Consuming Interest
Warm Comfort
By LESLIE ADRIAN The Institute of British Launderers (1.6-17 Lancaster Gate, W2 : Paddington 2454) will supply anyone who telephones or writes to their public relations department with a list, covering the whole country, of laundries offering a blanket service, usually designated by such shining shorthand terms as 'Sundress' or `superfleece.'
Most of the laundries will either clean or wash the blankets, the choice resting with the customer, and after a refluffing process, wrap them in damp- proof and moth-proof Cellophane. Very useful advice is offered by one of the managers of the Sumner Laundry (Cromwell Road, West Croy- don : Thornton Heath 3817) to people who waver from cleaning' one year to washing the next, un- certain of the virtues of either. Washed blankets have a better colour and fresher feel than those which have been cleaned, but the cool temperature at which both washing and drying are done will not kill any moth eggs which may be lurking in the fleecy wool. Cleaning, on the other hand, destroys them completely, so any blankets which are going to be stored until next winter will be safer if they have been cleaned, while those destined for immediate return to duty where moths are unlikely to breed can very well be washed.
The Sumner Laundry, which for some 'reason is not in the Institute's list, charges 2s. 6d. for a single and 3s. 6d. for a double blanket (those with satin bindings cost 6d. extra because a special finish is required) which are returned to you as soft and fluffy as when they went. In addition to the Sumner, which will collect from anywhere in the London area, there are at least three London laundries who offer this service : Bon Ton and Float Laundries Ltd. (107 High Street, Eltham, SE9 : Eltham 1163) who charge 4s. 9d. a blanket. all sizes, bound or unbound; The Sunlight Laundry (Broughton Road, Fulham, SW6 : Renown 3333) who have a 5s. 6d. flat charge; and the Gleniffer Laundry (Catford, SE6: Hither Green 1051). They have two prices for both wash- ing and cleaning blankets, and their main service is cleaning, which costs either 3s. Id. or 5s. 4d. according to the finish. All these laundries will collect in London and take about a week to do the job.
Protection against moths is no problem to people owning blankets made of Acrilan, which are so light and easy to handle that they can be washed at home in a washing machine and put in the spin-dryer. Acrilan, like all man-made fibres, dries very quickly and well, as it absorbs much less water than wool, also it has not wool's ten- dency to felt.
These 'Rolls-Royce' blankets, which are rather expensive (£6 15s. single and £8 15s. double), can be bought at The Army and Navy Stores, Robin- son and Cleaver, Marshall and Snelgrove, and Selfridges. MarshaIls also sell 'Sole Mio' at seven and nine guineas each, a deep pile blanket as light as spun sugar and so warm that one will do the job of two ordinary blankets. (Supplies will be limited until September.) They are made of Courtelle, another acrylic fibre, but need to be thundered by the makers.
Wormalds and Walker, of Dewsbury, Yorks, the makers Of Acrilan Dormy blankets, have a guaranteed cleaning service (for all Dormy blan- kets, not just Acrilan) in which the blankets are first cleaned and then washed. They will supply on request addresses to which the blankets should be sent. Old maltreated blankets will not regain *heir pristine appearance, but the best will be made of their hidden virtues, if any. New ones will be returned like new, satisfaction or money back. This 'best of both worlds' service costs 7s. 6d. each. The approach Of the camping, boating, country cottage season reminds me of blankets in brilliant Mexican colours at 59s. 6d. which are just the thing, as well as the best possible choice for children's beds. They are Dutch, made of rayon and wool and can be relied on to suffer cleaning (rather than washing) kindly. As far as I know, only the Marshall and Snelgrove shops stock them.
I am delighted to hear from the Consumer Association (from their new address, 333 High Holborn, WC1: Chancery 3593) that their organ Which? is so successful that from now on it will appear monthly instead of quarterly. This means that research and publishing costs will be doubled, and that Associate Membership will have to go up from 10s. to £1—a modest price to pay for the benefits to be derived from twelve such issues a year as the current number, with its candid survey of thirteen British-made refrigerators, two of which it flatly refuses to recommend, and its searchlight on smoking 'cures' and coupon cutlery.
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