Early  in  the  morning  and  just  before  pressing, you should use a foxtail to dust off the entire press table of the laundry press. Then take some hot, soapy  water  and  completely  wash  off  the  press table  and  dry  it.  Always  be  careful  not  to  bring your  arms  into  contact  with  any  of  the  heated surfaces  of  the  press. CLEANING  PRESS  HEADS Press  heads  must  be  clean  at  all  times  to prevent clothing from picking up stains that may be on the press head. To clean the press properly, you need press head cleaner, press head wax, and press  head  mitts.  These  products  are  available  for procurement  through  the  Ship’s  Store  Contract Bulletin. The main purpose of the press head mitt is to prevent  laundry  personnel  from  being  burned. The press head mitt has two different sides, one side is smooth, while the other side is made of steel wool material. You use the smooth side to apply press  head  cleaner  to  the  press  head  evenly.  Then scrub the whole press head with the steel wool side of  the  press  mitt. Use  clean  rags  to  wipe  the  press  clean  and always  keep  the  press  head  mitt  on  to  prevent bums to your hand. CAUTION: NEVER use rags that  may  have  flammable  substances  on  them. After  you  remove  all  excess  press  head  cleaner, do  the  final  touch  by  applying  wax  to  the  press head. Use a wax cloth to sprinkle wax on one side of the cloth and then fold it together. Use the press head mitt and wipe the cloth evenly against the press head until all surfaces have been waxed. Use a  clean  rag  to  wipe  off  any  excess  wax.  Use  an old  bed  linen  to  test  the  press  head  for  excess cleaner or wax by lowering the press head on the sheet. If no stains are noticed you are ready for regular pressing. CHANGING   PADS Presses must be properly padded at all times. Packed down pads produce poor quality work and break buttons, and clothing articles pick up burn odors  when  pressed  on  burned-out  padding. Change these pads as required. Figure 5-36 illustrates the materials you will need  to  change  pads  which  includes  the  following: One  steel  wool  pad Two  flannel  pads One  press  cover Figure 5-36.—Changing laundry press padding. The procedure for padding the buck is simple. Unclamp  or  unhook  the  cover  beneath  the  buck and  remove  all  the  old  padding. The  steel  wool  pad  on  the  bottom  is  very expensive  and  needs  to  be  changed  only  when worn  or  rusted  (about  once  a  year).  On  the  top of your steel wool pad, place the two flannel pads and  then  the  press  cover  on  top  of  them.  Then pull  the  drawstring  tight  and  tie  it  off.  Connect all tension springs and clamps under the buck of the  press  and  you  are  done. Synthetic covers last longer than cotton covers. The  drawstring  in  the  cover  helps  to  hold  the padding in place, but the tension springs on the clamps  or  hooks  beneath  the  buck  hold  the padding  firmly  in  place.  They  give  an  even  pull all  around  the  cover.  Change  covers  when  they become  soiled  or  badly  scorched. Always use two layers of flannel on the press. One flannel pad does not cushion the garment well enough  and  buttons  may  be  broken.  When  two 5-47