We were not physically at the Houston Quilt Festival but we were there in spirit and with our Velocity irons supporting the One Million Pillowcase Challenge booth put together by American Patchwork & Quilting. Volunteers made 1,027 pillowcases to donate to Houston Children’s Charity! Way to go everyone! If you haven’t already done so, now is a good time to pull together a local group of sewing friends to make some pillowcases for the holidays. Donate them to a local charity and put a smile of comfort on someone’s face. Be sure to record how many you make on the One Million Pillowcase Challenge website to help reach the goal. http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/millionpillowcases/
Happy Thanksgiving! 
As suppliers of commercial irons and ironing tables for the sewing, dry cleaning and alterations world it’s only natural that the team here at Reliable would become an ironing resource for those using our home ironing products. As such, we are often asked ‘pressing’ questions. Here’s one:
“Why was the shirt that I ironed yesterday wrinkled when I took it off the hanger today?”
The simple answer lies in the balance between steam and heat. The steam from the iron will relax the fibers of the fabric making the pressing part easier. The key however, is to ‘dry’ the freshly steamed garment with the heat of the sole plate in order to ’set-the-press’. If the garment is still damp with steam after you have pressed it the fibers will simply bounce back to their pre-ironed state while drying in your closet. It takes very little effort to press with a Reliable iron because of the steam quality that they produce (remember: no spitting! no leaking! no kidding!), and the placement of the steam holes at the tip of the sole plate (just like our commercial-grade irons). By placing the steam holes at the tip the remaining part of the sole plate takes on the job of setting the press. It’s that simple. The iron does the work so you don’t have to.
Find out more by reading 5 Reasons to Love Your Ironing and Ironing 101:
http://www.reliablecorporation.com/5-Reasons-To-Love-Ironing
I gave a lawn chair cushion destined for the dumpster a steamy chance at survival this week. I dragged the cushions for all of the chairs from the back of a closet only to discover that our cat (’September’) at some point between last Fall and this week had decided that one of the cushions would be her little ‘nest’. (Now I know where she was hiding every time company came over this past winter!)
So, I vacuumed the cushion. Still, cat hair remained woven all through the fibers. I steamed it with my EnviroMate VIVA’s triangular brush with a terry cloth over it. The cushion looked fresher and brighter after steaming of course but still had too much cat hair remaining on it to let anyone other than September continue using the cushion. A last ditch effort ensued by removing the terry cloth from the triangular brush and steaming the cushion at the same time as gently rubbing the bristles of the brush in a circular motion all over the cushion. The results were fantastic! The combination of steam and the firm bristles of the brush lifted all the cat hair from the cushion.
Getting creative with the steam cleaner attachments spared me from having to invest in a replacement cushion and it renewed my affection for September. Here’s a picture (not for the faint of heart) of the Viva brush with some of the hair it removed. Oh, and a picture of the culprit - who was also given a second chance…she still has nine left.
“No Big Dill” Blog post featuring the Velocity V50 Iron. Fun blog - check it out! http://nobigdill-reviews.blogspot.com/2011/05/neo-reliable-iron-giveaway.html
In honour of Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month we’re giving away a steam cleaning prize pack. To enter - just watch the new EnviroMate PRONTO video on YouTube and post on the Reliable Facebook Fan page one cleaning scenario shown in the video. Randomly selected winner May31st receives a Steamboy T1 floor mop and an EnviroMate PRONTO!
Link to YouTube Video: http://tinyurl.com/3mpnsqj
Link to Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Reliable-Corporation/57641116651
EnviroMate PRONTO P7
The EnviroMate PRONTO P7 video is up and running! Check it out on YouTube - click on the link above.
Vist Quilter’s Club of America for a chance to with a Reliable Velocity V50 iron. Join the online community (it’s free) and post your creative idea for a Reliable ‘How To’ book about ironing. Contest closes March 31st.
http://www.quiltersclubofamerica.com/blogs/sponsor_spotlight/archive/2011/03/01/spotlight-on-reliable.aspx
ABC 7 news in Chicago featured our Steamboy steam floor mop in their “Spring Greening and Cleaning” segment yesterday!
Here’s the link:
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources&id=8027045
With spring in the air many people start to plan a spring-cleaning weekend. What may come as a surprise to many is that high temperature steam can make all of those spring-cleaning efforts much easier and more effective. Reliable steam cleaners offer a solution for the big spring-cleaning chores like windows and walls as well as a myriad of everyday household cleaning tasks.
Here are some spring-cleaning steam basics:
1. Remove clutter from the house giving dust mites pet dander and other allergens less places to accumulate. Those that remain will be removed using a variety of attachments that come with a good steam cleaner.
2. Take the cold weather clothes from the closets and drawers and ensure they are clean and dry before storing for the summer giving moths and insects less reason to nest. A fabric steamer will freshen fabrics without chemical detergents, fabric softeners or wrinkle removers.
3. Flip the mattress. This something to do with the change of each season that will help maintain the shape of the mattress. Using steam to sanitize all surfaces of the mattress in the process will help reduce allergies caused from dust mites. High temperature steam also kills bed bugs should they ever come for a visit.
4. Clean the windows inside and out. Now that the sun is shining through them more often, simply remove the tell tale signs of built up winter dirt and grime with the power of steam. Steam makes quick work of freshening blinds and draperies too.
5. Move and clean behind and beneath appliances where grease, grime and dust have been accumulating. High temperature steam will remove grease from the surface of appliances as well as the surfaces they sit on.
We are in the midst of production for our latest video. Here are some scenes from the shoot this week. Our goal: Steam cleaning inspiration for all
!
