Any of you machine or hand washed 'dry clean only' clothes?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Profpointy

Legendary Member
I'd also add that I used the special soap powder for washing wool rather than normal washing powder

As an aside to all this, though it was part of my motivation to risk machine washing suit trousers, is that after a couple of dry cleanings, the suit seemed a bit whiffy - that is it smelled dirty rather than smelling of carbon tetrachloride or whatever. Getting it clean was the whole point after all. Anyone else found this with dry cleaning?
 
You can wash woollen suits at home with precautions to avoid shrinkage and felting. Why not buy a Salvation Army shop suit and do a test run using interwebs advice.
 

accountantpete

Brexiteer
I hand-washed my sheepskin/leather flying jacket.

The dry-cleaners wanted £70 for the job so I did it myself. The leather lost a bit of condition and gave it a weathered type look which was a lose/win result so overall I was pleased to save the £70.
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
Anything 100% wool should never be machine washed. It will shrink. Mixtures may be ok but better to err on the safe side. I have a "merino" jersey from Aldi which when you look at the label is in fact mostly synthetic and gets machine washed.
We sold woollen goods and the labels were very specific backed up by verbal instructions. Some smart alecs ignored the instructions and the garment shrank so they complained. We said we would sent the garment to an independent laboratory for testing and if they were wrong they had to pay the cost. We never heard from them again.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
It's almost always safe to wash such items.

On expensive items "dry clean only" is usually a valid warning that fragile or exptic materials might suffer damage.

On cheap or every day high street clothing, "dry clean only" means that the manufacturer has not had the garments tested for regular washing because it's not cost effective to do so with low profit, high turnover items. Pure woolen items are the obvious exception.
 
OP
OP
Accy cyclist

Accy cyclist

Legendary Member
We sold woollen goods and the labels were very specific backed up by verbal instructions. Some smart alecs ignored the instructions and the garment shrank so they complained. We said we would sent the garment to an independent laboratory for testing and if they were wrong they had to pay the cost. We never heard from them again.
Obviously they gave up,not wanting to take the risk of having to pay for expensive tests,if those tests suggested they'd fecked up the items. I bought a pair of leather with silk lining gloves from Dents in January in the sale,for £130. I wore them for a few months then put then away when the warmer weather came. I wore them again in September,then a week or so later i saw a small hole appear in the silk lining. The small hole turned into a bigger hole then the linings of both gloves disintegrated. I emailed Dents asking if the gloves were still under a warranty or guarantee. They emailed me back (with quite a bit of poor punctuation may i add),saying they weren't under a warranty but if i sent them to them they'd replace the silk lining in their 'repairs department'. I took that as i had to pay,so i didn't take it any further. Needless to say i won't go near that supposed 'Rolls Royce of gloves' company again!
 
I have washed suit trousers in the machine - used gentle cycle and low temp and they were OK
I wouldn't do that with my best suit - but for many years I had to wear a suit for work - and the office was roasting in summer so everything was sweaty - paying for dry cleaning 2-3 times a week would be expensive - and waiting a day or two would mean I needed an extra suit

Only problem was that the trousers ended up with less structure and looked a bit less smart - but for work I could wash them a few times a week and be OK

I also did it with a silk tie - highly coloured therefore used Colours powder and gentle cycle but it still faded a lot
 

gavgav

Guru
I remember mistakenly washing a tie, that was dry clean only, a few years back........the only use for it afterwards was as an oil rag!
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
Obviously they gave up,not wanting to take the risk of having to pay for expensive tests,if those tests suggested they'd fecked up the items. I bought a pair of leather with silk lining gloves from Dents in January in the sale,for £130. I wore them for a few months then put then away when the warmer weather came. I wore them again in September,then a week or so later i saw a small hole appear in the silk lining. The small hole turned into a bigger hole then the linings of both gloves disintegrated. I emailed Dents asking if the gloves were still under a warranty or guarantee. They emailed me back (with quite a bit of poor punctuation may i add),saying they weren't under a warranty but if i sent them to them they'd replace the silk lining in their 'repairs department'. I took that as i had to pay,so i didn't take it any further. Needless to say i won't go near that supposed 'Rolls Royce of gloves' company again!
The offenders who were very few knew they had mistreated the garment but though they would try it on anyway.
I would have sent the gloves back with a covering letter saying you were not willing to pay for the repair.
As shopkeepers we got a bit irritated with some but if goods were faulty we replaced them or cash back no question so long as they were polite. Some started off by quoting various laws and acts of parliament before demanding their money back. They had to wait till we could be bothered replying.
We had somebody claiming a large clip frame was broken tho' it was intact when it left the shop. We did replace it as a matter of goodwill but an obvious false claim.
 

Saluki

World class procrastinator
I used to do it all the time. I didn’t kill anything. 30 degree fast wash and all was well. That was my experience though. Please do not yell at me if you end up with clothes that will now fit the average doll.
 
Top Bottom