hand wash only?

*niptuckfan*

looking for some advise fellow msers - i have a debenhams dress i wore to a wedding - its 100% polyester and says hand wash only - its got a couple of marks on it (dont know what) and i really wanna wear it again - wouldnt mind paying for dry clean but not sure if they would as it says hand wash only - any ideas? if i was to hand wash it what would i use ?

Bargain_Rzl

Personally, most things that say "hand wash only" I wash on the "hand wash" cycle in my washing machine

(that's other than the things I just chuck in with the normal wash cos the "hand wash only" label on some things is clearly unnecessary )

sillyvixen

my WM has a wool wash cycle (i only know as i put it on the wrong setting) very slow very cold and less agitation than i would use in a handwash.. if your machine has one of these try it.. but i reckon its more time efficient to do it yourself!

PasturesNew

Just chuck it in the sink with a bit of washing powder.

Put the washing powder into the sink, dificult to say how much but, say, 3 tablespoons (the more you use the more chance you've got of it not dissolving properly, so there's no danger to the garment ever, it's just a dissolving the powder and rising it out issue).

Add hand hot water to the powder, swishing it about vigorously as it's filling to dissolve the powder.

Mentally note where the stains are. Chuck the dress in and just squidge it about a lot. I just press down on it repeatedly, turning it around and over. Keep checking the stains. If they're not coming straight out, then simply gently rub the stained bit against any other bit of the material, then squidge it all about some more. Keep doing this until you think the stains are gone.

Then drain the water and rinse the dress. Might take 2-3 goes. I tend to firstly take the dress out of the sink and fill it with fresh water, then squidge the dress about in the clean water. Might repeat that one more time. After that I usually continue to rise it under gentle running water (issue here is how much water I am using, not garment damage).

When it's done, wring it out. I'd then pop it on a hanger and drip dry it on the hanger. You can use a peg to secure the hanger on the washing line. Once it's hanging up, I'd then gently pull it to shape. Usually I can get away with it not even needing ironing.

Ice_2

you can get stergent which I used alot when my DS was in hospital it's a liquid soap for hand washing...but the washer has a hand wash cycle on it now so I just bung things in there now come out ok it washes on a 30 wash and is only about 30 minutes long then I hang the clothes on a indoor airer to dry...

hilstep2000

I've got quite a few Jacques Vert outfits, that say "Dry Clean Only". They are all 100% polyester, and I wash them at 40 degrees. They've always come out okay. If I am worried about anything, I usually wash it on the silk cycle.

Mr_Proctalgia

On a totally opposite tack I have recently bought myself a 100% Cashmere Pullover and it says "Machine Washable"
Surely someone is having a laugh here - Do they want to see how small it will shrink or what?

Does anyone else machine wash stuff like this?

Magpye

Yes, I have two triple ply cashmere jumpers from the Seventies (they were my Dad's originally) and they get machine washed and shaped when flat, they are absolutely fine and have not shrunk an inch, although one is starting to get a little felted due to much use.