Home - Garden
How Fabric Starch Can Make Your Clothes Look Brand New
By JACQUELINE DELIBES
If you want to save money on dry cleaning while maintaining the crispness of a dry cleaner, a liquid starch made from rice flour will produce a clean and wrinkle-free finish.
Mix one teaspoon of rice flour with half a cup of water for each shirt, mixing out any lumps with a fork or tea strainer while the water is cold. Let it sit for five minutes.
Heat it for ten minutes on low heat, constantly stirring until it turns thick and gluey. Pour it into a bucket, add enough cold water to cover the shirts, and mix well.
Soak the shirts in the starch solution before transferring them to an empty bucket. Pour any leftover starch solution over them, and let them sit for ten minutes.
Hang them to dry, straightening them as much as possible. Spritz lightly with water and roll each shirt. Let them absorb water for five minutes, then iron to smooth the garment.
Though time-consuming, liquid starch immersion removes wrinkles even better than spray-on starch. However, overstarching can weaken fabrics over time, so avoid overdoing it.