Tomorrow’s the bonus day we get every four years. It keeps our 365-day calendar synched with the astronomical year. There’s even a leap second inserted to keep the length of days lined up with the slightly irregular rotation of the Earth around the sun. Leaplings, people born on leap day, are allowed to celebrate on Feb 28 or Mar 1. Have a happy leap day.  

Keeping warm is a lot more pleasant when winter wear items are clean and fresh. If you chose to home-launder, a few timely tips from Real Simple: Wash knit caps and gloves like sweaters; machine-wash knits on delicate cycle in cold water. Spot-clean structured newsboy and baseball caps to keep brims in shape. Handwash leather trimmed gloves. Or bring everything to the experts. We’re skilled at even the stickiest stains.

Chocolate is a mix of cocoa’s dark tannins and cocoa butter’s oiliness. On washable items, remove the grease with undiluted laundry detergent dabbed on the stain, let sit 5 minutes and rinse with warm water. Now apply color-safe bleach to the remaining water-soluble tannin stains. For almost any garment, our stain experts can almost always get the chocolate out.

You can safely home launder pet bed covers, collars and leashes on the gentle cycle in cold water with an all-purpose laundry detergent. Throw in grimy washable chew toys. Use small loads but use large-load settings to flush out hair and dirt.  Tumble dry on lowest setting or air dry.

Celebrate your affection with the one(s) you love today, the day we honor matters of the heart. And if you end up with a lipstick stain, chocolate smear, champagne spill or other unexpected souvenir, bring it to our professional stain removal experts.  

Spring’s a great time to change habits for a cleaner, healthier environment. Start by cutting down on water waste with shorter showers, full loads of laundry and dishes, filtered water instead of bottled. Repair and recycle appliances, furniture and clothing. We do more than clean – we can help keep your wardrobe repaired, fitted and functional. And please, bring your wire hangers back for recycling.

Harpers Bazaar predicts trends for the coming season including oversized disco collars on coats, jackets and button-downs. Crochet gets a cool update, and short short hot pants stage a revival. Highlighter-inspired neon colors pair easily with black, white or tan. Bermuda shorts put a spin on the classic business suit for a relaxed look and look for tailored vests. There’s tiered formal wear, feathered fluff, saucy bra tops and 60’s wallpaper and more coming this spring.

Get the most out of your ski wear. Check for salt, grit or food spills après ski. Close zippers and release tension on drawstrings or elastics, dry thoroughly before storing. Specifically follow care instruction tags: high tech fabrics need special attention, sometimes more sophisticated than your home washing machine. We’re your garment cleaning and care experts — even for technical sportswear.  

Double-check wet laundry before throwing in the dryer — exposed zippers can snag, pens and lip glosses will melt. Sort by type and weight, pull delicates like sweaters and lingerie to avoid pilling or shrinkage. If you have the space and time, hang dry large bulky (and linty) items like bedding and towels. Load the dryer drum no more than ¾ full and use a minimum number of dryer sheets – or none. Grab a level and make sure your machine is sitting level. Wobbling is not just noisy and annoying, it may affect performance and can shorten the life of your machine.

Clogged vents contribute to over 7,000 home fires every year. Not only are clogs dangerous, they serious affect drying performance and speed. Country Living has details on DIY cleaning that only require a screwdriver, vacuum with crevice attachment, a wire coat hanger and metal foil duct tape. Or you can buy a kit at the hardware store for about $15. To lower lint build-up, clean the lint trap every load and avoid dryer sheets. They leave a sticky residue that can trap lint.