Laundry as a science

Is OxiClean not quite cutting it anymore after the death of Billy Mays? Are you looking for a healthier alternative to take care of your clothes? Then you’re in luck, because Garnish Boutique is hosting a free “Laundering Basics” class from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9.

Kristina Salmi Klotz, owner of Busy Bea Soap Company, will be hosting the event. She has been making soap for the past 10 years and has perfected the art of making cold-process soap out of quality ingredients. The soap is made with organic extra virgin olive oil by saponification, where the fatty acids from the oil produce the soap. She uses the highest-grade olive oil available, which washes away without leaving an unpleasant greasy feeling. Beeswax, clays, powders and essential oils are then added to give the final products different scents and properties. The cards and labels on her products are all produced from paper made out of elephant poop.

Klotz found her inspiration to make soap while on a trip to Bali, where there was a lot of coconut soap for sale. That trip sparked her interest in making homemade soap. She started making natural cleaning products after she got her first puppy and wanted everything to be safe and sanitary. From there, she found an olive oil-based soap recipe and experimented with it to make it her own. She has now perfected the craft and is more than happy to share her labor of love with others.

She has taught classes on natural laundering in the past and experimented with plenty of materials and stains to get stain removal down to a science. Everyone will get her recipe for homemade laundry soap as well as soap for fine fabrics like wool and silks. Klotz also has specific techniques for cleaning certain materials and will share her tips for cleaning wool sweaters specifically. By the end of the night, you’ll know how to keep your clothes looking their best and newest for as long as possible.

Klotz will answer common questions, such as whether or not everything should be washed in cold water. She will also talk about natural detergents compared to chemically-based commercial ones, how to keep your whites bright without using chlorine bleach, how to remove stains, what causes static cling and more.

If you have a particularly tough stain on something you own already, or have a question about taking care of a certain fabric, you’re encouraged to bring it with you. Klotz has found a foolproof way to remove stain rings around shirt collars by acknowledging that sweat is a protein and can be removed by introducing a protein-eating enzyme. She’s challenged plenty of clothing problems to find a solution, so she will most likely have a helpful solution, or work to get one.

Klotz and her family recently moved from Portland to Battleground, Wash. Previous classes she taught cost money to attend, but Klotz hopes to start giving less-formal classes for free once she gets settled, in order to get involved in the community. She has come up with consistent techniques and products that she wants to share with others.

There will be laundry kits for sale at the event, if you’re too impatient to wait and follow her recipes. It would be worth it to go just to get these valuable pieces of information, so you can do your laundry without any nasty chemicals or solvents. Using homemade soap is a lot cheaper and better for the environment, and making it can be a fun project as well, so there’s really no excuse not to go.

Participants are asked to R.S.V.P., so if you’re looking for something fun and productive to do with your Friday night, go to Garnish. Your clothes will thank you! ?