If you’re like many modern brides, wedding dress dry cleaning may seem extravagant or unnecessary. After all, you enjoy doing things yourself, and how difficult can it be to clean a dress? Not so fast! Before you pull out the detergent and start trying to clean your dress at home, consider these questions.
Cost Of The Dress
Most women will spend more money on their wedding dress than any other item of clothing in their lives. If you want to pass your dress down to your children, wear it in the future, or just preserve your memories, it’s important that the fabric of your dress be treated in such a way that it won’t accelerate the fabric’s aging. Most home laundry systems do not have the chemicals or technology necessary to preserve fabric, let alone the delicate beading, embroider, lace, or other features common to wedding dresses.
As well, you need to consider how upset you’d be if your method of cleaning damaged the dress, leaving creases, discoloration, missing ornaments, or even holes.
Cost Of The Cleaning
Keep in mind that if you undertake to clean your dress yourself, you’ll need some chemicals and tools that you may not already own. For example, most home washing machines are too small to accomodate the yards of fabric in a typical wedding gown’s skirt. You may, if you choose to wash your gown, need to use a large machine at a laundromat. You’ll also need to invest in gentle detergents, stain removal chemicals, and so forth, each chosen specifically for the fabric and/or ornaments featured on your gown. Home cleaning is ideally recommended only for extremely simple gowns, constructed of cotton or polyester/man-made fabric.
Do You Know How To Preserve A Dress?
Cleaning is only half the battle. If you want your dress to stay beautiful for years to come, it needs to be stored correctly. This means that it needs to be protected from light, acid, and chemical damage. Some detergents can leave residues in fabric, and that also needs to be taken into account before storing the dress. The standard advice to “wrap your dress in tissue paper” can also be dangerous, especially if the tissue paper is colored, as this can cause a “color transfer” and permanently stain your gown.
Get Peace Of Mind
If the whole thing is beginning to sound like a big hassle to you, you’re not alone. We’ve been cleaning and preserving wedding dresses for many years, and we can take all the difficulty out of the job for you and deliver a sparkling dress that’s ready to be safely stored. Don’t delay for months or years and risk damage to your dress. If you choose to trust us with your precious gown, we can help ensure that it will remain beautiful for years to come.
Sources:
DIY: How To Clean Your Wedding Dress – www.weddingbee.com
From DIY To Professional – www.weddinggownpreservationkit.com