Hand Washing "dry clean only" dresses

[Palmetto Lady]

I am not a big fan of dry cleaning as you might be able to tell from previous posts. I've had white clothes come out gray. Spots that did not come out and horrible press jobs. Remember that employees are not paid very high wages. Some dry cleaners are better than others. In a metro area you will probably find one that specializes in fine drying cleaning. There is one in NYC called Madame Paulette. People send their designer gowns there from all over the country. Obviously there are reasons for that. Of course, you pay their prices.

When I was younger, I used to wear dress shields with my silk blouses, cashmere sweaters and good dresses. You can't get them anymore except the disposible ones. Yes, I am really that old, but even antiperspirants didn't work 100%

I am a fan of spot cleaning. The only item that I ruined was a sueded silk skirt. Never try to spot clean sueded silk.

That being said, I am careful about what I wash. I would hesitate to do jackets unless they were old and I did not care. Sometimes something has come back from the cleaners looking so bad that I've taken a chance on washing it and it came out fine. I would never try to wash an expensive garment that said dry clean only unless it was old.

One can have bad result with items that are washed even tho the directions say you can wash them and you have followed the directions. In those cases, they have gone back to the store.

[Gathina]

I guess in the end it's risky no matter what. It's amazing how clothing quality has changed over the year. One of the best finds of my life was a mohair sweater hand made, in England..at a charity shop of all places..I'm terrified to clean it as it seems so well made, and hope it doesn't get ruined.

 

I am not a big fan of dry cleaning as you might be able to tell from previous posts. I've had white clothes come out gray. Spots that did not come out and horrible press jobs. Remember that employees are not paid very high wages. Some dry cleaners are better than others. In a metro area you will probably find one that specializes in fine drying cleaning. There is one in NYC called Madame Paulette. People send their designer gowns there from all over the country. Obviously there are reasons for that. Of course, you pay their prices.

When I was younger, I used to wear dress shields with my silk blouses, cashmere sweaters and good dresses. You can't get them anymore except the disposible ones. Yes, I am really that old, but even antiperspirants didn't work 100%

I am a fan of spot cleaning. The only item that I ruined was a sueded silk skirt. Never try to spot clean sueded silk.

That being said, I am careful about what I wash. I would hesitate to do jackets unless they were old and I did not care. Sometimes something has come back from the cleaners looking so bad that I've taken a chance on washing it and it came out fine. I would never try to wash an expensive garment that said dry clean only unless it was old.

One can have bad result with items that are washed even tho the directions say you can wash them and you have followed the directions. In those cases, they have gone back to the store.

[Milaandra]

My mother was a major knitter, and knits are easy to wash. Use baby shampoo, same as for silk. (All protein fibres are best washed in shampoo) Cold water. Let it sit in the water for a few minutes, gently squeeze the suds through, then rinse 2 or 3 times, adding a little vinegar to the final rinse. Roll it in a towel to remove much of the water. Lay flat to dry, gently pushing the garment into shape if necessary. These days you can get those great mesh drying racks so there is no sagging. I recommend turning the garment at least once while it is drying.

 

If you're at all worried, before you wash it, trace the outline on a cotton sheet. (With something that won't transfer onto your newly washed sweater, of course!) Then place the garment on the sheet. If it seems smaller, lay it out on a couch or bed, stretching it into shape and pinning through to the stuffing to hold it. (Very lacy knits, for instance, sometimes need to be re-stretched.)

 

I have washed cashmere, alpaca, silk/wool blends, silk knits, Scottish merino wool...I've never had a problem with a knit.

[simplelife]

You may want to carry one of those portable stain removers wide you. I believe there's Tide and Carbona. That way you can just clean the spot, or at least keep it from setting until you can wash it.

These really do work on food stains! DH spills at almost every meal, so I have one handy all the time. I have yet to get a food stain that this was not able to get out. I use the Tide or the Walgreen's brand which is the same.

[simplelife]

I bought a cute summery dress a couple of weeks ago and wore it to work today. As I'm trying soooo hard to be healthy, I had cherries as a snack. They were very, very good ... but I dropped one on my skirt & it left a mark. I was going to just throw the dress in the wash today, but then noticed the tag says "dry clean only". It's 95% poly, 5% spandex - Calvin Klein microfiber-ish.

 

So I can send it to the cleaners, but if I was wearing it on a cruise, do you think I'd be safe to wash it by hand in the sink? If I had known it was dry clean only I wouldn't have bought it. It's almond coloured so I suspect it will be filthy after every wearing, especially given my inability to hit my mouth! :D

IMO manfacturers use the dry-clean only label to reduce liability when people wash garmetns incorrectly and then want their moeny back,

I usually hand wash and hang dry most of my unlined garments such as sweaters and dresses (knit, silk, microfiber, rayon, etc.) regardless of label. They come out just fine and often even better than when I've had them dry cleaned. I use Woolite and wrap in a towel to remove excess water.