Four Ways To Extend The Time Between Dry Cleaning Sessions
Dry cleaning clothes can get expensive. If you're careful, though, you don't need to dry clean clothing after every use. Follow these tips to increase the time you can wait between dry cleaning sessions.
Wear something under the dry clean-only clothing item.
Make sure the item that must be dry cleaned is not the closest item to your skin. This way, it won't pick up oils and odors from your skin, so it won't need to be cleaned as soon. If the item is a sweater or top, wear a cami or t-shirt under it. For skirts, you can wear a slip to keep the skirt from coming into contact with your body. Men can wear long t-shirts under dry clean-only dress shirts or long underwear under dry clean-only pants.
Put the item back in the closet as soon as you're done with it.
When you leave clothing items out, you're basically asking for them to get dirty. They'll accumulate dust, your pet might get hair or dander on them, and you might even spill something on them while walking by. Get into the habit of putting clothes back into your closet, where they are safe, as soon as you take them off. Similarly, don't remove them from your closet until right before you're ready to wear them.
Protect your good clothing when eating.
Nothing makes a dry cleaning session mandatory like a ketchup spill or grease stain. Avoiding eating in your dry clean-only clothes all together is ideal but not always reasonable. If you must eat in your clothing, protect it. Put a napkin on your lap. Choose food items that are not messy or likely to spill. Wash your hands as soon as you're finished eating so you don't accidentally touch your clothing and stain it.
Spray your clothing with fabric refresher after each wear.
It's not just stains and dirt you're removing when dry cleaning your clothing. You're also removing odors. But luckily, there's another way to keep your clothing from becoming smelly between dry cleaning sessions. After each wear, spray it down with a fabric refresher spray. Focus on the armpit areas of tops and on the crotch area of pants. The fabric refresher will absorb odors so they don't have time to get worse during storage in your closet.
Eventually, your clothing will need to be dry cleaned. But if you follow the tips above, that day will come in several weeks or months -- not after every wear. For more tips on keeping your clothes in good shape between cleanings, contact a local dry cleaning company like Country Squire Cleaners.