FAQ

Wool is naturally resistant to dirt so it doesn’t require frequent washing. If you follow some simple rules, you can wash your woollen and cashmere items in water with confidence. Hand washing at 20 degrees C (68 degrees F) is the gentlest option, but today’s washing machines offer “Wool” cycles that give excellent results. Don’t overload the washing machine and maintain the spin cycle setting of your washer’s “Wool” cycle. Always use a suitable good quality detergent. To keep them from stretching, don’t hang woollen items to dry but instead lay them on the rack, preferably on top of a towel. Do not tumble dry.

First, make sure the care label on the item doesn’t specify dry clean only. Choose a good detergent meant for delicates, and hand or machine wash your items as you prefer. If you decide to machine wash, select a short, delicate cycle and avoid overloading your washing machine. Always maintain the spin cycle setting of your washer’s “Delicate” cycle. Tumble dry low unless otherwise stated on the care label.

Given the many synthetic fabrics that exist today, it is difficult to provide a general set of cleaning guidelines. Always follow the instructions on the care label.

Sports clothes often cannot be washed at high temperatures, as stated on the care label, and an additive is needed to remove odours, such as an oxygen bleach for example.

Turn your jeans inside out and wash at a low temperature (30°C-86°F cotton or synthetic). Make sure you don’t wash them together with light coloured items because they may run, especially if new. Frequent but gentle washing is preferable to avoid dirt becoming ingrained in the fabric. If pretreatment with a stain remover is needed, take all possible precautions to avoid faded areas. You might want to iron your jeans inside out to prevent white streaks.

If dusted regularly, curtains do not need frequent washing. Before machine washing, make sure the fabric doesn’t require specific laundering at the cleaners. Choose a suitable detergent for the fabric (universal or for delicates) and set to a low-temperature and low-speed spin cycle, making sure the curtains are free to move easily inside the drum. We recommend you re-hang the curtains while they are still damp so that the weight smooths out the creases. Cotton fabrics used in good quality curtains are usually pre-washed at the factory before packaging. However, if this is not the case, cotton curtains will inevitably shrink at the first wash regardless of the washing cycle and detergent used.

Down-filled items don’t require special care during washing. However, it is still important to follow the instructions on the care label. Fabric softener can be used and, unless otherwise stated on the care label, is actually recommended, especially if the items are going to be tumble dried. To help items regain their original volume, it is advisable to tumble dry using this little trick: put some clean tennis balls in the dryer with the items and they will fluff up the down.

It is a good idea to use fabric softener on all items except waterproof clothing, unless otherwise stated on the care label.

Yes, it is necessary on some natural fibres for best washing results. Besides leaving fibres with a softer feel and a nice scent, this additive also helps to restore the alkaline pH level in the rinse water. It also helps to remove the limescale that builds up in the fibres and makes items feel rough after repeated washings.

To pre-treat, apply the stain remover undiluted to the stain. Allow it to sit for the time needed to dissolve the stain, massaging it into the fabric to help it penetrate. It would be best if almost all, if not all, of the stain comes off at this stage. Absolutely avoid rubbing because fibres are often damaged during pre-treatment due to excessive physical stress and not because the product is harsh. Always wash or thoroughly rinse pre-treated items before the remover dries on stains.

CLAB products are concentrated and do the same amount of laundry as traditionally packaged detergents, but with a lower volume of goods to ship and less packaging to dispose of. We also offer large-size refills to encourage reuse of containers.

To protect the environment, the best approach is to use concentrated high-performance detergents in a responsible way. These detergents should ensure maximum effectiveness at no more than the recommended dosage levels.

Find out the water hardness in your area because it is inversely proportional to the effectiveness of all the personal and household cleaning products you use. Also, installing a water softener in your home will let you achieve the same cleaning results with significantly less detergent as well as protect and extend the life of all your appliances.

There is no criterion that can unequivocally establish a product or one of its components as eco-compatible. The issue is extremely complex. Each manufacturer should have a good company culture in place to minimize the impact of its processes and products and work by objectives towards continual improvement. Each ingredient or packaging solution is carefully and thoughtfully considered based on our experience. We also assess the actual sustainability of each project viewed as a whole, and the entire life cycle of the products.

Detergent packaging should be entirely recyclable, while it is the responsibility of consumers to separate their household waste. No biodegradable plastics exist today that can be used for consumer cleaning products without side effects. Detergent refills are a good option to limit waste, but care should be taken never to fill containers with a formulation different from that originally contained.

We feel it is senseless to test detergents on animals and we really have no reason to do so. What’s more, Italian law prohibits animal testing for detergents.

Whether naturally derived or synthetic, surfactants contained in detergents must be completely biodegradable by law (effective since 2014). Biodegradable substances are degraded by the action of microorganisms, which consume them for their metabolism.

While we prioritize maximum performance and minimum dosage levels, we nevertheless choose our raw materials with a precautionary approach and exclude any substance that, even if permitted under current regulations, does not comply with our policy.

Scents definitely play a functional role in the world of detergents and cannot be considered as an unnecessary ingredient. Detergents are effective when they clean, sanitize, deodorize and, last but not least, provide a pleasant fragrance.

We entrust the creation of our scents to the best international perfumers, and require them to follow our policy guidelines. In formulating the scents for our CLAB products, scrupulous attention is paid to the type of raw materials used.

In detergents, the use of preservatives is absolutely necessary to prevent bacterial contamination that would expose consumers to spoiled products and the associated risks and problems.

Developing a technologically-advanced formula structure means offering users excellent performance at low dosage levels. This translates into fewer residual substances in the water they discharge.

Every day, our chemists are hard at work developing products and applying and assessing new technologies proposed by our suppliers. We have been active in the consumer market for many decades and make good use of the feedback we receive from users. Our new formula developments are run through rigorous comparative performance tests at specialized laboratories.

In Europe, detergents must comply with a harmonized system of classification and labelling of preparations. The law requires conventional calculations according to which certain formulations, especially concentrated and high-quality formulations, must display a number of hazard symbols and related risk phrases regardless of their actual aggressiveness. While this is a precautionary classification, it doesn’t mean you should underestimate the symbols displayed.

Cosmetics are not subject to Regulation (EC) no. 1272/2008 (CLP) which regulates the labelling and packaging of hazardous preparations under a harmonized system. This regulation subjects them to completely different rules and calculation criteria, whose aim is to establish that they are not hazardous. According to the law, detergents are by nature hazardous preparations because they are not intended to come into direct contact with the body. The regulation is legitimately based on a precautionary principle and applies a restrictive classification.

The irritant symbol refers to possible reddening of the skin that is physical in nature, whereas the tests conducted under dermatological control are aimed at minimizing the risk of potential allergic reactions.

No, these tests are carried out to certify that the product has been successfully formulated to minimize the risk of allergy. Our bodies come into contact with thousands of natural and synthetic substances every day, and sensitivity levels vary greatly from individual to individual.