Knocking off a little dust...

In my day to day life, I tend to take many things for granted. I move through my day to day activities, doing what I have always done without much thought to what i do or why I do many of those things.

Every so often, I have a chance to step back and examine those routines and ask myself, "Is this really the best way to do 'this,' or were things better done in an earlier simpler way?"

This happened to me about a year ago when I was introduced to a very not so new product, the clothes brush by Kent.

The Kent CS1B Clothes Brush

Now if you are like I was for many years, you probably have never seen or heard of a clothes brush.

It takes less than a minute to brush your clothes clean after each wearing. This is important because this action will remove dirt and food which have accumulated on the outer layers of your clothes before they have a chance to settle into the fabric. It is the accumulation of these bits which will cause damage to your clothes and shorten their lifespan.

Doing this will double and triple the time needed between dry cleaning, which is in itself damaging to clothing.

When you pull the clothing from the closet, give it a quick brush to remove any dust which may have settled upon it while in the closet to look your best.

Mr Stanley Ager, butler to the second and third Lords of St. Levan, with his wife Fiona St. Aubyn, former head parlor maid, wrote an excellent book, "The Butler's Guide to Clothes Care, Managing the Table, Running the Home & Other Graces, which contains very good instructions on using a clothes brush.

Perhaps the most important step is selecting a good clothes brush. Trying to save a few pennies here can actually cause damage to your clothing and I recommend getting a quality brush. 

My personal choice is the small rectangular travel size clothes brush made by G.B. Kent & Sons. It is made of cherry wood and pure black bristle.

The Kent CC2 Travel Clothes Brush

Kent sources its boar bristle from China and India, where is it a by-product. And the wood comes from sustainable forests around the world.

Why use a real bristle brush? Synthetic bristles have less give, and because the are hard, they can scratch fabric. Also, real bristle will last much longer than a synthetic bristle, which tend to wear out much faster. A quality brush may very well last a lifetime.

Be sure to use the right type of brush with the right clothing. Some items, like cashmere, will require a more delicate bristle than a tweed coat will require.

The Kent CP6 "Cashmere" Brush

And now, with a little "old technology," you too can look sharper, help your clothes last longer, save money and help the environment, all with one simple little change to your regular routine.

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