BR moto... dry clean only?

qfbrenda

I'm officially a lemming. My copy of the Banana Republic moto jacket that Angie suggested came today and I noticed it says "dry clean only". Has anyone tried washing theirs on handwash in their front loader and hanging it to dry? I'm not dry cleaning it and will have to return it if that's the only option. I don't want to return since I really like it.

12 years ago

Dressing

13 replies

Latest reply was from krishnidoux

qfbrenda

Veteran

Anybody?

12 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

I don't have this jacket, Brenda, but I recently did a little searching on the web about dry cleaning vs. hand washing. What I learned was that if a garment label says "Dry Clean Only," you really need to dry clean it. If it just says "Dry Clean," without "Only," you can possibly get away with hand washing. So if I were you, I wouldn't try washing it yourself. I suspect it's probably a pretty pricey item. But if it's a moto jacket, I assume it operates as a topper, so maybe you could get away with dry cleaning it only once per year?

12 years ago

Glory

Veteran

Bumping. Some people have mentioned Dryell which I think is a home product you can use in your dryer. Perhaps they will chime in.

12 years ago

qfbrenda

Veteran

The thing that gets me is it's cotton and polyester. It's not wool or something that's likely to do some crazy shrinking.

Your point is well taken. I did get it for a really good price but will think long and hard before I decide to try washing it.

12 years ago

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I don't have the jacket, but I think jackets are very tricky to wash with all the interfacing, etc. In reality I rarely dry clean my jackets because barring some unfortunate accident they rarely get dirty.

12 years ago

AviaMariah

Veteran

I've seen some examples of people trying to not dry clean jackets with disastrous results. I say try to keep it as clean as possible and only dry-clean once a year if you can,

12 years ago

Thistle

Veteran

So, yes, I think it needs to be dry cleaned and should not touch water.

On the other hand, like Anna, I find my jackets rarely get dirty as it takes an accident or a toddler. I have spritzed jackets with febreeze and hung them outside to let the clean air freshen them.

Otherwise, it is to the dry cleaners with them. Too much to go wrong, especially if they are lined. The lining tends to be the killer.

I try really hard not to dry clean as the chemicals bother my allergies, and the environmental concerns bother me.

12 years ago

Anonymous

Since it's a jacket, I'd have it dry cleaned.

Thistle: My DH has allergies, too. I found out that I can ask the dry cleaner to use less chemicals, and that's what I do if the item isn't stained. Also, be sure to air out the dry cleaned item once you get it home. Ventilate it well before hanging it back up in the closet.

12 years ago

Diana

Veteran

Jackets and coats are pretty much the only thing I dry clean. Like Thistle, I do not like the chemicals they use (although I do try to go to the "green" ones), and while I don't have an allergy yet, I am prone to developing them so I'm not going to tempt fate if I can't help it. But with jackets, it's not the fabric so much as the structure that you need to worry about when it hits water. But I'm like Anna, I don't think they get very dirty (especially indoor jackets because they're covered with a coat when I'm exposed to snow and rain and stuff) so I rarely clean them.

12 years ago

Makrame

Veteran

I noticed the same thing on the BR moto jacket (only noticed it yesterday, as I was about to cut off the tags to wash it). I am very tempted to wash it on gentle cycle and dry flat since it is not very obvious to me why it cannot be washed.

12 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

I also read that sometimes dry-clean-only items have some kind of coating on them, perhaps a sheen, that might wash off in water. I don't know what the jacket looks like, so I don't know if this would apply.

12 years ago

kkards

Veteran

On thing I would be careful of, if you decide to try to wash it, is the color. Often the dry clean label is because the fabric/color is not color fast, and it the color will run.

12 years ago

krishnidoux

Veteran

What about "dry cleaning" it in your dryer with some product like Dryel? Would that be an option?

12 years ago

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