Don Key A Lane - CETTE, DRESS-CODE, KULU, WOLBAR, SWIMWEAR, LINGERIE, HOISERY, HUSTLER

SORT BY COLOUR: WASH WHITES SEPERATELY FROM DARK COLOURS. THIS WILL PREVENT THE DARK DYES FROM RUNNING/BLEEDING INTO YOUR WHITES.

SORT BY TEMPERATURE: DO NOT WASH CLOTHING ABOVE THE RECOMMENDED TEMPERATURES ALLOWED ON THE FABRIC CARE LABEL. THIS WILL PREVENT CLOTHING FROM DAMAGE, ESPECIALLY SHRINKAGE.

SORT BY WASH CYCLE: DO NOT WASH ON A CYCLE NOT SUITABLE FOR THE FABIC. LOW LEVELS OF AGITATION FOR WOOLS AND HIGH LEVELS FOR COTTONS.

MIXED LOADS: IF YOU HAVE A MIXED LOAD OF CLOTHING TO BE WASHED, WASH ACCORDING TO THE CLOTHING THAT REQUIRES THE LEAST AGITATION OR THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE

A FABRIC CARE LABEL IS A LABEL THAT GIVES THE RECOMMENDED CARE INSTRUCTIONS. THE LABEL IS ATTACHED TO THE CLOTHING, USUALLY ON THE INSIDE, WITHIN A SEAM, AND WILL REMAIN LEGIBLE DURING THE LIFESPAN OF THE PRODUCT.
THE CARE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL APPLIES TO EVERY PART OF THAT PRODUCT, INCLUDING DECORATIVE TRIMS, BUTTONS, LINING. A CORRECTLY INFORMED LABEL WILL USE THE SYMBOLS AS SPECIFIED BY 'THE HOME LAUNDRY CONSULTATIVE COUNCIL' HLCC. SYMBOLS CAN BE ACCOMPANIED WITH ADDITIONAL WORDING. IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FABRIC CARE LABELLING IS VOLUNTARY, IF A LABEL HAS BEEN USED THEN THIS BECOMES PART OF THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PRODUCT ACCORDING TO THE 'SALE OF GOODS ACT'. ALL CLOTHING AVAILABLE FROM DON KEY A LANE HAVE THIS FABRIC CARE LABEL.

WASH TUB SYMBOL: THE NUMBER IN THE SYMBOL SHOWS THE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WHICH CAN WASH THE FABRIC.

	MIN AGITATION (eg woolens)
	MEDIUM AGITATION (eg synthetics)
	MAX AGITATION (eg cottons)

	DO NOT MACHINE WASH
	HAND WASH ONLY (TIP:CHECK THAT THE WATER IS NOT TOO HOT FOR THE DYES AND INKS AND ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE DETERGENT IS FULLY DISSOLVED

BLEACH SYMBOL: THE BLEACH WE USE AROUND THE HOUSE IS A CHLORINE BLEACH. THE CHLORINE BLEACH SYMBOL IS A TRIANGLE. IF YOU USE CHLORINE BLEACH ALWAYS FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED BY THE MANUFACTURER.

DRY CLEANING SYMBOLS: THE DRY CLEANING SYMBOL IS A CIRLCE CONTAINING A LETTER. THE LETTERS USED ARE A, F, AND P. THESE LETTERS TELL THE DRY CLEANER WHICH CLEANING SOLVENTS TO USE. IF THERE IS A DASH UNDER THE CIRCLE THIS INDICATES THAT THERE ARE RESTRICTION ON THE PROCESS CONDITIONS.

	CLEANED IN NORMAL DRY CLEANING SOLVENTS
	CLEANED IN HEAVY BENZINES
	CLEANED IN HEAVY BENZINES WITH STRINGENT LIMITATIONS OF HUMIDITY AND AGITATION.
	CLEANED IN PERCHLORETHLENE WITHOUT AND RESTRICTION.. THE PRODUCT CAN BE CLEANED WITH ADDITIONAL DETERGENT AND/OR MOISTURE FOR REALLY STUBBORN STAINS, IT CAN ALSO BE TUMBLE DRIED UPTO 60 C AND STEAM PRESSED IF REQUIRED
	CLEANED IN PERCHLORETHLENE WITH RESTRICTIONS
	DO NOT DRY CLEAN

ALL CLOTHING FROM DON KEY A LANE THAT REQUIRE DRY CLEANING WILL BE MARKED UP. IF A LABEL IS MARKED 'DRYCLEAN ONLY' OR 'PROFESSIONAL DRYCLEAN' THESE ARE NOT CORRECT CARE LABELS AND DON KEY A LANE INSISTS THAT ALL PRODUCTS ARE CORRECTLY LABELLED TO PROTECT THE CUSTOMER. DRY CLEANING IS PREFERED ON GARMENTS IN WHICH SOAPY WATER WILL CAUSE THE FIBRES OF THE CLOTH TO SWELL AND LOOSE THEIR SHAPE. DRYCLEANING IS A MISLEADING WORD BECUSE WE USE CHEMICAL SOLVENTS TO CLEAN THE CLOTHES. THE SOLVENTS DISSOLVE THE GREASE THAT HOLDS THE DIRT TO THE CLOTHES

	CAN BE TUMBLE DRIED
	CAN BE TUMBLE DRIED ON A DELICATE HEAT SETTING
	CAN BE TUMBLE DRIED ON A NORMAL HEAT SETTING
	DO NOT TUMBLE DRY

IRONING SYMBOLS: THE IRONING SYMBOL IS AN IRON WITH DOTS. THE DOTS RECOMMEND THE TEMPERATURE OF THE IRON. ALWAYS USE A WELL PADDED IRONING BOARD, DO NOT TOUCH THE IRONING PLATE TO TEST ITS TEMPERATURE, DO NOT ALLOW CHILDREN TO USE THE IRON AND NEVER LEAVE AN IRON UNATTENDED. IRON DELECATE FABRICS INSIDE OUT, AND USE A PRESSING CLOTH SUCH AS A TEA TOWEL OR PILLOW CASE

SHOE SYMBOLS: MOST OF THE SHOES YOU PURCHASE SHOULD HAVE A LABEL WITH PICTORIALS WHICH DENOTES ITS COMPOSITION. SEEK ADVICE FROM THE MANUFACTURER IF YOU WISH TO WASH YOUR SHOES. WASHING IN A MACHINE IS NOT RECOMMENDED BUT SOME TRAINING SHOES CAN BE WASHED. REMOVE THE LACES AND THE INSOLE AND DO NOT WASH IN A MACHINE WITH CLOTHING AS THE DYES MAY BLEED AND THE RUBBER SOLES MAY CAUSE DAMAGE. DO NOT DRY SHOES NEAR DIRECT HEAT. STUFF THEM WITH NEWSPAPER AND ALLOW TO DRY AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.

	THE COMPOSITION OF THE UPPER PART OF THE SHOE
	THE COMPOSITION OF THE OUTER SOLE OF THE SHOE
	THE COMPOSITION OF THE LINING AND SOCK OF THE SHOE
	MADE OF LEATHER
	COATED IN LEATHER
	THE TEXTILE USED
	OTHER MATERIALS USED BUT NOT MENTIONED ABOVE

NIGHTWEAR SYMBOLS: ALL NIGHTWEAR (LOUNGWEAR) WILL HAVE SYMBOLS TO INFORM YOU OF THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSING THE GARMENT TO FIRE. THE GREEN SYMBOL INDICATES THAT THE GARMENT CONFORMS TO BRITISH STANDARDS 5722 FOR LOW FLAMMABILITY. THE RED SYMBOL STATES THAT THE GARMENT MUST NOT BE EXPOSED TO A NAKED FLAME OR A FIRE. AS WITH ALL GARMENT KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE.

BAR CODE LABEL: THE BAR CODE LABEL IS A LABEL USED TO IDENTIFIY A PRODUCT. THE LABEL IS UNIQUE TO THAT ONE PRODUCT ONLY. USUALLY PRINTED ONTO THE PRICING LABEL OF A PRODUCT BUT SOME MANUFACTURERS INSERT A FABRIC LABEL INTO THE ACTUAL PRODUCT.
ALL BAR CODES REPRESENT DATA WHICH A MACHINE CAN READ. WHEN THE CHECKOUT AT YOUR LOCAL STORE SCANS THE BAR CODE THE CASH REGISTER SENDS THE BAR CODE NUMBER TO A POINT OF SALE COMPUTER TO LOOK UP THE PRICE. THE COMPUTER THEN SENDS BACK THIS PRICE.
BAR CODES WERE ORIGINALLY USED IN GROCERY STORES BUT BECAUSE OF THEIR POPULARITY MORE RETAILERS HAVE ADOPTED THE CODING.
BAR CODING HAS BEEN MADE EASIER NOW THAT COUNTRIES HAVE ADOPTED UNIVERSAL CODING. THE MOST COMMON BEING THE EAN/UCC CODES. WE WILL NOT GO INTO A LENGTHY DESCRIPTION ABOUT THE COMPLECATIONS OF THESE CODES BUT BASICALLY A BAR CODE IS MADE UP OF TWO PARTS.
(A) THE MACHINE READABLE BAR CODE
(B) THE HUMAN READABLE NUMBERS
THE FIRST SEVERAL NUMBERS OF THE CODE IS THE MANUFACTURERS IDENTIFICATION NUMBER. DON KEY A LANE HAS A BAR CODE PREFIX WHICH READS 506011766. WE HAVE ADOPTED THE EAN-13 STANDARDS BAR CODES

NEXT TIME YOU LOOK AT A BAR CODE SEE IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE COMPANY.
THE FIRST DIGIT OF THE MANUFACTUERS NUMBER IS A STANDARD SYSTEM CHARACTER. IT RELATES O CERTAIN INDUSTRIES, FOR EXAMPLE

O USED FOR ZERO SUPPRESSED NUMBERS
1 RESERVED
2 RANDOM WEIGHT ITEMS (EG FRUIT AND VEG)
3 PHARMACEUTICAL
4 IN STORE MARKING

THE FOLLOWING THREE NUMBERS WILL BE A NUMBER BEWTEEN 001-999, THIS IS THE PRODUCT NUMBER SO IT IS IMPORTANT MANUFACTURERS DONT GET PRODUCTS MIXED UP. IF A MANUFACTURER HAS MORE THAN 1000 PRODUCT LINES THEY WILL NEED TO ADOPT DIFFERENT CODING.
THE LAST DIGIT IS CALLED A CHECK DIGIT. THE DIGIT TELLS THE CUMPUTER IF IT HAS BEEN READ CORRECTLY. HERE IS AN EXAMPLE BAR CODE NUMBER 506011766001. NOW LETS WORK OUT ITS CHECK DIGIT.

BAR CODES ARE NOT JUST USED IN RETAIL, THEY CAN BE USED FOR A VARIETY OF FUNCTIONS FROM LABELLING PALLETS TO LEASE VEHICLES.
IT IS NOT COMPULSORY TO LABEL PRODUCTS WITH BAR CODES. IN FACT SMALLER INDIVIDUAL RETAILERS DO NOT ADOPT THE SYSTEM. IT IS USUALLY THE LARGER ORGANISATIONS WHO MANUFACTURE PRODUCTS TO BE SOLD BY ANOTHER. IT IS, HOWEVER, AND EASIER SYSTEM TO USE AT THE CHECK OUT AND FOR AUTOMATED STOCK CONTROL. THEIR EVER INCREASING USAGE HAS RESULTED IN RETAILERS INSISTING ON SUPPLIERS TO ADOPT THE CODING. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE FUSS AT THE CHECK-OUT IF YOUR NEXT CAN OF TOMATOES DID NOT DISPLAY THE BAR CODE.

LOAD THE WASHING MACHINE SO THAT THERE IS NO LESS THAN A 10CM GAP BETWEEN THE TOP OF THE CLOTHING BUNDLE AND THE WASHING MACHINE DRUM. IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT THIS MEASUREMENT A ROUGH ESTIMATE EQUATES TO THE DISTANCE OF YOUR HAND SPAN. DO NOT OVERLOAD AS THIS DOESNT ALLOW THE CLOTHES TO TUMBLE PROPERLY AS THE DRUM SPINS. OVERLOADING CAN PREVENT THE WASHING POWDER TO DISSOLVE. THIS CAN CAUSE POOR PERFORMANCE AND POWDER MARKS ON YOUR CLOTHING AND IF YOU ARE USING BLEACH YOUR CLOTHING CAN BECOME BLEACH DAMAGED.

MODERN WASHING MACHINES HAVE A LARGE RANGE OF WASH CYCLES. THESE CYCLES ARE DESIGNED FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF WASH LOADS. THE MANUFACTURERS OF THESE MACHINES HAVE TESTED EACH CYCLE THOROUGHLY WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOAD. THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TYPE OF LOAD IS CLEANED THE MOST EFFECTIVELY ON EACH CYCLE. THE MANUFACTURERS HAVE SPENT LOTS OF MONEY IN RESEARCHING AND TESTING WASH CYCLES SO USE THEIR EXPERTISE AND REFER TO YOUR WASHINGH MACHINE INSTRUCTION BOOKLET WHICH WAS PROVIDED WITH YOUR MACHINE. CHOOSING THE CORRECT CYCLE IS IMPORTANT TO MAKING YOUR CLOTHES LOOK GOOD AND MAKING THEM LAST.

DO NOT USE MORE DETERGENT THAN IS NECESSARY. DON KEY A LANE CANNOT RECOMMEND ONE DETERGENT OVER ANOTHER. THIS IS A CUSTOMER CHOICE, IF YOU ARE USING A NEW DETERGENT FOR THE FIRST TIME TRY TO ESTABLISH IF IT IS SUITABLE FOR YOUR SKIN. YOUR SKIN MAY BE SENSITIVE TO SOME DETERGENTS. FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURERS GUIDELINES CAREFULLY AND CHOICE A DETERGENT SUITABLE FOR THE FABRIC AND CLOTHING TYPE. YOU WILL OBVIOUSLY USE A DETERGENT BECAUSE OF ITS ABILITY TO CLEAN BUT YOU MAY WISH TO CONSIDER HOW THE PRODUCT IS PACKAGED, HOW OR WHERE IT IS MADE, WHAT ARE THE ETHICS BEHIND THE COMPANY OR COMPANIES RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS MANUFACTURE? HAVE YOU MADE A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PURCHASE?
BIOLOGICAL DETERGENTS ARE IDEAL FOR CLEANING WHITES AND COLOUR EVEN AT LOWER TEMPERATURES. NON BIOLOGICAL DETERGENTS ARE FORMULATED TO BE KIND TO SENSATIVE SKIN, THEY ARE USUALLY DERMATOLOGICALLY TESTED.

IF I WERE TO SHAKE A BOTTLE OF PURE WATER, IT WILL SPLASH ABOUT FORMING BUBBLES AND FROTH. THIS FROTH AND BUBBLES SETTLE DOWN ALMOST IMMEDIATELY TO RETURN A NICE SMOOTH EVEN SURFACE TO THE WATER. IF I WERE TO ADD A LITTLE SOAP TO THE WATER AND THEN SHAKE THE BOTTLE SOAPY BUBBLES CALLED SUDS ARE FORMED. SO WHY DONT THESE BUBBLE SETTLE QUICKLY JUST LIKE THE PURE WATER DID? WELL, WHEN THE WATER IS AGITATED THE WATER BUBBLES WILL BE FILLED WITH SOAP. SUCH A SOAP FILLED BUBBLE TAKES VERY LITTLE ENERGY TO MAINTAIN THAN DOES A WATER ONLY BUBBLE. ALSO BREAKING UP THE BUBBLE WOULD MEAN KICKING OUT THE SOAP MOLECULE. THIS IS WHY THE SUDS ARE SUCH GOOD FUN TO PLAY WITH.

BUT IT IS NOT FUN AND FROLICS THAT SOAP IS USED FOR. IT IS USED TO CLEAN YOUR CLOTHING, YOUR DISHES, YOUR CAR, YOUR BODY. WE CAN DO THIS TO AN EXTENT WITH WARM WATER BUT THE MAJORITY OF DIRT IS OILS AND FATS. THAT IS WHY WE NEED SOAP. SOAP DESCIBES ANY SUBSTANCE WICH IS SOLUBLE IN WATER ONE END AND SOLUBLE IN FAT THE OTHER END. THIS IS KNOWN AS A DETERGENT.

IF MY OIL STAINED JEANS ARE WASHED THE TAIL END OF THE SOAP MOLECULE ATTACHES ITSELF TO THE GREASE AND OIL. JUST LIKE GOING FISHING. THE SOAP HAS HOOKED ONTO THE GREASE. BUT NOW WE NEED TO LIFT THE HOOK UP AND THATS WHERE THE WATER ACTS. THE HEAD END OF THE SOAP ATTACHES ITSELF TO THE WATER MOLECULES, THE WATER LIFTS THE GREASE AND OIL AND FLOATS AWAY. THAT IS WHY WE NEED AGITATION TO REMOVE THE DIRT.

SUBSTANCES WHICH ACT IN THIS MANNER, ON THE SURFACE OF WATER, ARE KNOWN AS SURFACE ACTIVE COMPOUNDS, OR SURFACTANTS. NEXT TIME YOU DO YOUR WASHING UP, TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DETEREGENTS INGREDIENTS PANEL, THE DETERGENT WILL BE MADE UP FROM NON-IONIC AND IONIC SURFACTANTS.