Washing 'dry clean only' clothes?

Metamorphic_Furniture · 15 October 2014 at 8:59PM

I've successfully washed a few 3/4 length wool coats in the machine before. I washed them one at a time on the hand wash setting, with 'no heat' and 'no spin', using my regular detergent. When washed, I hung them on hangers outside on the line - they were quite heavy as still sopping wet. I haven't had any problems with the lining or exterior fabric shrinking or doing anything else untoward! They were various colours - black, emerald green and purple - and I've had no problems with fading etc. HTH.

woolly_wombat · 22 October 2014 at 11:46AM

It's expensive but I would always choose dry cleaning, particularly for second-hand wool/silk/leather items because it's an effective way of killing moths.

You don't want those critters chomping through your clothes or carpets.

WW

forzaitalia · 22 October 2014 at 1:11PM

I recently washed a Dry Clean Only dress by hand - cool water - and it was absolutely fine. Wrung it out and hung on a hanger to dry. It was 100% polyester so no idea what it should be Dry Clean Only. I would be more wary if it is made of natural fabrics, such as cotton, wool and silk, which can shrink. Cool water is the key. Good luck!

homealone_2 · 23 October 2014 at 1:00AM

when young and single everything was dry cleaned, now every thing goes in the machine. its a standing joke with my family to not stand too near the machine or they could end up in there. I must admit I have been known to put handbags, shoes, purses, boots the lot. you have only had one disaster when my burberry scarf went in by accident and it came out like felt. dry cleaning is so expensve sometimes you have to improvise

pollypenny · 23 October 2014 at 9:05AM

I wouldn't wash a coat, but anything else,,I'd hand wash,,spin then line dry on a sun and wind day.

purpleweasel · 23 October 2014 at 9:27AM

Pollycat wrote: »

If your coats have some sort of showerproof/waterproof protection, you're probably better not using fabric conditioner as that may spoil the protection.

You can get a re-waterproofing treatment that you put in the washing machine, we used it on our old waterproof jackets & it worked a treat. Got it from camping supplies place.

I got an old St Michael wool skirt from a charity shop the other day & only noticed when i got it home that it was dry clean only. I still intend to wash it, though will probably do it by hand first time. I think if i'd have bought it new it would have been washable, machines are much better nowadays with gentler settings etc. That said, if in doubt hand wash in cold water, roll up in old towel to squeeze out most of the water and dry flat out of the sun. I have a jersey dress which i love which says "dry clean only" and the first time i washed it in the machine i hung it up to dry on a hanger and the hem went all uneven! Luckily gentle reshaping & drying it flat next time cured it

psouth · 23 October 2014 at 6:42PM

I always check the clothing label before buying, then make a decision based on how many times it can be worn before needing to be dry cleaned. Shutting the gate after the horse has bolted in this case!

I am particularly pleased with having washed my daughter's wedding dress. Soaked it in the bath overnight then used Fairy on the badly stained areas and gently rubbed. (there were a lot of grubby areas as there was a blizzard on the day!) Soaked it again several times to rinse then left it to drip dry outside. Painted a banana box and bought some acid free tissue paper to store. Saved a fortune :T

barbaraemmerson · 23 October 2014 at 9:06PM

If you have any club card vouchers then they can be exchanged - £5 of vouchers for £15 of Johnsons dry cleaning vouchers!! May get your couple of coats cleaned for nothing!!

hermum · 24 October 2014 at 6:28PM

I've always washed all dry clean items in the machine, mostly wool coats, I use the wool or silk programme & never had a problem with anything. I always choose a blowy day so I can hang them straight out to dry.
I have huge silk velvet curtains that state dry clean & they go in the machine on the silk wash, which is cooler than the wool one.

thriftwizard · 24 October 2014 at 9:24PM

I'd intended to contribute to this thread & say that in 30-odd years of washing dry clean only items, I'd only lost one, a very delicate viscose blouse, and I wash a LOT, as good-quality second-hand clothes & household linens are part of my stock-in-trade. However today, after 3 weeks with no washing machine, and setting up for a big pop-up event tomorrow, I lost another! An old "St. Michael" polyester/viscose skirt; it's still perfectly wearable, if a tad smaller, but only if I want to shorten the lining! An easy job, with a skirt like this, but not with a jacket or coat. However, as it came in as part of a "job lot' and I paid very little for it - because there's quite a lot of work involved in making the clothes saleable - I may just not bother; it's not a very special garment & might make rather a nice cushion instead!

So as two of your items are polyester/viscose, and precious, I might advise you to bite the bullet & have them dry-cleaned.

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Washing 'dry clean only' clothes?

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