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Not crap.

Dry cleaning is completely nessecary for different items of clothing.

Some things just cannot be hand or machine washed. Simple as that.

I wear a lot of dress shirts and suits, so dry cleaning is a must.

Of course, dry cleaning is too be used sparingly...only when it is necessary. No excuse to not clean stains off your clothes, but dry cleaning suits after every use (as mentioned before) is a big no no. Fucks up the suit.

But motherfuck a dry cleaner that loses your shit.

Maybe dry cleaning is Not Crap in theory, but I have never received a garment back from the dry cleaners that looked better than it did when it when in. This could be the way they press them or the dry cleaning process itself, I don't know; I have tried many and they have all failed me. I dread having to take a jacket or a new pair of trousers in for the first time.

I have heard that the "dry clean only" tag that appears on a lot of items is to protect the maufacturer/store from returns by people who don't know how to care for their clothes.

The dry cleaners will fuck up your nice shirts. Wash them on lowest setting, leave them to hang dry, and then iron them yourself.

I would rather put my cashmere sweater through my (shitty) washing machine* than send it to the dry cleaners.

Grudging waffle factors - Suits and dress trousers: they can't go in the wash under any circumstances, which is why I mostly wear t-shirts and jeans.

The tumble dryer can fuck off as well. That will destroy your wardrobe at the push of a button. Towels and bed linen only.


*I have done this for three years and it is none the worse for it.

Essential for expensive cowboy shirts and sweated-out suits worn to summer weddings.

Dudes, this shit is essential if you want your clothes to look "poppin' fresh".

One of the most fun things to do is to take off the little tags with the pins in them and then flush them down the toilet. Sewer-dwelling alligators the world over are probably choking on my discarded pins to this day.

Dry clean that shit!

madmanmunt wrote:I would rather put my cashmere sweater through my (shitty) washing machine* than send it to the dry cleaners.

I don't care what any label says on any sweater made of wool or cashmere -- they should ONLY be hand washed if you want them to stay looking new.

You can get by using a washing machine only if you have a nice machine with many different options, such as a delicate or hand wash mode. A nice dry cleaner can also do an okay job, but the only real way to keep sweaters, and many other delicate clothing items looking new and fresh is to simply hand wash them.

If anyone cares, the method I use for all of my sweaters, ties, and scarves made of wool, cashmere, or blends of either, is:

Fill a clean sink up with warm water mixed with Woolite (sometimes I add a touch of Downy softener).

Work the soap into the fabric gently, let it soak for about 20 minutes laying flat in the water, rinse gently. Be very gentle, especially with cashmere as it can lose its shape easily.

To dry, get two towels larger than the item, lay one towel flat; lay the item on top of the towel making sure it is laying flat. If the item is cashmere, shape it how it should look. It will dry that way. Sometimes I even measure the sweater before I wash, and make sure it is the same when I lay it to dry.

The great thing about cashmere is that you can reshape it to fit your body if needed.

Put the other towel on top, roll it up like a burrito and let it sit for a day or so. When the item is damp, finish it off by putting it in the dryer for about 5 minutes, it will fluff the cashmere. Use a delicate drying mode if you can. The object here is to only give the cashmere some extra softness, not to dry it completely (although it might be dry at that point).

Hand washing is also great if you have a sweater made of acrylic, as acrylic fabrics tend to pill super easy when using a washing and drying machine. I would avoid putting anything with acrylic in it in the dryer, though.

It's a must for me every two weeks or so. For the most part, it's money well spent (around $12 each time) and time well saved. The only thing I hate is that the one by my house closes at 7 and I get home around 6. So if I'm going to remember to get turn my clothes in I have to do it immediately after walking in the door or I'll sit around and not think of it in time.

gio wrote:I have actually never used a dry-cleaner, but if they can get this burrito stain out of my dry-clean-only coat they've earned their NotCrap.

Invest in some underwear.