In our grandmothers’ days, softening and starching were two difficult tasks that required great skill. Nowadays, we have fabric softener and starch, which make the job much easier – all it takes is a simple gesture. However knowing when to use these products and, more importantly, avoiding the pitfall of using them both at the same time is essential.

Have you ever asked yourself the question: what do these two products really do? The answer is an important one: they keep your fabrics soft and firm, protected and cared for, and they give you a perfect result when ironing, leaving you with beautiful, fresh and wrinkle-free garments, ready to use. Just what you need.

Softening fibres is a precise choice. Don’t fall into the trap of using fabric softener just to give your laundry a nice smell. You don’t need it. If you use a good quality detergent, your laundry comes out smelling nice, even without softener, Instead, softener should be used specifically to soften the fibres of fabrics which, during the wash, harden and must be restored to their natural fluffiness. In fact, we should not forget that, wash after wash, limescale is deposited on the fibres, removing their original softness and making them “stiffen.” Softener is essential when washing towels, bathrobes, jeans and t-shirts that are worn next to the skin, in other words garments that need to be stretched, softened and fluffed up. A word of warning: using too much fabric softener produces the opposite effect, distorting the shape of garments, such as shirts, and making bath towels less absorbent. Nuncas proposes a wide range of products for perfect laundry, including Morbivel, a traditional fabric softener that stretches fabrics and counteracts the action of limescale. It is liquid and dissolves in water quickly, so it is perfect for latest generation washing machines, which save water, even washing half loads. When you use fabric softener, you want to add some softness to the fibres of your clothes, therefore it doesn’t make any sense to use a starch when ironing as it would “stiffen” what you've just softened. The result would be zero, because the two products would cancel each other out. So, when you wash shirts that need to be starched, don’t use any fabric softener and you immediately see improved results.

Also, according to the degree of rigidity you want to give to your fibres, you can use a liquid starch (during washing) or a spray starch (during ironing). For tablecloths, linen towels and everything you want to be well ironed and well starched, organise your wash by putting Nuncas’ Wrinkle-Free Liquid Starch in the washing machine and avoiding using any fabric softener. For items that need to be starched only in certain strategic areas, such as necks and cuffs of men's shirts, spray Nuncas’ Wrinkle-Free Spray Starch directly onto the relevant areas. A quality starch should give you two guarantees: it won’t turn yellow during ironing and it will add body to your fibres without leaving them rough to the touch. Who wants to wear a rough shirt? For its Wrinkle-Free Spray, Nuncas uses a natural rice starch which, unlike corn starch, prevents yellowing, and is also gentle on your skin.

By learning to recognise the different fabrics and their special properties, knowing when to use a fabric softener or a starch will come naturally to you. For optimal results, almost professional, and significant cost savings.