Gamma68
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,936
- Location
- Detroit, MI
I recently picked up a WWII peacoat with some lining tears at the collar.
It needed dry cleaning, but due to some miscommunication at the dry cleaners, they never did the job.
So I decided to clean it myself. I only lightly sprayed it in sections using a mix of water/Ivory soap, blotted it dry and allowed any damp areas to air dry. No sections were soaked or anything like that. The coat now feels much cleaner and smells lust musty.
The coat seemed to fit nicely (snug but not uncomfortable) before the cleaning. However, it now feels very snug at the chest/waist. I took out my tape measure and was surprised to see the chest now measures 19.5" instead of the 20" pre-cleaning. It also looks like I lost about .5" in the sleeve length. I'm usually very particular about how I measure my coats/jackets and don't get odd variations like this over time.
This might be an odd question, but is it possible that by hand-cleaning my coat, I inadvertently shrunk it slightly?
This doesn't seem possible, because these coats were made to get wet in the elements. Or maybe I've gained some weight over the past few weeks?
It needed dry cleaning, but due to some miscommunication at the dry cleaners, they never did the job.
So I decided to clean it myself. I only lightly sprayed it in sections using a mix of water/Ivory soap, blotted it dry and allowed any damp areas to air dry. No sections were soaked or anything like that. The coat now feels much cleaner and smells lust musty.
The coat seemed to fit nicely (snug but not uncomfortable) before the cleaning. However, it now feels very snug at the chest/waist. I took out my tape measure and was surprised to see the chest now measures 19.5" instead of the 20" pre-cleaning. It also looks like I lost about .5" in the sleeve length. I'm usually very particular about how I measure my coats/jackets and don't get odd variations like this over time.
This might be an odd question, but is it possible that by hand-cleaning my coat, I inadvertently shrunk it slightly?
This doesn't seem possible, because these coats were made to get wet in the elements. Or maybe I've gained some weight over the past few weeks?