How often do you dry clean?

[Damon]

Good evening,

First I'd like to introduce myself. I've been looking around for a while appreciating what I'm seeing. I'm impressed with a lot of you guys collections. My name's Damon, and I live in the SF Bay Area. Heading into my late Thirties.

I have several mid-weight wool suits, but haven't found the perfect vintage suit yet. I also have a few fedoras, vintage ties, etc.

When I first began wearing suits pretty often, I would dry clean them every couple times I wore them. I have read that this is bad for them, and I've seen a lot of experts mention that they only have their suits cleaned once or twice a year.

I was wondering what other people do with their wool slacks and coats. Do you just brush and iron them? If so, any ironing tips? Ever tried one of those new steamers? It takes me forever and I can never get them as straight and smooth as the cleaners do. To me there is nothing more satisfying than a full suit fresh from the dry cleaners, perfectly pressed with sharp creases. How can I keep this look for longer without putting my suits through dry cleaning all the time?

Also, any tips on good tailors/haberdashers or vintage stores in SF?

cheers

 

[Bugsy]

I know several vintage stores in SF and I don't live that far from you. Keep in touch.

Good evening,

First I'd like to introduce myself. I've been looking around for a while appreciating what I'm seeing. I'm impressed with a lot of you guys collections. My name's Damon, and I live in the SF Bay Area. Heading into my late Thirties.

I have several mid-weight wool suits, but haven't found the perfect vintage suit yet. I also have a few fedoras, vintage ties, etc.

When I first began wearing suits pretty often, I would dry clean them every couple times I wore them. I have read that this is bad for them, and I've seen a lot of experts mention that they only have their suits cleaned once or twice a year.

I was wondering what other people do with their wool slacks and coats. Do you just brush and iron them? If so, any ironing tips? Ever tried one of those new steamers? It takes me forever and I can never get them as straight and smooth as the cleaners do. To me there is nothing more satisfying than a full suit fresh from the dry cleaners, perfectly pressed with sharp creases. How can I keep this look for longer without putting my suits through dry cleaning all the time?

Also, any tips on good tailors/haberdashers or vintage stores in SF?

cheers

 

[MattStat]

T-shirts

The best trick for lengthening the time between dry cleanings for shirts is to wear a t-shirt.

For suits, besides all the common ironing rules (never let the iron touch the material; use a damp cloth, etc.), hanging the pants by the cuffs works well. Or do some worry that will harm the cuffs?

 

[GBR]

Assuming that your bodily hygiene is normal and that you do not spill your soup on the thing then once every couple of years is quite sufficient. Shirts and underwear on the other hand should be washed after each wearing. The 'T' suggested lower down is not needed unless you sweat unusually - in which case cure that with showering/ anti-perspirant and/or shaving you pits regularly or you will have some difficulty in keeping your suits in a decent state.

There is absolutely no need to clean a garment on the frequency you have been doing - ultimately the chemicals will damage it.


The trousers can be pressed easily by hand every 3/4 wearings or you can use a trouser press.

 

[Dr Doran]

There is a thread from perhaps a year ago detailing various positions on the "how often to dry clean a suit" debate, ranging from Hemingway Jones who advocates very frequent dry cleanings due to (if I remember) urinal splatter to the opposite position, held, if memory serves, by Baron Kurz.

I personally dry clean suits about once a year.

I probably don't need to tell you this, but the most essential thing is to get into the habit of IMMEDIATELY HANGING YOUR SLACKS ON A SLACKS HANGER, preferably upside down and using a clampy-clamp hanger that squeezes the cuffs, as soon as you get home, and putting your jacket on a good wooden hanger as well, never throwing them in a heap anywhere. Airing them out on their hangers will allow you to refrain from over-frequent dry cleaning.

 

[MattStat]

T-shirts

The 'T' suggested lower down is not needed unless you sweat unusually - in which case cure that with showering/ anti-perspirant and/or shaving you pits regularly or you will have some difficulty in keeping your suits in a decent state.

Antiperspirants/deodorants can work, but they can also stain and damage a shirt---locking all those chemicals in your hot armpit shortens the life of a sleeve.

I find a t-shirt works very well under normal conditions and allows wearing a shirt from two to four times without having to launder it. This is even more true wearing linen on hot days: t-shirts work miracles.

 

[Creeping Past]

It depends how often you wear the garment you're thinking about cleaning and how much use it gets.

If it smells even after it's left to air, then it may be time to visit the cleaner's.

 

[John in Covina]

On Dry Cleaning vs wet cleaning

Dry cleaning routine is based on your lifestyle and your body reactions to what you are doing in your suit. If you tend to not sweat or have a high body odor, then your suit will stay clean for a long time. If you are stuck in the heat, perspire heavily and have a noticeable body odor come up then your suit will need cleaning a bit more frequently. For me I can tell when putting a suit on, if there is a feeling that the suit has absorbed body oils, if it smells too much like me (or your suit smells like you) then it's time to take it in for a clean and press.

Also don't forget that dry cleaning uses a fluid that disolves grease and oils and manages to to take dirt particles that are attached to them. The fluid does poorly on none grease and oils such as some food spills, to get those out you must tell the cleaners where and what you spilled so they can use a different spot cleaning. Sugars and carbs are not removed by dry cleaning and if the fabric is pressed with it still in there the heat of the press cooks the sugars and carbs to create an immoveable stain.

There is a Italian based wet cleaning process that uses special detergents and water that does a great job on most suits and is actually a better cleaning process but hard to find.

Some people say that new dry cleaning fluid is too harsh and old fluid is too dirty to clean well and your results will vary as to when in their replacement cycle you bring your suits.

We did a thread on wet cleaning somewheres and I had my suits done, it seemed to work well, plus the suits did not smell like chemicals when I got the back. I wasn't impressed with the pressers skill so I may go to the Pasadena cleaners next time.

 

[Damon]

The best trick for lengthening the time between dry cleanings for shirts is to wear a t-shirt.

For suits, besides all the common ironing rules (never let the iron touch the material; use a damp cloth, etc.), hanging the pants by the cuffs works well. Or do some worry that will harm the cuffs?

Thanks for the response Matt. Call me thick, but I don't even know the common ironing rules, really. I mean sure, my mom taught me how to iron a pair of pants 25 years ago but that's about it. I guess my overuse of the dry cleaners was mainly due to their pressing abilities, not because the suits were dirty.

So, do you use a damp cloth on top of the suit, and then iron over top of that? Do you use a really low heat setting? Any other tips on do it yourself ironing? Thanks!

 

[GBR]

Antiperspirants/deodorants can work, but they can also stain and damage a shirt---locking all those chemicals in your hot armpit shortens the life of a sleeve.

I find a t-shirt works very well under normal conditions and allows wearing a shirt from two to four times without having to launder it. This is even more true wearing linen on hot days: t-shirts work miracles.

I have to say that I never found an Ascot Chang shirt (from whom I get my shirts) suffer from any adverse reaction. I expect any decent shirt would be the same.

 

[MattStat]

Ironing

So, do you use a damp cloth on top of the suit, and then iron over top of that? Do you use a really low heat setting? Any other tips on do it yourself ironing? Thanks!

I'm sure many others can offer better advice, but...use the lowest setting at which you can achieve results. I have a hard board with a thin, padded towel on which I place the pants etc. On top of that a damp cloth which receives the direct heat. The steam from the cloth is enough to handle most wrinkles.

A direct iron tends to fuse the fibers, even of wool, and makes it shiny. I'm sure that it also shortens its useful life.

 

[Macheath]

There have been a few threads on this

There is a thread from perhaps a year ago detailing various positions on the "how often to dry clean a suit" debate, ranging from Hemingway Jones who advocates very frequent dry cleanings due to (if I remember) urinal splatter to the opposite position, held, if memory serves, by Baron Kurz.

Here they are:

"Dry Clean the Suit? Are You Crazy?"


Proper Suit Care (Vintage and Modern)


Hemingway Jones' post

 

[John in Covina]

Wet Cleaning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet_cleaning

I thought the machines were German but it says Italy here in Wikipedia.

Huell Howsers California's Green Episode #115 Wet Cleaners
http://www.calgold.com/green/Default.asp?Series=100&Show=717

 

[Mid-fogey]

A simple...

...rule: if it looks clean and smells clean, it is clean.

Brush your suit with a good clothes brush when you take it off and hang in on a good, shaped wooden hanger.

It's usually being caught in a downpour or a bad spill that drives me to the cleaners. For example, I just took a sport coat for its first cleaning, and I've had it for eight or nine years.

I've worn wool suits or sport coats with dress pants 6 days a week for well over 20 years and I've never been a frequent dry cleaner.

What always kills the suit is the back of the cuff or the pockets fraying from plain old wear.

 

[jamespowers]

Ok, after reading Hem's post, I am going to the cleaners this evening.
Cleaning also increases in frequency with the number of children you have. They spill things on you---that definitely need dry cleaning. :eusa_doh:

 

[Orgetorix]

You can tell your laundry to just press the suit, and not clean it. That way you get a fresh press without unnecessarily stressing the cloth.

 

[Dr Doran]

Ok, after reading Hem's post, I am going to the cleaners this evening.
Cleaning also increases in frequency with the number of children you have. They spill things on you---that definitely need dry cleaning. :eusa_doh:

THE MINUTE I GET HOME I put on jeans and a t-shirt for this PRECISE reason.

 

[Lincsong]

Ok, after reading Hem's post, I am going to the cleaners this evening.
Cleaning also increases in frequency with the number of children you have. They spill things on you---that definitely need dry cleaning. :eusa_doh:

And the amount of cheap cologne one wears.

 

[tjoek]

From my understanding, for today' suit it is recommended to dry clean it every season. However I think vintage suit can be longer since the fabric is much heavier.
Perhaps once or twice a year provided the suit is for normal activities only.

 

[Feng_Li]

I think "once a season" is based on the assumption that it will put into storage the rest of the year. Clean wool is less likely to attract moths.