washing dry clean items in washing machines etc

bwatt00

I have a jacket that i imported from usa some while ago still a great jacket and still fashonable today and cant is reversible,now that the side i like most is partly white anyone tell me how best to get the dirt off?
I have had it dryed cleaned recently and it was not much better and was thinking of washing in my washing machine but it say dry clean only what are my changes of destroying my jacket,i dont want to do that as i know i would not get another like it and its becoming a little too dirty to wear,well it looks ok but when you see bits of it closer it really needs a clean.
And i dont want to destroy the jacket as its one of my jackets i like most.
Any advise on what i should do,i know i could reverse the jacket and wear the other way but really i prefer it the other way and to tell you the truth the other side could be done with a clean as well.
Is there anyway i can tell if i was it in washing machine if i will destroy it,i did try and clean a shirt once i had that said dry clean and destroyed that but then another i had was ok,i suppose it depends on what the colours are and what it is made of any advise would be great.

skintchick

Did you use a decent dry cleaner or someone like Thompson? I fhte latter, then try finding a good one and see what htey can do,a nd also what they advise.

I had a skirt I spilled coffee on - I had it dry cleaned but ti didn;t work, so the cleaners washed it for me and it was OK.

But I washed a tweed coat in the machine on a wool wash and it shrank a bit and doesn't hang properly now.

I'd get decent advice.

notakid

You can buy at the supermarket a product that dry cleans in your tumble dryer. A pack contains about 5 tissues which you place in your dryer on cool. I have used it and its pretty good a pack lasted me 2 years! You should find it with the washing powders.

random456

i have always washed my white (dry clean only) coat in the machine on 30 degree silk wash and its been fine, actually 2 white long coats i have had...

flea72

it would really depend on the fibre content of the fabric, whether i would wash it or not.

however, if you say the jacket is getting too dirty to keep wearing it, then i would prob risk a cool wash, and hope for the best

they usually say dry clean, as with jackets there are various fabrics used in the construction, and they therefore wash up in different ways. you usally find the lining shrinks or stretches, or if it has shoulder pads, they go all lumpy. as long as you put it on a fairly low temp, and dont overspin, then do a bit of shaping whilst it dries, you should be able to get away with it.

the dry clean sheets for use in your tumble drier, are more for refreshing the fabric, than cleaning it

flea

bwatt00

its got dark blue and red and white and has the large tommy hilfiger flag on back and is reversible with red and a smaller flag on arm it says dry clean only and i would worry about colours running through the jacket then when i look at it,something tells me it will wash ok,but i dont want to chance it as i will not get the jacket again and i really like it and the dry cleaners i took it to made no difference.
It has on the label.
70% cotton
30% nylon
But i suppose that does not mean anything anymore advise im pretty sure i have washed items of the above before without any problems its just the colours i worry about the red and say blue going through the rest of jacket

flea72

try washing it with a colour run catcher, as that may help with any bleeding.

Flea

tanith

Sorry to go off subject but just wonder if anyone can tell me where they buy the 'dry clean in the tumble dryer' product as I used to use this product and found it excellent but have not been able to find it for over a year now and was told that they do not make it anymore............. thanks
As for the washing the jacket , I washed a pair of dry clean only trousers today and they came out fine.. so as you will be none the worse off if you ruin the jacket , I'd give it a whirl as suggested on a short delicate cycle and set the spin really low...

ltlmiles5

I've been looking for something like that too. I found it advertised on ebay - can't remember what it's called for almost £10 I think, including postage costs. It was in the U.S.

Can't seem to find it in the U.K. Flea72 is right. It only really refreshes it. It can't really clean it if there's a big stain, as the amount of chemicals used is not enough to envelope the whole garment, unlike like in a dry cleaners.

With that particular product though, you'll have to spot treat the stain first before dry cleaning it in your tumble dryer. The heat in the tumble dryer releases the fragrance, thus refreshing it. Still useful to keep garments fresh and should reduce dry cleaning costs, as dry cleaning can be kept to a minimum.

I haven't used it before though I did a lot of reading up into it.

skintchick

I know people are saing they have washed things OK, and so have I but my coat did not do well at all, and it is wise to be careful - perhaps hand wash it gently in the bath?

bwatt00

Right as the dry cleaners did not make a good job of it last time and it was getting really dirty i needed to do something and what happened i tried washing it in the bath,was not a good idea the red has run into the white parts of the jacket,now if i had done this in the washing machine im sure it would have been much worse but its still bad enough right now.
I still like the jacket and want to know if there is anyway i can sort out the damage i have done to it by letting the red colours run onto the white,i just wish i had not touched it now but it needed a very good clean and i had to try something,have i now damaged a jacket or can i still fix it?