Machine Washing A Suit Jacket.. any tips?

lightisfading

Just wondering if anyone has any tips for washing a 'machine washable' suit jacket. It's black and red, 100% polyester, and the symbols tell me machine wash below 40*c, do not tumble dry (which is good as I don't have a tumble drier ), iron on reverse. This is the first job I've had to wear a suit for so I've never washed one myself before! Help! :eek:

janb5

Hi. I would wash the skirt and the jacket together rather than separately. Once out of the machine, hang the skirt on a plastic hanger or use the ones with big clips on the handle and I would hang the jacket on a sperate hanger. Sometimes if you hang these straightaway, there will be no need to iron them. HTH.

lightisfading

They're not strictly a matching set anyway (work uniform - but the trousers don't fit anyone, theyre that strangely proportioned), I just wear plain black trousers which get washed more frequently anyway (I only wear the jacket for short periods rather than all day). Its reassuring to know I can just bung them in and hang them to dry though, thank you

LittleVoice

Red is probably still notorious for running so be careful in what you put in the same wash load, particularly the first time. Use a washing powder suitable for colours will help maintain the colour - but I guess you are doing that with the trousers in any case.

paddy's_mum

For safety's sake, I think I might prefer to wash this jacket very gently by hand, on the first occasion, using a liquid, not a powder which can leave a residue on such fabrics.

If it comes up well, you might then be okay with a gentle machine wash. If it is polyester and not heavily stained, you might want to wash it on 0 degrees, to avoid creasing. Unless you have a rinse hold facility, I'll often stop the machine before it gets to higher spin speeds, again to prevent creasing. Good luck and hope it comes up well.

Seakay

When it comes to drying, stuff a towel rolled lengthways down each sleeve and accross the neck. Put on a hanger to dry (towel will stop ends of the hanger marking and help to smooth the sleeves.) With luck, all creases will drop out and you won't have the problem of working out how to iron it.
I used to wear a suit for work and dried the jacket this way - the most I ever did was to press the lapels to stop them curling (don't forget to open them and press frrom the back to avoid creating hard lines).
If the creases aren't dropping out, then remove hanger and towel, pop back in the machine for a short rinse and then stop the spin cycle before it is completed. Replace towel and hanger and hang outside or from the shower rail or whatever to drip dry. (Only a bit damper than usual, not absolutely drenched).