so many settings on them, you must be able to laundry 70% of what says "dry clean"

@tungstencoil: I worked for a dry cleaner for 8 years. Almost anything can be wet cleaned ( and almost everything was for us, drycleaning doesn't really get things clean ) The #1 rule is not to dry it, either lay it to dry or hang it, depending on the fabric. Some fabrics ( such as silks ) will be much much harder to press after being washed though. There are certain fabrics that shrink in the wash, not the dryer, from the movement, those should be hand washed.

There is a saying about this : "Dry clean only doesn't mean you can't wash it, just that you are probably too stupid to." or to put it way more nicely, do your research and wash it alone, in a mesh bag, and don't dry it. If you don't care enough to do that, take it to the dry cleaner.

@Hate_Brian_Club_I'mNotOnlyThePresidentI'mAClient: You BUY your clothes? That's for lazy suckers. I make my own out of scraps that I buy at So-Fro, and they're cheaper and better than anything available in stores.

In case you were wondering I also make my own pizza and it's sublime.

Meh. I've never cared about "Dry clean only" tags. 'Course, I'm a pretty casual guy. Thus, I have precious few DCO anythings in the closet. The Beloved Wife, on the other hand, has a buttload of 'em. (Women's clothing has never made sense to me... but I do prefer The Beloved without them ;) )

Here's the rule of thumb I use with the laundry: Gentle cycle with Woolite for The Beloved's fancier stuff; Purex + regular cycle for most else; Purex + hot water for whites. And nary a dry cleaner in sight...

We don't drop $300 on one new blouse, though...

@zibby: I make my own out of scraps that I buy at So-Fro, and they're cheaper and better than anything available in stores.

Store bought scraps? LUXURY!!

I have to make all my clothes from bits of paper and plastic I get out of the dumpster.

I've ruined a pair of work pants before. I ignored the "dry clean only" tag and washed it, not noticing that there was a strip of material keeping the leg straight. Oops.

@gStein: Unfortunately, enough stupid people used 'alot' so much that it's in the dictionary now:

[www.merriam-webster.com]

Goes to show you that we are truly a lowest-common-denominator society, where it's better to be popular than right.

If I have something dry clean only, I usually wash it the first time by itself with no soap (no dryer), then I inspect what it looks like. There was only 1 sweater that I decided might not make it through if I continued to wash it this way and added soap. The rest all go in the regular wash.

The only items of clothing that I dry clean are my suit parts since I think of those as investment clothing. Everything else is purchased at discount stores or outlets so has no intrinsic value; these items get subjected to Wash 'N Pray treatment. If they survive they get worn again.

@Evil_Otto:

I always thought "alot" meant to earmark something for someone. Perhaps used in wills.

Eg: I alot my kitten, muffins, to my dear husband who is allergic to him.

@Evil_Otto: Isn't that how languages evolve, though?

@shepd: The word you are looking for is "allot."

@Jason Schaeffer: I have a scarf a washed before I realized it said dry clean only. I wonder if they just throw the label on clothing if it's got at least X amount of something in it without bothering to test it.

@mianne:

You win. Thanks! Me and my terrible spelling. :S

@PLATTWORX: I have heard many times that it is simply easier for the clothing manufacturers to put a dry clean only label on clothing, rather than figure out the best way to wash it to put on the label. Most items can be washed and line dried if one is concerned about shrinkage. I don't think I've taken anything to drycleaners in years!

@gStein:
I thought that both were acceptable. I see both a lot and alot, often.

Often better? LoL.

@tungstencoil: Yeah, I agree -- this article was not just shy on, but completely lacking, useful information. Sounds like everybody just read the title and believed it!

@Tiny L. Bug: A dumpster? Bloody luxury!! I can't even wear clothes because I'm a pure energy being so I have to hide my private bits with photons gathered from collapsing stars and people think it's hilarious to ask me if "my headlights are on". I'm so sick of hearing that!

@Jake712:

Wait a moment, you're Doctor Manhattan?

@socalrob: "alot" isn't really acceptable, especially considering that 'a lot' makes a lot (lol) of logical sense. It refers to a specific or general amount of something, a 'lot'. Like a dozen, a bunch, a bucket full, a truckload, a lot (see 'lot' as a noun, like 'parking lot', and you'll never forget the spelling again)!

@Jake712: Pfft! Maybe YOU can waste energy like that, but the rest of us workin' folk don't have photons to waste on things like fig leaves and bras.

Its obvious that government handouts have devauled the photon, and people like you complain about having to work & gather debris from collapsing stars. You know what?! If it wasn't for taxpayers like me, there wouldn't BE any collapsing stars for you to scavenge. SOCIALIST!!!