Ever disregard 'dry clean only'?

I just got a super cute black and cream striped dress from Bluefly. I love it! It's cute and can be dressed up or down easily - a big plus for me. Problem is, it's d/c only. Bummer! It's rayon/spandex and I am wondering if I could hand wash it in cold water. I will wear it much more often this way.

Is this a bad idea? Has anyone ever done it?

14 years ago

General

12 replies

Latest reply was from RandomThoughts (Andrea)

rosee

Veteran

The manufacturer's often put "dryclean only" tags in clothes b/c they are too cheap to fabric test them before sewing the garments. If you wash one of these items, it's at your own risk. However, using common sense and previous experience with similar fabrics, I've done it countless times. Most times there really wasn't a problem. I have a cotton skirt with waist ruching that says it and I washed it; it needs a little extra careful work with an iron afterwards though. It doesn't look 100% now, but still in the high 90s, so I'm happy. I rarely dryclean -- except wool coats and formal items -- b/c I am sensitive to perc and other dryclean chemicals.

14 years ago

Saretta

(website)

Active Member

I've ruined some of my best clothes that way!

14 years ago

thimblelina

(website)

Veteran

I'm here for help with my clothing choices regarding cuts, colors, etc. but I'm actually quite good at fabric care! So this is my deal: I loathe dry cleaning, so very few items make it home with me that request this treatment. I figure if it was special enough to clear that hurdle, I might dry clean it for the first season or so to ensure it looks sharp if I've bought it for some specific special occasions and I can't tolerate any surprises. Once I've had my fun (or right away, if I'm willing to take some risk with the item) I will decide if it looks like a good candidate for a "quick dip" test. Don't do this to items with linings, like some formal dresses, or wool coats or structured and sized blazers. The quick dip is just a quick plunge in a basin of room temperature water followed by towel blotting and a hang to dry. If it tolerates that well, doesn't lose a ton of dye and irons up nicely it can progress to a true hand wash in a soapy basin followed by a rinse. Some rayons never get beyond this point because they seem to keep shrinking up the longer they are in water. Most of my silks and wools or cashmeres though are fine even on the wool or silk setting of my washer which is about 15 minutes of low agitation soaking. Then I like to dry them out of direct sun in the out of doors if possible because they smell really fresh after that. Anything that might stretch gets laid across a towel sling. People have worn and cared for luxury natural fibers for centuries before dry cleaning. There's a really good book called Homekeeping by an attorney named Cheryl Mendelson which covers fibers and washing in even greater detail. Let's see what other members say. I've never lost an item to a quick dip handwash, even a vintage piece. L

14 years ago

rosee

Veteran

... you mentioned rayon/spandex blend. Rayon is tricky: older style and older quality rayons are not water-friendly and will shrink, newer rayons are fine in water. The question is whether you have a newer rayon or not. Maybe test a small spot near the hem by getting it wet and seeing what the material does after it dries.

14 years ago

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I never take the risk when the item is new but after several wears when the blow would not be felt as hard I do put them in the washing machine. I guess it depends how upset you would feel if the garment was destroyed.

14 years ago

rosee

Veteran

@thimblelina: I have that book too! (haven't read it all yet though).

14 years ago

Inge

(website)

Moderator

I look at it the same way as Julie, after a few wears I switch to hand washing in tepid water.

14 years ago

Diana

Veteran

I hardly ever dry clean anything except for my wool winter coats and maybe a couple of formal dresses. I don't have suits but if I did I would dry clean those. Everything else gets hand washed and drip/flat dried. I have yet to ruin anything. Don't wring the items (which is why I don't put them in the washing machine) and always use cold water, and you should be fine. Anything knit (like a sweater) needs to be laid out flat and reshaped to dry.

Honestly, to me dry cleaning is very expensive (despite the fact that I can walk to about 7 of them in my neighborhood... apparently competitiion does not bring down prices in this case) and I do not like the chemicals they use.

14 years ago

Melissa

Active Member

I disregard the dry clean only label most of the time. Yes, there are occasional mishaps but they have been few and far between. I also only take the risk on an item I am willing to see ruined without too many tears.

For instance, I bought a basic black belted trench at the thrift store this weekend, and so even though the label said dry clean only, I ran it through the washer (on cold). I think it is a rayon blend. It came out fine, but I never would have risked it on an item I'd paid more for, or that was very special to me.

Good luck!

14 years ago