Out of Ours: Brand New & Bright School Uniforms

25/01/2012

Brand New & Bright School Uniforms

Some schools in Australia have already started their new academic year, but here in Victoria state schools only go back on the 3rd February.

My new teenager, Miss M is going into her second year of high school and the little man starts his first year at big school. No more kinder for him!

While Miss M is obviously all set uniform wise, the little man hasn't and many months ago we ordered and received some school issue uniform for him. All bright and new and very colourful...the uniform is a yellow polo shirt and navy blue shorts.

The Aussie sun is very harsh here and the bright new uniform can look like it's years old after only one term. Faded. Dull. Lifeless.

I've always known soaking "new" colours in salt locks in the colour and fading is reduced, so when I went onto the tinternet to see which would be the best salt to use, the recommended type was vinegar.

Regular white vinegar. All you do is replace your fabric softener with everyday household vinegar. The vinegar helps lock in the colour, softens clothing without destroying the fibres and there is no need to worry about the vinegary smell...it's gone during the rinse cycle.

So that's exactly what I did. I did a small load each following label instructions of his yellow shirts and blue shorts and art smock. Using vinegar in place of fabric softener. For his compulsory hat, I added water to the laundry sink mixed in some vinegar and let that soak during one of the wash cycles.

I them hung them up on the clothes horse inside to dry rather than outside in the sun. I did rinse the hat after the soak, but to be honest the vinegar smell wasn't really that bad.

I now fully intend to wash the uniform this same way except one of the just in case school shirts...at the end of the term I'm wanting to compare the difference between them...and then again at the end of the year.