Can I wash a wedding dress at home in the bath?

alarafan

I have bought a used wedding dress off ebay but the dry cleaners are saying they need ten days to clean it, but my wedding is in seven days...

It is net and tulle mainly with lace applique.

I was thinking of using a handwash in the bath with warm (tepid) water then rinse a few times and hang on the line.

Will this work? I can't wear it dirty???

Thanks

sammy_wheeler

is there any other dry cleaners that could do it quicker?- mine was done within 5 days

how much detail is there on the dress?
and how dirty is it?
what material is it?

Idiophreak

Eeks, did you only just get the dress?

Most people sell them dirty, I guess, because it does take a long time (and a lot of money) to get them professionally cleaned.

Did you explain the situation to the dry cleaners? Could they not pull some strings?

Otherwise you could try calling around for places with a quicker turnaround.

Personally, I wouldn't dare to wash the thing myself, I'm no expert at all, but it just seems high risk to me...

Afitos

Hi,

Where abouts are you ? Perhaps people will be able to recommend somewhere.

Don't know if you should wash it, what happens if you ruin it before your wedding ?

Have you tried every dry cleaners you could get to ? I found an amazing one to do mine, he did it in under a week and was less than half the cost as he wasn't part of a chain.

Good Luck

Maysie

Mine is a similar material i am going to wash it in the bath unless i see a really good deal at the dry cleaners again. Do you think the material could shrink though? Could you get away with sponging the dress? have you seen the doctor beckman dry cleaning cloths you can buy?

mrs_B_5

If you're anywhere near worksop I can recommend an amazing lady who should be able to get it turned around for you She did mine in about 3 days! PM me if you need the details

Idiophreak

You could also consider buy a steam cleaner yourself - the kinda thing you see on the shopping channels...a blast with that and a wipe with a cloth could work wonders...but I'd still be uneasy!

lupyloo

Sounds very similar to my dress and I was told under no circumstances wash it (thinking of selling on after). There is some kind of thread in the material that will ruin with water. Please dont risk it with only 7 days to go, goodluck finding a cleaner though x

alarafan

I am in birmingham- I will run around like a mad thing tomorrow and try and see what can be done. Thanks for the warning about the threads

tattycath

I left my wedding dress at my sisters after i got married. She phoned me a week later to say she'd washed my dress and a bridesmaid dress in the washing machine, I was mortified, it had lots of beading etc on it. Surprisingly it came up really well and didn't shrink. i wouldn't have dared wash it myself - it cost a fortune! I'm with the find a specialist cleaner. Good luck. x

prettyflamingo

i think net and tulle are stronger than they look, but you may possibly find that it takes a long time to dry (since handwashing leaves lots of water in the clothing) and you run the risk of it smelling a bit odd! has it got stains? i would definitely try local dry cleaners rather than chains as said above they will probably be much quicker turn around. if the dress has a couple of stains but doesnt need a full clean then i would probably hand wash those little parts, as you arent putting too much water on the dress but only as a last resort