Why your shirt laundry's lightly starched shirts feel so stiff

We hear this complaint quite often: even my light starched shirts feel stiff.

Why?

The answer typically boils down to the cost savings associated with synthetic versus natural starch.

You see, there are basically 2 types of starch – synthetic and natural.

Most ordinary cleaners starch their shirts with a cheap synthetic glue (it’s poly vinyl chloride aka PVC).

Synthetic starch adheres to your shirt’s fibers like a coat of paint. Every time your shirts are starched another “coat” is added. The build-up continues in this fashion because synthetic starch does not dissolve instantly when it comes into contact with water in subsequent washes.

At RAVE FabriCARE, we only use the finest, natural wheat starch. Wheat starch dissolves immediately on contact with water.

One more thing about synthetic starch: The continuous build-up on each starching also abrades the fibers of your shirts rather quickly.

That’s because, instead of “collapsing” when it comes into contact with water, your shirt maintains its rigidity. It’s just like throwing a thin piece of plywood into a washer wheel and tumbling that piece of wood for 30 plus minutes.

Just Google "synthetic liquid starch for clothes". You'll find countless brands of synthetic starch for consumer and industrial use. Or just walk down the detergent isle of your local supermarket. You’ll find a bottle of synthetic liquid starch on the shelf.

That’s very similar to the synthetic starch your ordinary cleaner is using.