Danger at the Dry Cleaner

The chemicals used while your clothing is at the dry cleaners might not be best for you or your home. The primary cleaning solvent being used in the 30,000+ dry cleaning establishments across the US is tetrachloroethene (other names for tetrachloroethene include tetrachloroethylene, PCE, perc, and perchloroethylene.). This chemical is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. That means it works on your central nervous system as a depressant. Inhaling the vapors can cause dizziness, confusion, headache and sleepiness. This is why the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified perc as a probable human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). But if that's the case, why not avoid incremental doses whenever possible? Most closets don't have windows or proper ventilation so the chemicals used on the clothing have nowhere to dissipate until they dissolve into the atmosphere or are breathed in by you or another member of your family.

If you already have clothing from the dry cleaners and it is sitting in your closet with the cover still on, don't take the plastic off in the closet and breathe that air. Consider taking the clothing out and using your Tobi steamer to plump the fibers and release those contaminates into the air in the kitchen or bedroom or other place in your home (or even on your back porch) where there is good ventilation. Keeping yourself safe and as chemical-free as possible is always a great plan for long-term health.

Dry Cleaning and the Environment

Some people think dry cleaning is environmentally friendly clothing and fashion care. Usually the reasons cited for dry cleaning being good for the environment include water conservation. Dry cleaning doesn't use water, instead relying on a chemical solvent to get clothing clean. Unfortunately, the chemicals given off by dry cleaning companies also have a serious carbon footprint. For example, the solvent, residue, dyes, grease and other ingredients used to get clothes clean gets turned into "cooked muck" and is considered a hazardous waste. The solid waste includes the same things as the cooked powder residue and is referred to as sludge.

These hazardous wastes are not great for the environment, but you can still refresh and remove odors from your dry-clean-only clothing using a natural alternative like a vapor steam cleaner. The Tobi Steamer uses only water to remove odors and wrinkles from all your clothing (except suede, leather, and other no-steam fabrics!) and water is safe for the environment, as well as far less expensive than paying for those chemicals that hurt the Earth. Plus you'll have fabulous, wrinkle-free clothing with no wait!

Dry Climates and the Tobi Steamer

While the Tobi Steamer may not be an appliance you keep on all night like a vaporizer, the power of steam helps more than your clothing when used around your house. If you live in a dry climate where you're more often than not using a vaporizer, using a Tobi with the powerful professional-quality steam coming out certainly won't hurt!

The more you steam with your Tobi, the more steam (humidity) you release into the room you're in. So go ahead and steam the draperies and the bed and release some moisture into the air. When you steam your bed, you're killing dust mites, creating a wrinkle-free sleeping environment and, as if that weren't enough, you're also releasing latent odors in your sheets and refreshing them while releasing more moisture into the air in your room.

Making your room comfortable in a dry climate is easy with the Tobi Steamer. All you have to do is what you normally would with a compact garment steamer and the steam from the Tobi does the rest. The more you steam, the less dry your home environment will be. That’s good news for your sinuses as well as your wrinkle-free, refreshed upholstery, draperies, sheets and clothing.

Go Green One Thing at a Time

Each of us has to do our part to be kind to the environment. We can't just throw all the garbage away; we need to recycle. We can't just litter; we have to find appropriate places for our garbage. Each one of the changes people make is one step closer to a clean Earth. Small changes are the most common because they are always the easiest to institute. You could try to start a petition to keep the chemicals used by dry cleaners from being dumped into local lakes and make sure it's all going to the proper hazardous waste disposal buildings, but who has that kind of time?

Making the small change of using the Tobi Steamer instead of the dry cleaner will save you money as well as time. Going green and saving green at the same time is one of the best side-effects of having a Tobi. Not only will you be able to avoid dry cleaning hazards like residual chemicals clinging to your clothing and invading your closet, you can also refresh clothing when you need it without drop-off or pick-up hassles. Going green just keeps looking better and better, doesn't it? Especially when the easiest thing to change is also the most convenient.

Improve Your Feeling of Health and Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Even if you just use your Tobi for removing wrinkles and refreshing clothing you are going to reduce your carbon footprint while improving your overall feeling of health. Wondering how one little (but powerful) tool can help you do all that?

You do less laundry - This means you use less detergent and less detergent needs to be shipped from the pollution filled factory to the store you buy it at using gas and putting exhaust and carbon fumes into the atmosphere along the way.

You use less water - Conserving water is important, and while the Tobi Steamer uses water to create steam, this is far less than the water used for all the extra loads of laundry that didn't need to be done when a refresh was all that was necessary.

You don't dry clean - This means the dry cleaner is using less chemicals and the byproducts aren't going into the air. The dry cleaner also has less hazardous waste to get rid of at the end of the day because you used your Tobi.

You don't drive as much - You're not driving to and from the dry cleaner, you're not driving to and from the store for laundry detergent and fabric softener as much. You're conserving gas and letting less car exhaust into the air.

You are being kind to your skin - Sensitive skin needs to be taken care of. Chemicals from dry cleaning and over-washed clothing saturated with soap and fabric softener are not going to help the situation. Be kind to your skin by using steam. Every time you use the Tobi Steamer instead of fabric softener or laundry detergent with chemicals in it, that is less chemical waste going into the water supply to be filtered.

You are being kind to your lungs - In every instance someone uses chemicals instead of a natural cleaning alternative like the Tobi Steamer, the fumes from those chemicals are breathed in by the person using them. This can cause any number of problems with long term exposure. The byproduct of the chemicals you use goes right into your lungs while you breathe.

Natural Cleaning Alternatives for Sensitive Skin

The toxins in the air have made skin more sensitive than it’s ever been before. More and more people are finding that they have really sensitive skin. If you suffer from sensitive skin, there are several ways to reduce your exposure to chemicals and toxins that could cause a potential skin flare-up.

Perfume – These can not only make your skin react badly, but can also affect your tear ducts, pores and sinuses. Be very careful when using products with perfumes in them, and if something gives you a bad reaction, make sure to copy the label so you don’t purchase the same type of product again.

Dyes – Read labels carefully to find out if the products you’re using have dye in them. Pay special attention if a product is making you feel itchy or scaly. Sometimes only certain dyes will affect your skin, and once you know what those are you won’t have to use unscented because you’ll know what to look out for at the store.

Chemicals – If you’re dropping off your clothing at the dry cleaners, they’re coming back with more than plastic on them. The toxins from the solvent used at a dry cleaner cling to the fabric for an unknown period of time once they’re back in your home. If you leave the plastic on, the toxins last even longer because they have nowhere to escape. If you take the plastic off right away, the chemicals could rub off onto clothing hanging next to your dry cleaning, and a shirt you never take to the dry cleaners could suddenly make your skin feel dry and itchy.

If you’re looking for a natural alternative to all the perfumes, dyes and chemicals you’re exposing your skin to, use something simple and pure – like water – to eliminate odors, refresh your clothing and keep your linens looking and feeling their best. The Tobi Steamer can give you all the convenience without all the sensitive skin irritants.

Polluting the Air on the way to the Dry Cleaner

While it can be very convenient to just throw all your laundry into the car and take it straight to the dry cleaners, there are dangers that might make you consider dry cleaning alternatives, such as taking care of your laundry at home. The most environmentally unsound decision you can make regarding laundry is driving it to the dry cleaner. Think about the carbon emissions beyond the environmentally questionable extra driving a person has to do to take clothes to and from the dry cleaners.

Not only does the Tobi, a vapor steam cleaner, keep you from having to make the gas-guzzling trip to the dry cleaners, it also doesn't emit any harmful gasses of its own. The only thing that comes out of the Tobi is steam, and there's nothing wrong with that for the environment. Being green extends to all areas of living, and ditching the dry cleaning for the environmentally friendly Tobi Steamer not only helps the environment by reducing how much you drive, it helps your wallet by reducing your dry cleaning bills. That's a win-win situation!

Refreshing Furniture With A Handheld Steamer?

We've all seen how much money professional cleaning companies charge to clean furniture, so a good question to ask is whether the furniture needs a real cleaning or just a bit of a pick-me-up before the next dinner party. Also, many of the chemicals used to clean furniture are toxic and get released into the air over time.

If you notice your furniture looking a little run-down, you should steam it before you rush to call the cleaners. Not only could you save a lot of money, you could have whole rooms looking great in less time than it would take to wait for the cleaners to arrive. Add that to the benefits to the environment from not using harmful chemicals, and it's clearly a win-win situation. The Tobi Steamer can rejuvenate old upholstery by plumping up and relaxing fabric fibers, leaving your furniture looking fresh.

Stretch Your Laundry Dollars More Effectively

Have you ever taken off a shirt at the end of the day and thought, "This really isn't dirty, but I don't want to wear it again." So many times we re-wash clothing that doesn't need it because we don't have an in-between choice. The only choices we have are to wash or not wash, and we all believe that wearing clean clothing is important. This is good, because I wouldn’t want to be on a bus full of people that gave up on washing their clothes!

But all that extra, unnecessary washing not only wastes water and detergent, it wears out your clothing. An in-between is just what you need if your shirt isn't soiled, but you have been wearing it all day. The Tobi Steamer refreshes clothing by taking the fibers that are naturally squashed during the day with sweat and potential odor and plumps them up with steam. When they plump, they release latent odors as well as dirt so your shirt is refreshed but not rewashed.

Best of all, the Tobi doesn't wear out fabric when it plumps the fibers. By bringing them back to their original plumpness instead of flattening and scorching them the way an iron does, the Tobi compact fabric steamer does not cause excess wear and tear on your clothing. This means you save money on clothes, detergent, water and the electricity to wash and dry a load of clothing that might have only needed to be refreshed.

Using Tobi on Baby Clothes

So you have an adorable outfit for your toddler to wear in his picture, but you don't want to take it to the drycleaners. Drycleaners use all kinds of chemicals, and babies have super-sensitive skin, so you need a way to get that outfit looking good without using any chemical you can't pronounce. Well, you're in luck, because the only thing you need is steam. Tobi fabric steamers will plump and freshen the fabric of your toddlers outfit without adding dangerous chemicals. Also, the Tobi is more gentle than either dry cleaning chemicals or the process of cleaning clothes in a washer and dryer, so you'll be able to save his baby clothes and the memories that go with them for a long time.

When Kids Play With Stickers - Parents Pay the Price

It's happened to all of us. The kids get a new coloring book and you miss the fine print on the front that says, "Stickers Inside!" Then, after the kids have been too quiet just a little too long you go search. You find them in the bedroom and on the walls are stickers. Big stickers, little stickers--everywhere stickers.

What's a parent to do? You could use a harsh chemical to get those stickers off, or leave them there forever until they're faded and half-peeled off five years from now. You could also use a natural alternative cleaning method to get the walls looking like new. Alternative cleaning methods are usually easier and smell a whole lot less than chemical counterparts. Use your Tobi Steamer to gently heat the stickers with the power of steam. This will hydrate and loosen the glue that holds the sticker to the wall. Then you can peel off the stickers and wipe away the excess glue.

This also works for tape residue from teen posters, as well as most other gummi or hard substances that were once adhesive. Only heat the adhesive enough to wipe it off, don't overdo it, and you'll find your children's room will be free of random, half-stuck half-torn stickers.