Dry Cleaning and Laundry Tips

One load of laundry can take about two hours to complete, from loading your machine to folding your freshly laundered clothes. If this is time that you don’t have at the moment, turning to professional laundry services is your best option, especially you have dress shirts, pantsuits, and other clothing items that are for dry cleaning only.

Technically speaking, you can put them all in your trusty washing machine, but you'll also risk shrinking your clothes or ruining the fabrics of your more expensive clothing items.

If you want to keep your clothes in good condition for as long as possible, read this guide on distinguishing which clothes to dry clean and which ones to wet or machine wash.

What Clothes Need Dry Cleaning? 

If we’re to dive deep into the laundry discourse, we could be talking about how the different types of fabrics and the percentages of the synthetic combinations would factor into whether a piece of clothing should be dry or clean-washed. But to keep things simple, here’s a list of clothes that you can take to the dry cleaners:

• Rayon, chiffon, silk, and other delicate fabrics
• Suits, pants, and jackets
• Clothes with hand-stitched embellishments, like sequins, metal studs, glass beads, and crystals
• Clothes with pleats
• Clothes with lining (whether sewn into the garment or not)
• Leather
• Suede
• Fur
• Clothes with deep stains

Notice that these clothes require special care when worn and gentle handling when washed. If you put them into a washing machine and tumble dryer, the delicate fabrics could warp or tear. The embellishments could loosen, if not completely wrenched off. Clothes that have structure, like pleats and shoulder pads could lose their form.

Dry cleaning will keep your clothes’ embellishments and their linings and forms intact. Even better, it can clean heavily soiled fabrics and remove stains while keeping the damage to the fabric minimal.  

Should You Dry Clean Jeans? 

People who like to preserve the folds of their jeans or like to wear crisp and starched denim can dry clean their jeans. But if these don’t matter to you, or if you prefer otherwise, you can go ahead and toss your jeans into the washer.

Denim can handle a machine wash, but they can lose their color and absorb tints from other clothes. The fibers can also take a beating and wear out fast if you use the machine excessively.

Here are some tips to keep your denim in good condition even when they’re machine-washed:

• Turn them inside out
• Wash in lukewarm water and rinse in cold
• Use a color-safe detergent
• Set the wash to light or regular washing
• Hang to dry

What Clothes Can You Machine Wash?

Here now are examples of clothes that, like denim, can handle delicate to regular machine-washing:

• Cotton
• Linen
• Polyester
• Nylon

Should You Dry Clean Dress Shirts? 

Not all dress shirts are made the same. To be safe, check the labels on how to wash your dress shirts. Those that say, “dry clean only” should go with your dry cleaning.

Here’s a tip: even if your shirts don’t have the “dry clean only” tag, consider taking them to professional cleaners anyway. At Starcrest Cleaners, we can wash your shirts separately and assess whether they need a dry clean or a delicate wet wash. We also offer a pressing service and can steam-press your dress shirts for a pristine finish.

Choose Real Professional Laundry Services

Still unsure of how to categorize your laundry? Our laundry specialists can take care of it all for you. You only have to bring us your laundry or book our same-day pickup service. You won’t even have to leave your home because we’ll go door-to-door to collect your laundry. Once done, we’ll deliver your clean clothes to your doorstep according to schedule.

Make your quality clothes last longer with our professional laundry services. Find the nearest Starcrest Cleaners on our site.