How To Dry Clean Wedding Dress
After the wedding celebrations are over, and you are back from your wonderful honeymoon, the next thing is to clean, preserve and store your wedding dress. Dry Cleaning it provides the best way of maintaining its fabric, shape, and color. Since it is important to ensure your wedding dress remains as perfect as it appeared on your wedding day, dry cleaning is the only way of making it continually remains in pristine conditions. The following is a tried-and-tested procedure on how to dry clean wedding dress.
Dry Cleaning A Wedding Dress
Remove severer stains
Dry cleaning kits contain small bottles filled with stubborn stain removers. Treat wine, soda or any other visible stain in your gown with the stain remover to ready your gown for dry cleaning. Follow the instructions that come with dry cleaning kits while using the stain remover. They provide detailed instructions on how to avoid the spot spreading, appearance of a visible ring after using the stain remover and generally how to use it.
Dry clean your dress alone
Place your wedding gown inside your dry cleaning bag. It is advisable to dry clean your dress alone to avoid bleeding dye spoiling your treasured gown. Make sure your dry cleaning bag is large enough; for best results, your wedding dress should not occupy more than a half the entire capacity of the container to allow enough rotation of your gown inside the bag.
How dry cleaning takes place
Unfold the dry cleaning sheet completely before putting it inside the dry cleaning bag. Zip-close the bag. The sheet contains a subtle amount of water, an emulsifier (that disperses the water) and perfume, which refreshes the smell of your wedding gown. When the dryer heats up the sheets, steam is released. The steam infuses your gown with fragrance while at the same time strengthening out wrinkles.
Use moderate heat
Place the bag inside the dryer. Check to confirm that the lint filter is spotless. Set your dryer on medium heat for a half an hour. Be sure to use the timed setting as opposed to the automatic setting. If you are using a dryer that does not have the moderate setting, use low heat instead. If the dryer you are using is Laundromat model, turn on the adjustable heat setting, and use low heat. Immediately the timer goes off, remove the dry cleaner bag from the dryer.
Iron using a steamer
Remove your wedding gown from the bag. Use a steamer iron to remove wrinkles. This type of iron uses Steam instead of the direct heat of an iron and hence effectively eradicates wrinkles. The finished appearance is not only crease-free but also professional. Finally, store your dry-cleaned gown, separately. Hang it in a special place inside your closet or, if you have enough money, invest in a specially designed acid-free box which will allow your dress not only to breathe but also adjust to varying temperatures. If you opt for a closet, ensure there’s enough room for fresh air to flow around it freely.
Tips to keep your dress as pristine as new
Remove severer stains as soon as possible:
After wearing a priceless gown during your big day, late at night, chances of red wine among other liquids spilling all over you are high. The hem can even be dirtier. Apply soda water immediately, to bubble out red wine, making your gown retain its elegant look. Get any other visible stain as soon as possible before they sink deep into the wedding dress.
Three Months Timeline:
Dry clean it within three months after your wedding. The longer the time stains have to set into the gown, the harsher the chemicals that must be used to eradicate them. The best time to dry clean your gown is within the first six weeks. While there is no rush, make it your priority once the wedding celebrations are over.
Avoid boxing your gown in air-tight boxes:
To best preserve your wedding gown, keep it dry, safe from moths and out of daylight. While it may appear a cool thing to do, avoid boxing it at all costs. Instead, store your wedding dress inside pH-neutral box specifically designed for wedding gowns. Alternatively, wrap it using a washed white towel and hang it inside a freely ventilated closet.
Air your wedding dress every year:
If you are keeping it for a very long time, make an effort to unpack and air your wedding dress out in the sun at least once a year. Make sure your dress remains completely dry. To keep moths away, add a facecloth that contains a few drops of Lavender oil inside the closet after airing it.
Handling your wedding gown
Keep the acid-free box wedding dress box adequately ventilated and away from direct sunlight. Sunlight can yellow your dress over time. Whenever you open the box, be sure exercise caution while handling the dress. If possible, wear clean white cotton gloves while handling it. Otherwise, first, wash and dry your hands. While there is no reason why you should not open your gown, try minimizing handling it unless it is necessary because there is a potential of ruining it accidentally.
Reasons why you should dry clean and preserve your gown
Eliminates invisible stains
Dry clean your wedding dress soon after your wedding, to prevent the invisible stains from oxidizing and developing thereby causing irreversible damage to your dress.
Sentimental value
A wedding dress holds an enormous sentimental value. After spending lots of time, effort and thought, it is only fair that you dry clean and preserve it for it to last for several years to come.
Passing it down
If your dream (like many other brides) is to one day pass down their wedding gown down to a friend, younger sister, or even a daughter, dry cleaning it is inevitable. It is only through dry cleaning that your gown can remain pristine facilitating the realization of the dream.
Conclusion
The best time to dry clean your wedding dress is immediately after your wedding. So, the earlier you dry clean and preserve your gown the higher the chance of keeping it pristine and as clean as new. Follow the above expert guideline on how to dry clean wedding dresses so at to preserve your treasured dress.
