Bending the laundry rules

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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Bending the laundry rules

— by Angie

on February 11, 2010

Often, we find fabulous items, but then discover that they are “dry clean only”. Blast. Well, I don’t follow laundry instructions religiously at all. In some cases I am overly cautious, and in others I take a chance.

On the cautious side, there are some things I avoid, even when the instructions say it is safe to do them. I never wash anything in hot water. It shrinks your clothes more often than not. And I seldom use the dryer. Your clothes never look quite as pristine as they first did after a few spins in the dryer.

But when it comes to the “dry clean only” label on knitwear, blouses and dresses, I often bend the rules by washing gently with mild detergent instead. I use the “hand wash delicates” option on our washing machine and once again, I use cold water. I do not physically wash the items by hand (that would be a deal breaker).

Items like lined jackets, coats, dress slacks, button down shirts and Greg’s shirts, jackets and suits still go to the cleaners because they actually do a better job at laundering the items than I do. I might be using home dry cleaning kits incorrectly, but so far I have not found them to yield satisfactory results.

Bending the dry cleaning rule does mean that you’ll need to press your items once they’re dry. As much as I loathe ironing my clothes, I’m prepared to do it as long as things don’t pile up.

Do you also bend the rules?

Clothing Care

36 comments · Add a comment

PalmFronds

Ofcourse! Who can afford to either dry clean all the time, or wants to leave behind some of those fabulous items? Plus I really don’t savor the idea or smell of dry cleaning chemicals on my clothes…..
I do hand wash alot of my dry clean items that are smaller like the cashmere sweaters, blouses and even the wool skirts.I actually enjoy hand washing, it feels very therapeutic (I am off by myself in silence, the only sound is the little squish of my squeezing the clothes.Better than chocolate some days I have thus far ruined only one sweater by doing this and it grieved me so much.
I use the home dry cleaning kits on my pants,dresses and blazers about every three weeks. Unless an item is soiled or has some odor on it, I only dry clean for real about 2-3 times a year.My winter coat goes to the cleaner at the end of winter season before I put it away in the closet. Very special items that are tough to wash, such as blouses with beading etc(thankfully I own few of those) do go to the cleaner but probably once a year as I wear them infrequently.
I have not been brave enough to do machine wash(even delicate cycle) with any dry clean items, I always hand wash.
Agree with the cold water wash use, it’s wonderful. And hot water wash(which for some reason my husband likes) is terrible!

Angie how do you dry your clothes if you rarely use the dryer?
My hand wash stuff I dry on one of those drying racks…or the side of the sofa….

February 11, 2010 at 3:49 pm

Cricket

I only dry-clean my winter coats. I use the gentle cycle for everything that would be dry-cleaned, followed with line-drying. I have a backup of winter knits that need to be washed right now actually!

I think I heard cashmere should always be washed in water, never dry-cleaned. True?

February 11, 2010 at 4:00 pm

Maya

Veteran

I won’t buy anything that necessitates ironing as I loathe it even more than you Angie. I’m not any good at it either. I try to iron one spot and somehow end up accidentally creasing another. I am just not a domestic person…

Dry cleaning is bad for the environment and not even necessary most of the time. Certain things like coats, gowns and other formalwear, and suits are the only thing I would dry clean and I would seek out an organic cleaner to do the job. I try to wear my DCO items multiple times and then use a kit to freshen them up. Most of the time, that’s all I need for my clothes. Everything else, I wash on cold water, reduced spin. Bras and hosiery are washed in a lingerie bag on the hand wash cycle with organic detergent. The only things I toss in the dryer are underwear, loungewear, pajamas, and socks. I only use hot water on towels and bedding, never for clothes.

I recently noticed what appeared to be grease stains on one of my favorite silk summer blouses. I was surprised to see it, as I haven’t worn it since last August…but anyway, I dabbed some dish detergent on the stains and put them in the washer on the hand wash cycle, with the gentle organic detergent that I usually reserve for bras. It did the trick. The fabric looks a little strange…it has a texture to it that wasn’t there before. But it’s still quite wearable and no one would notice it but me. Unfortunately it desperately needed ironing, but that is what mothers are for!

February 11, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Meredith

I throw almost everything in the washer. I only wash whites on hot, especially the sheets. Almost everything goes in the drier. Angie–where in Seattle do you dry your clothes if you don’t use the dryer?

I send super nice dresses to the dry cleaner, but to simplify my life, everything else has the same protocol.

What a great blog topic!

love,
m!

February 11, 2010 at 4:24 pm

Ingrid

I hand wash a lot of my clothes, and never use hot or cold water but tepid water as too hot or cold has a tendency to shrink natural fibres such as linen and cotton. The only things I dry clean are coats or my husband’s suits. There are some fabrics you should test first but in general you can hand wash wools, etc as long as you are careful. I’ve heard you can hand wash silk using baby shampoo.
I have a bottle of dry cleaning fluid which I use to clean spots on my husband’s clothes (only the ones that are dry-cleaned) if there is a small stain. Dry cleaning clothes too much can ruin them.

February 11, 2010 at 4:26 pm

marianna

Veteran

Dry cleaning is way too expensive for me so I absolutely break the rules. I am domestically disabled (heh) so hand washing and ironing are things that I don’t do… but I do take advantage of the delicate cycle on the machine. I only dry clean items such as lined jackets and items I am scared to ruin.

I recently bought a really pretty silk top that is dry clean only. Any input on machine washing silk? Yay or nay?

February 11, 2010 at 4:33 pm

Joy

Veteran

I hand wash almost all knits including silk, wool (including cashmere), linen, and rayon. I also wash other unlined things of mine. I dry clean most lined items and sometimes black or navy cotton that could be washed to keep it from fading. Even if it says it’swashable and I use cold water, hang dry and press, it still doesn’t look as crisp as when dry cleaned.
My SIL is a big Goodwill shopper. I suppose because she hasn’t paid much she’s willing to experiment. She even hand washes some leather successfully.

February 11, 2010 at 4:38 pm

Pame

Active Member

Aw no, not me….I don’t bend the rules. Had a few bad experiences doing so. I use the home drying kits for sweaters/skirts and like them for these items. I’ve tried washing silks and some have done well/some have not. I have found raw silk to have spots after washing/and texture changes[as Maya pointed out]. I do use my dryer for cotton T’s/socks/sheets etc. I am also in the official ‘iron hating club’. I have a steamer I use while traveling.

February 11, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Shana

I use the handwash/delicates cycle on my washing machine for alot of dry-clean only items and have not had any issues. I do dry clean anything that is lined though – had a bad experience a few years back with a pair of lined wool trousers – the wool part shrank but the lining did not! I also dry clean all my winter coats at the end of the season except for the down ones which I throw in the washer. Ironing is not an issue for me – I love freshly pressed clothes (and sheets!).

February 11, 2010 at 5:06 pm

malcontent

One of my peeves is how often the “dry clean only” label is used unnecessarily. I’ve seen cotton t-shirts that say “dry clean only” before.

February 11, 2010 at 5:14 pm

klauren

Active Member

Oh gosh, are you kidding? Rules are made to be broken! In my job, I study fabrics and cleaning them (stage and dance costumes – makes for smelly factor sometimes you can’t believe!) I could write a book on the things I’ve learned. So there’s all kinds of ways to clean stuff and not neccessarily to the rules.
Sometimes, the stuff we wear ourselves shouldn’t be cleaned as much as we do, the fibres were just not meant to take it. Or we really should be cleaning it a different way than labeled. Some stores and designers label things so that people take things to the cleaner that could be cleaned other ways so they won’t be responsible.
So, yes you can bend the rules a bit, use the Internet to do a little study if you like, and good luck with your cleaning.

February 11, 2010 at 5:30 pm

Kate

Veteran

Angie, I also would love to know how you dry your clothes without a dryer! I spent a semester in Europe hanging my clothes to dry and my shirts and cotton sweaters felt stiff and awkward most of the time. The worst part was that my one pair of jeans became super baggy and very unflattering. What’s your secret?

February 11, 2010 at 6:35 pm

Karen

(website)

Active Member

I bend the rules as well. I dry some things on delicate for a very short time and then hang to dry on the appropriate hangers (I agree, the dryer is so hard on clothes)I use a steamer more than an iron.

February 11, 2010 at 6:45 pm

Skitzo Leezra Studio

(website)

Those aren’t rules, they are “suggestions”.
Actually, in the garment world, the tags recommend a specific cleaning process to protect themselves, as in. most dry clean items can be gently hand washed but the tag covers their liability.
My commercial grade steamer works wonders on delicates, silks, rayons, etc.

February 11, 2010 at 7:14 pm

Lena

I don’t mind and even sometimes enjoy ironing (I find it almost therapeutic if I’m not in a hurry), but I’m terrible at it.

Like many other posters, I use a gentle cycle, cold water and line drying. I use hot water for towels, sheets and sturdy socks. I dry clean wool sweaters, jackets, coats and wool pants once or twice a season. I had luck handwashing some wool and cashmere. I’m afraid of doing this with silk, however. I also successfully launder rayon/spandex tops and dresses, even though they are labeled dry clean only.

I have a problem with laundering simple cotton tees – they almost always lose their shape, no matter what I do.

February 11, 2010 at 7:16 pm

taylor

I dry clean most all my items. I have invested in fine garments and wonderful fabrics, I am not about to ruin my clothes by throwing them in the washer and dryer. For me clothes are an investment and require care and maintenence. I don’t wish that to sound snobby, but I love clothes to look pristine and perfectly pressed at all times, and that is beyond my personal ability.

February 11, 2010 at 8:23 pm

Ele

(website)

Active Member

I absolutely break the rules. Coats and jackets, formal dresses and some silk tops are the only things that go the cleaner’s for me. I have major issues with the time and money spent dry-cleaning stuff, as well as the environmental implications of all those chemicals- yuck. I throw a lot of stuff into the wash on the delicate cycle, but I will hand-wash certain things in the sink, too. I actually like hand-washing, for some bizarre reason. I think because it reminds me of my Mum, who taught me how to do it well when I was little and told her I “wanted to do my own laundry”. Haha!

re: the no dryer thing. I don’t have one either, and that’s actually super common here in the UK and in the rest of Europe. A lot of people just don’t want to bother with them, for a couple reasons. They’re bulky and expensive, our houses are smaller, and people here (generally speaking) tend to be a bit more aware of energy usage/environmental stuff, and dryers are really, really inefficient. Some houses have airing cupboards for drying clothes, but I just use a folding rack.

February 12, 2010 at 12:01 am

Katana

I’m glad you talk about this. I approximately follow the same rule as you – everything tailored goes to the dry cleaner (how am I supposed to iron a jacket anyway?), the rest I wash myself. But, about 60% of it I physically handwash. I’m thinking of silk tops and skirts in particular, as well as specifically delicate underwear. I find that the washing machine, even with cold water, is harsh on silk. I try to treat it as gently as possible.

February 12, 2010 at 3:02 am

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

I am with Taylor, I dry clean a lot of my clothes, and we send all of Hubby’s shirts to be laundered and pressed. I don’t have time to do it myself, and they always look better than if we tried it at home. My dry cleaner LOVES me, and she does my alterations.

That said, many of the dresses I have are knit or jersey and are fine in the delicate cycle of the washer. But my blazers, lined pants and skirts, suits, silk tops, chiffon ruffled dresses, etc — those go to the cleaners. Not every week, but often enough.

February 12, 2010 at 3:33 am

anne

Veteran

I rarely dryclean – only coats and jackets. My willingness to clean at home rather than dryclean or machine rather than hand wash increases with the age of the garment. I am less likely to risk it with a new purchase.

Like most aussies ( I think) I always wash in cold (only exception being if item is the particularly disgusting), or at least on the cold setting – I think the machine does heat it to 20 degrees C.

Almost every item of clothing hear says not to dry in the dryer – is that the case in the States? However I do ignore this, again especially for older clothes. I never put jeans in.

I line dry almost everything, either on the hills hoist in the backyard (but not that much, because I don’t like standing in the sun hanging it out, and because the sun fades and weakens fabric), on a double line on my patio (default option), or on a drying rack inside (which takes ages in winter, which is when I use it).

I didn’t grow up with a dryer and have only had one (a present) a couple of years. With our bright hot summers I would feel guilty using one regularly and only use it
1)for emergencies when something is needed in a hurry 2) when there is a backlog – eg after a holiday 3)in the dead of winter because the drying rack isn’t keeping up with the washing for a family of five and 4) if something gets tissue or ants all over it in the wash – the dryer is very good and getting them all off!

February 12, 2010 at 5:09 am

Sally McGraw

(website)

Active Member

Most definitely! Especially when it comes to natural fibers, I feel like hand-washing actually prolongs the life of the garment. I wrote more about my methods here: http://www.alreadypretty.com/2.....en-up.html

February 12, 2010 at 6:31 am

kingadraakon

i picked up a great hint here to take the button down shirts to the dry cleaners! i wear those a lot and i like the ladylike kind of buttondowns with pleats, ruffles, fancy sleeves and pockets …which of course means, that they are especially painful to iron and the result is not so good either. i hope the cleaners do a better job with them. for some reason i haven’t thought of it before. thanks, angie!

i will still continue to machine wash and iron my hubby’s shirts, the are a lot easier and i have a really good iron

February 12, 2010 at 6:50 am

emt

I also “hand wash” in the washing machine. Since ours has an extremely vigorous agitator (turns slacks inside out, unfastens fasteners of all types) I use mesh lingerie/stocking bags for delicates or items I don’t want quite so manhandled. With one of those, I have to safety-pin the zipper closed, as the washer will open it! In a pinch, you can also use a pillow case, either tied or zipped shut. The primary instruction/suggestion I do follow is hang/flat dry – those items definitely will shrink or turn into a ball of wrinkles if thrown in the dryer. Maybe not the first time, but eventually. I try to avoid buying items I know will have to be dry-cleaned, as our small town doesn’t have any decent options; and I limit how often I take things (usually major items like heavy coats and suits/special event dresses that aren’t worn often).

February 12, 2010 at 7:50 am

Linda

Ha, Maya, I like your thinking re: ironing.

I have a terrible mental block about taking things to the dry cleaner even though it is literally one block from my home. And I really resent the cost. Yet at the same time, I have a tendency to ruin sweaters in the washing machine. So I confess that I wear some things RATHER A LOT before I clean them in any way. I do manage to hand-wash bras, but not, um, perhaps as often as more fastidious people.

February 12, 2010 at 7:59 am

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I’m more lax with dry cleaning since joining the forum, I was most dry cleaning or hand wash items alongside my other clothes on a 30 degree cycle, which is as low as my current washing machine will allow. So far so good, no shrinkage or problems with the colour, however I do have a couple of items for which the risk is too high and these items always go to the cleaners, as a result they are also the items worn the least.

February 12, 2010 at 8:11 am

marianne

Active Member

Like others, I wash most of my clothes on cold and hang dry. Delicate items are washed in a mesh bag. I hand wash occasionally, but the combination of delicate cycle and mesh bag works just as well. It’s extremely rare that I go to the cleaners – only for coats and suiting pieces, or after all other options – spot washing, airing out, Dryel – have been exhausted.

February 12, 2010 at 8:40 am

Rosie

I’ve had the same clothes in a bag to be dry-cleaned for over a year! They are items I can’t easily launder myself. I most definitely bend the rules! Cricket, I have read over and over that it is much better to handwash cashmere, yet they still insist on putting DCO labels on it!

Like Angie, I wash everything on cold (except maybe towels and sheets sometimes), always on the gentle cycle. I also dry everything on low, and almost always follow any air-dry tags.

February 12, 2010 at 8:51 am

Kim from Nebraska

My Japanese grandmother told me that Asians had been wearing and washing silks for thousands of years before dry cleaning. I hand-wash my silks. I also handwash thinner knit wool and cashmere, but do dry clean the big chunky knits. And of course dry clean my winter coat. I machine wash, gentle cycle, down coats, comfortors and pillows. Of the latter, our pillows were just getting gross and flat. I figured we’d need to replace, so I thought, why not try washing them. If they come out OK, then fine. If not, we were going to replace anyway. They came out FABULOUS. Saved a couple hundred there.

I’m one of those throwbacks who enjoys ironing. I enjoy how my clothes look when ironed and I find the mindlessness of it almost zenlike and soothing.

February 12, 2010 at 11:19 am

Cathy

I, too, bend the rules all the time. I even hand wash my suede winter gloves in tepid/coolish water with great results. Of course they don’t look brand new but they still look really good.

February 12, 2010 at 11:46 am

Helen

(website)

One of the reasons, clothing companies state dry clean only is to protect them if for some reasons something goes wrong when it is washed at home. I recently purchased a pair of label cotton drill shorts here in Aus which state they are to be dry cleaned. Believe me they get thrown in with the colours on a regular cycle. The only things I get dry cleaned are some of my cocktail dresses and suit jackets. Everything else is in the washer of hand washed.

February 12, 2010 at 1:19 pm

Dusty

(website)

Active Member

I mostly avoid dry-clean only clothing (it’s just not practical as a mom of messy kids), but if something is cheap enough and I like it enough I’ll risk hand washing or washing on delicate and hanging to dry. Mostly, though, I just try to stick to easy-care fabrics (especially since my husband does most of the laundry).

February 12, 2010 at 2:15 pm

Jenava

I have a few things that are very, very delicate, but overall I do the same as you.

February 12, 2010 at 8:26 pm

Phoebe

Veteran

Here´s the ultimate tip:

Use shampoo instead of washing powder! Especially with cashmere/wool items it works wonders!

I don´t even own a dryer…

February 14, 2010 at 4:17 am

Fab Find: Calvin Klein shirred tank dress

(website)

[…] into the machine and wash in cold water on the “hand wash delicates” cycle – after all, I do bend laundry rules. Related posts:Pattern mixing for […]

April 27, 2010 at 1:01 pm

medusa

Veteran

I dry clean if the item is silk, or if it has two different types of fabric (like lined jackets or pants). Otherwise, in the washer it goes.

August 6, 2010 at 9:19 pm

Lisa

For items you choose to handwash, I’ve found having a dehumidifier in the laundry room or wherever you choose to line dry the clothing helps them dry so much faster, particularly in winter. I try not to dry clean items, as it’s hyper-expensive where I live (not enough competition). I have only barely dabbled in breaking the rules for dry clean only items–maybe I will get more brave now that I’ve seen your posts.

November 19, 2010 at 3:12 pm

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