101 things you can do with Soak | 015 Sequins
Posted: 18/05/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, hand washing, sequins, soak wash, soakwash, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
Shiny sparkly flashy sequins. There’s just something about sequins that calls to me. I’m attracted to them the same way an insect moves towards that pretty blue light.
I’ll walk into a store and just naturally gravitate towards things that sparkle and shine. No matter how tacky the piece is, I’ll pick it up and whisper to myself, “ooooo pretty!” Now a lot of people avoid buying sequined apparel, or buy it and never wear it because of the hassles involved with washing it afterwards. Well I’m here to tell you to stop holding back!
I tried washing a few different sequined shirts in Soak and they all came out beautifully. I checked the care tags and they all said that you could hand wash in cold water or dry clean. I’d recommend checking your tags for instructions but if it can get wet, then it can be washed in Soak. I tested several different shirts made of different materials. I had silk, polyester, cotton, and sheer chiffon.
I filled my basin with cool water and left my darks and lights to soak separately. Sometimes the sequins are not sewn on tightly so being able to leave it to soak without all the extra agitation helps to keep the sequins on your clothing, where they belong.
Squeeze gently to remove excess water. Be careful to not squish or bend any of the sequins. Lay flat or hang to dry. Avoid the dryer as the high heat can melt, distort or discolor the sequins.
101 things to do with Soak | 014 Carrie separates your laundry
Posted: 11/05/2010 Filed under: lingerie, Uncategorized, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, carrie, hand washing, laundry, soak wash, soakwash, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
We had a very busy day at the frolic last weekend. Carrie and Phil’s popularity soared as they flew off our tables and into the welcoming arms of their new families. Carrie and Phil have many uses and this week, I’m going to talk about my main use for Carrie.
How many of you have one hamper and end up mixing your delicates and hand washables in with the rest of your dirty laundry? How often have you accidentally thrown one of these hand wash only items into the machine? I have enough slightly pink tinted white shirts, bras with bent underwires, and stretched out lace panties that I’ve learned to carefully sort my dirty laundry instead of throwing it all in the washing machine together. Carrie makes the job of sorting slightly less painful.
I keep Carrie in my closet where she discreetly holds my not-so-fresh undergarments and delicates. My silks, cashmeres, panties, bras, lace, and sequins all go in her instead of with my everyday laundry. Trust me, your pretty bras and expensive garments will thank you for this little extra bit of care.
At the end of the week, I just grab her handles, and easily take all my delicates to the sink to hand wash all at once. Nice and painless.
It’s Friday and I’m bagged. Week 15: The yoga bag
Posted: 07/05/2010 Filed under: health, Uncategorized | Tags: bags, hand washing, soak wash, soakwash, wash, yoga Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
Grab a coffee or tea and join us each Friday, to learn how these Soak worthy bags came to be. Are you bagged? Send us your favorite bag. If we feature it here, we’ll send you a Soak gift pack, in a pretty bag, of course!
Mother’s day is just around the corner and Dafina brought in this sweet plant that her son lovingly grew for her to show his appreciation. For those of you who don’t have a green thumb consider giving your mom a gift certificate to take some yoga lessons.
Yoga is meant to be therapeutic and unite the mind, body and spirit. There are many physiological, psychological and biochemical benefits of practicing yoga. Visit the ABCs of yoga to learn more about how yoga can enhance your life.
CNIB is running a national yoga campaign, the Great Canadian Yoga Stretch, for the month of May in support of blind and partially sighted Canadians. 
Soak is great for washing yoga gear so we’ve been asked to contribute mini-soaks to be given out in the goodie bags to all of their participants.
As I was exploring their site and reading about yoga, it was interesting to learn about all the products offered to enable those who are visually impaired to safely learn how to practice yoga. With a VIYM and a cd with step by step instructions geared towards those with little no sight, even someone who has never tried yoga can easily learn.
101 things to do with Soak | 013 Washing winter knits
Posted: 04/05/2010 Filed under: Knitting, Uncategorized, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, hand washing, soak wash, soakwash, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
It’s that time of year when you collect all your scarves, toques, neck warmers, balaclavas, and other winter knits and pack them away until next winter.
I am an embarrassingly slow knitter and can usually only finish one project before the snow melts. This year I used Louet’s Riverstone wool to knit myself a pretty burgundy slouch. Unfortunately for me I only got to wear it about 5 times before the weather warmed up.
Now as much as present Ngoc wants to just throw all these knits into a box and go outside to enjoy the sunshine, she knows that future Ngoc will be very sad when she goes to open that box next winter only to find them full of moth holes. Do your future self a favour and take the necessary steps to prevent moths from having a feast in your knits.
The best way to prevent moths from ruining your garments is to keep them clean. Moths are especially attracted to dirty fibers that smell sweaty. Giving your winter knits a good washing in Soak before storing will help to ensure that you get another season’s wear out of them.
Once clean, store your winter knits in a tightly sealed container. Now give yourself a pat on the back from your future self and go outside and enjoy the weather.
101 things to do with Soak | 012 Wash swimwear
Posted: 27/04/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, beach, hand washing, soak wash, soakwash, swimwear, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
Some girls love shoes, others love purses, I love swimsuits. They are colorful and bright and when they start popping up in stores, it means that my favourite season is just around the corner.
As many of you lucky ones are getting ready for your vacations, remember to wash your swimsuit after every beach or pool trip. Take care of your suit and it can last you through several summers. Washing is especially important after swimming in a pool as the chlorine can damage the fibers and weaken the elasticity of the fabric. If going on vacation, remember to take a few single use mini-soak packets so you can easily hand wash in your hotel sink.
I absolutely cannot wait for summertime. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, you can hear the chimes of the ice cream truck, picnics are had, pools are open, and beaches are filled with happy smiling people. In an attempt to persuade mother nature into giving us Ontarians some nice warm weather, I’ve decided to put away all my winter clothing and pull out my bright colorful spring/summer wardrobe including all of my swimsuits.
I know I have more swimsuits than any sensible marketing coordinator living in Toronto should have.
I like to give my swimsuits a quick wash at the start of the season as they’ve been sitting in a box for a good 8 months. Luckily for me, my Carrie and bottle of Soak made this process very easy.
I put all my suits into Carrie, let them soak for 15 mins and rolled them in towels to absorb most of the water. You can lay them flat or leave on a drying rack to dry. Do not throw them in the dryer as the heat can damage your suit and ruin the elastic in the material.
Nice and clean. Now all I need is the sun.
101 things to do with Soak | 011 Removing Paint from brushes
Posted: 20/04/2010 Filed under: Craft, Design, Uncategorized, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, hand washing, paint brushes, soak wash, soakwash, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
If you are anything like me, then you’re guilty of abandoning your paint covered brushes as soon as the first coat is done, to sit, relax and reward yourself with a drink. This results in many curses the next day when you go to paint your second coat, only to find the rollers and brushes completed caked in dry paint due to your laziness the day before. 10 minutes will then be spent trying to remove the dried paint before giving up and making a trip to the hardware store to pick up another set. To avoid this frustration and extra cost, I’ve vowed to take a page from Jacqueline’s book and become a diligent brush washer.
Jacqueline is in the midst of renovating her apartment one room at a time. She is no stranger to primer, paint, rollers and brushes. She’s taken photos to show us all how painless and easy it is to wash your brushes with Soak as soon as you are done using them.
Pour a little soak on the brush and swish it around your hand to remove most of the paint.
Don’t forget to wash between the bristles.
As good as new and ready to tackle on another day of painting.
101 things to do with Soak | 010 Washing fabric purses
Posted: 13/04/2010 Filed under: Uncategorized, Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, hand washing, purse, soak wash, soakwash, wash Leave a commentAuthor: Ngoc
This purse is made with a simple yellow and black fabric bag decorated with embellishments. I’ve made the mistake of throwing embellished clothing and accessories in the washing machine before only to have them come out more naked than when they went in. So this time, I smartened up and used Soak instead.
This purse, though not extra stylish, chic or expensive, has a very dear place in my heart. It is one of the only souvenirs I picked up when I went to visit my family in Vietnam 3 years ago. It was a very eye opening and enriching experience to learn about the culture and to experience how drastically different their lives are in comparison. One of my favorite memories was floating in the beautiful blue waters of Nha Trang, in this little tiny “glass bottom boat” while the gentleman beside me shaded me from the sun with his umbrella. 
With summer just around the corner, I wanted my bag to be clean and ready for all my summer adventures. I left the bag to soak for 15 minutes and was shocked at how dirty the water was. I guess it needed this soaking more than I had thought. Now all I need is for the weather to stay warm.
101 things you can do with Soak |004 Wash Stinky Hockey Gear
Posted: 02/03/2010 Filed under: Uses for Soak | Tags: 101, hockey, soak, wash 3 CommentsAuthor: Ngoc
I’m sure many of you are coming down from your Olympic high. I’m not normally a huge sports fan but for the past 3 weeks, you wouldn’t know it. I was filled with Canadian pride while cheering hard for the home team. I’m still pumped about our gold medal wins in both women’s and men’s hockey so it only seems appropriate to dedicate this week’s posting to Canada’s game.
If you play hockey, or have had the pleasure of living with someone who plays hockey, you can understand how bad the equipment can start to smell. Now my friend’s helmet had about 3 years of sweat accumulated inside of it and smelled so bad that he was considering just purchasing a new one altogether. So I suggested that he give Soak the chance to save the helmet and use the money he saves to take me to dinner.
Now the helmet and gloves just float on the surface so we had to dunk it down every once in a while. You could just put something heavy on top to keep them submerged in water while they soak.
Now there are mixed reviews on whether or not you should submerge your helmet in water as some of the adhesive may loosen. So although I did it with much success, please try this at your own risk. I figured, while we were at it, the hockey gloves could also use a good cleaning. In hindsight, we should have just filled up the whole tub and threw in all the equipment.
Now I did read that most hockey gear can be thrown in the washing machine, however, hand washing will prolong its life. Considering how expensive hockey gear can get, the longer you can make it last, the better.
Look at how brown that dirty water is! To think, all that was from his helmet and his gloves! GROSS!
Here he is wearing the clean helmet and ready to hit the ice!
Now although soaking it did get rid of almost all of the stench, if you sniffed really closely, you could get a hint of some lingering odors. A second soak may take care of this, but compared to how awful the helmet and gloves smelled beforehand, I’d call it a great success. Try it for yourself and tell me about your success stories.
soakworthy.com 
