Unfortunately, not all clothes can be tossed in the washing machine and still end up the same way as it was before. And for this reason, dry cleaners and special laundry services are nothing short of essential.
But how do you know if a piece of clothing needs to be dry cleaned or not? Aside from checking the label, take note of these items that are dry clean only:
1. Silk
Send clothes that are made from more than 60% silk to your trusted dry cleaners in Danville or other locations. Natural silk changes shape when washed in a regular washing machine and may even bleed color due to silk’s inability to absorb dyes completely. If you’re not sure whether a silk item will bleed color or not, do a patch test by pressing a piece of damp paper on the silk. If the dye transfers to the paper, don’t try to handwash it.
2. Detailed clothes
Don’t risk ruining clothes with sequins, studs, and beads in the washer and dryer. Since these embellishments can easily get torn off in a normal wash, sending them to the dry cleaners is a better way to preserve their design and quality.
3. Muslin or cotton voile
These materials are very delicate, so much so that they shouldn’t be even cleaned through handwashing. Fortunately, dry cleaners can effectively wash these materials without damaging them.
4. Leather and suede
Obviously, you can’t wash a leather or suede jacket in a washing machine. Moreover, improper maintenance can cause these materials to crack and break apart from the inner lining. Hence, these materials should be sent to the dry cleaners for proper cleaning and upkeep.
5. Heavily stained clothes
Do you have a white cocktail gown with a horrendous wine stain on it? Or an expensive dress shirt that has unfortunately met with coffee? Trying to remove these stains at home may be even worse for your clothes (think about the amount of rubbing you would have to do to take the stain out), so instead of removing stains DIY, take them to the dry cleaners for professional-level stain removal.
6. Wool
Wool is durable, but it can shrink immensely when washed in hot or even cold water. When dry cleaned, the changes that wool undergoes in a regular washing do not occur, thus preserving the original state of clothing.
7. Sensitive synthetics
Sensitive synthetic materials such as rayon and chiffon are prone to changing shape when washed in hot water. That said, sending them to the dry cleaners is better than attempting to wash them at home.
8. Pleated clothes
Any clothes that have pleating must be taken to the dry cleaners to preserve the formation of the pleats and restore them if needed.
These are the most common types of clothing that you should always take to the dry cleaners instead of washing them at home. However, if you’re still not sure whether a piece of clothing should go to the hamper or to the dry cleaners, there’s no harm in asking your local dry cleaner to ensure the safety and quality of your clothes.
