How do you clean your chef jacket?

[nolachef]

Any secret combinations like tide, bleach and dish soap? I was actually advised to try that resulting in a big bubbly mess.

[RouxTheDay]

I'm not a pro chef, so I technically do not belong here. I am, however, somewhat of a "domestic goddess" and might be able to help...

It largely depends on what is ON your chef's jacket. For instance, if it's got blood on it (hopefully from meat, and not your fingers), it needs to be washed in COLD water, since hot water will SET THE STAIN.

Many other stains can only be removed with HOT water (check the care label, first... you may experience shrinkage).

When in doubt, I always go with a cold water wash first. Most protein stains will be made permanent by hot water (basically, cooks the stuff into the fabric).

Do not put the jacket into the dryer until you're satisfied that you've done all you can to remove or minimize the stains. The dry heat of the dryer will simply bake the proteins into the fabric fibers and you'll be stuck with them for life.

As far as laundry products go, you need a very good quality detergent with enzymes, especially since I'm guessing the majority of your stains are going to be food-based (Tide is one of the best-rated, but any major brand will probably do fine).

You may or may not need chlorine bleach (e.g., Clorox).

A product like Oxi-Clean will actually work better than chlorine bleach on certain stains.

White distilled vinegar can work wonders on many food-based stains.

Some stains are virtually impossible to remove. Good luck with turmeric (especially from prepared yellow mustard) or red chiles in oil... even chocolate can be a real b**ch...

What kinds of things are you usually finding on the jacket?

[Stewey]

DUDE! You gotta try Shout Ultra Gel !!!! no joke....I had Beet juice spattered on different parts of my coat this past week. Shout got each and every spot out!

It comes in a small bottle with a brush on the top. you squeeze some of the gel onto the brush and just scrub it in for a few moments. let it sit for like 5 minutes and throw it in with your laundry. That's all.

It has worked everytime for me! I mean...c'mon...BEETS FOR HEAVENS' SAKE! IT ACTUALLY GOT BEETS OUT OF A FRESH WHITE COAT! AND i DON'T MEAN THAT THERE WERE A FEW SPOT LEFT, OR THAT THE SPOTS WERE LIGHTER IN COLOR....i LITERALLY MEAN THAT i COULD NOT TELL WHERE THE SPOTS USED TO BE! g'luck!

[nolachef]

Roux-

Thanks for the tips! Especially the cold water tip as I have been using hot with crappy results. As for what kind of stains. By the end of the day its usually a mishmash of every color in a rainbow only not as pretty.

Stewey-

I am buying shout on the way home tonight, thanks

[RAS1187]

I throw it in the washer with whatever detergent I have and add some BIZ to it. May need to be run again, but usually gets my jackets white enough for me to work with. Then finish up in the dryer to get rid of the wrinkles.

If I really need a super clean jacket for a special occasion, I will bleach for about 24 hours and thencontinue as normal.

[chef.ESG.73]

I find if I have a moment to breath the last thing I want to do is wash Chef coats.. Dry cleaning is the best for me, coats come back clean and pressed. I can drop them off in the morning and pick them up the same day or next week. To me its worth the money.

[lentil]

First off, let me state that no one is ever going to confuse me with a domestic goddess, but this works for me- Lestoil. You know that smelly stuff that your grandmother used? Either put it directly on the stain straight from the bottle or dilute some in a spray bottle and spray the stain directly.

It's the only thing that works in the hard water I have at my house. Works every time and is especially good on grease stains.

I agree that dry cleaning and pressing is best, but I'm at least 15 miles from any cleaner. If I got them there, they'd be there for months. With the tablecloths I keep forgetting to pick up....

[the_seraphim]

is a professional able to get coats that have gone slightly grey with long term use back to white?

my coat specifies not using chlorine bleach on it...

[Coosie]

I'm not a pro. Yet. I do get pro dirty in school though. And we have regular inspections. We are not allowed the slightest stain on the jacket, the apron, or the side towels. I keep a bucket in my utility tub at home full of water and oxy clean. When I get home everything with a stain on it goes into the bucket. It then stays there until laundry day, which is Friday. I have the whitest gear in my class.

[adamm]

I spray my jackets with tilex mold and mildew and then use oxy clean to wash them. works good except you have to keep away from embloms or it will fade them out.

[Coosie]

That's an awesome scary idea. What made you brave enough to spray with the tilex the first time? And is there any kind of reaction between the tilex and the oxy is there is any tilex residue left?

Originally Posted by adamm

I spray my jackets with tilex mold and mildew and then use oxy clean to wash them. works good except you have to keep away from embloms or it will fade them out.

[Plongeur]

Best recommendation I had from here, I think, was to soak dirty jackets in a solution of dishwasher cleaner, not fabric cleaner - the powder/liquid you put in your dishwashing machine. Gets food stains out much more efficiently than washing powder I find.
Bleaching won't make your cottons/polyesters white, they go yellowish. I use a 're-whiten your whites' powder sold in the washing powder aisles which makes them shiny white.
And ironing them while still slightly damp gets creases out too.

[web monkey]

Originally Posted by nolachef

Any secret combinations like tide, bleach and dish soap? I was actually advised to try that resulting in a big bubbly mess.

I'm not a pro chef either, however I did refrigeration service in restaurant kitchens for long time, so I've had my share of nasty grease and dirt.

Nothing works like hot water and dish-washer detergent in the washing machine.

It's not great for fabric life, but since it's already stained, it's not like shorter life would be a great loss.

Terry

[FrySauce]

I wear a Black 50/50 chefs jacket....solves a lot problems

[Frizbee]

I have used dawn in HOT water with bleach...i have NEVER cared what the label said...And i have never had yellow stains (You gotta dilute the bleach with water tho)
When you use dawn...(to the one with the big soapy mess..LOL) you can't use alot ( i have had BIG ***** soapy messes in my day) it really does take the grease out, for me anyway.
One thing i found with oxi-clean is that if its not in SMOKING hot water, my results weren't great.
When i get home at night i dab stain stick on the bad spots and wash as stated above...never had issues, always had white chef coats!
GL