FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF NOV. 26, 2000:
Sometimes after I’ve worn and washed a new garment a half-dozen times, an edging will unravel or a small hole will form in the fabric. I feel sheepish about asking for a refund after a few months’ use, but I’m sick of retiring these items to "around-the-house" use way before their time. Can I still get my money back?
Many people experience this same frustration, but few are aware that federal standards and the garment industry’s voluntary guidelines are on their side. "The care label is an implied warranty," says Sandra Evenson, University of Idaho assistant professor of clothing and textiles. "If you’ve cared for the garment according to that label, it should return to near-new condition after laundering and be serviceable for a reasonable period of time,"
The International Fabricare Institute’s Fair Claims Guide for Consumer Textile Products even defines what’s reasonable. For example, under normal wear-and-tear and if cared for according to the manufacturer’s instructions, socks have a life expectancy of one year, blouses and dress shirts three years and wool blazers four years.
"Many consumers don’t know the life expectancies of garments and feel they are at fault when something goes wrong," says Evenson. "Even though most garments are inspected for obvious flaws, few are tested for quality in use. The only way retailers and manufacturers become aware of quality problems is by analyzing customer returns."
So, even if a few months have passed, Evenson recommends that you return a defective garment. "Reputable retailers will take it back without question and return it to the manufacturer, who can then take steps to improve quality," she says. If the sales clerk won’t accept it, ask to speak with the department manager.
"The good news is that many manufacturers are aware of our busy lives and use customer satisfaction--instead of price--to get and keep customers," she says. "Shop only those brands you can count on."
For a copy of the Fair Claims Guide, contact the International Fabricare Institute at IFI, 151 Tech Road, Silver Springs, MD 20904, or www.ifi.org.
Sometimes when I replace my laser printer’s toner cartridge, I’ll get some of the toner on my clothes. Repeated washings lighten the stains but don’t remove them. Is there a way to handle a toner stain so you can actually get it out?
The carbon in toner cartridges won’t dissolve in water, making toner stains a real challenge to remove, says Joey Peutz, University of Idaho extension educator.
First, shake off any loose particles, then treat the stain with a prewash stain remover or a solution of laundry detergent and water. Wash the garment, then remove it from the washer to see if the stain is still there. If it is, do not dry the blouse; drying may permanently set the stain. Instead, pretreat the stain and wash the garment again. Continue until the stain is removed or lightened.
Our son is raising a 4-H calf on our acreage. The calf has plenty of good pasture, but it pulls wind-blown plastic bags and other trash through the fence and eats them. Can these things harm the calf?
They can do more than that: they can kill it, says Dr. Bruce Anderson, veterinary pathologist at the University of Idaho’s Caine Veterinary Teaching Center. By plugging its stomach, plastic bags and other trash can interfere with the calf’s digestion partially or completely.
"Cattle tend to ingest dry, fibrous things, especially when they’re kept on lush, green pasture," Anderson says. "They’ll reach through a fence and grasp at twine, rope, plastic bags, sticks, bark, Styrofoam cups, insulation, woody stems of tough old weeds—taste doesn’t seem to have much to do with it."
Pat Momont, UI extension beef specialist, says calves chew on roughage to stimulate the development of their rumens—the large, microorganism-rich stomachs in which they will digest plant materials as adults. Before calves are weaned, milk bypasses the undeveloped rumen, but as the livestock mature from suckling to grazing, this organ must begin to function. Calves that make this dietary transition without a nearby mother cow to model appropriate food selections can pick up very unhealthy habits.
Anderson advises that you secure all trash from your home and outbuildings. Be especially carefully of baling twine: small pieces aren’t problematic, but long pieces can ball up in the calf’s stomach to form harmful obstructive masses. "Many folks just toss a bale of hay in there and let the livestock pull it apart, but the livestock will eat the twine, too—and they don’t cut it up first."
Check with your veterinarian or UI county extension educator for the latest dietary guidelines for calves. The bottom line, Anderson says, is that "those entrusted with the care of livestock need to make sure that the only thing those animals can get their teeth on is plant material that is good for them."
[READERS: Do you have a question about your home, yard or garden? Send it to HomeWise, University of Idaho Ag Communications, Moscow, ID 83844-2332 or e-mail it to homewise@uidaho.edu. Mention of proprietary products or firms does not constitute endorsement by the University of Idaho Cooperative Extension System or imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.]