It’s easy to spend a lot of money on clothing items, whether they’re from a designer brand or off the rack. As such, you’ll want to keep your clothes looking as new and structured as possible, which isn’t always an easy thing to do when doing laundry at home. To protect your clothes from unnecessary damage, here are the materials you should consider having dry-cleaned.
Linen
Made from flax fibres extracted from the flax plant. As the fibres are soft, flexible and stronger than cotton fibres, it creates a durable material in linen that dates back thousands of years. It’s the perfect fabric for summer clothing, as it often leaves the skin feeling cool and refreshed. Labels often state that linen can be hand-washed, but that would result in a lot of ironing having to be done to remove all the wrinkles and creases. However, too much heat from consistent ironing for long periods of time will result in permanent scorch marks. If you choose to hand-wash your linen garments, be sure not to use too much water, as it can loosen the flax fibres and cause the material to lose its shape.
Rayon
Unlike other synthetic materials that can be washed at home, rayon runs the risk of damaging more than just itself. Only semi-synthetic in its fibres, rayon is made from a natural substance called cellulose. This fibre creates a silk-like feel to the fabric but doesn’t do much when it comes to holding its dyes through a load of laundry or two. Not only will the dye bleed from the clothing item, but it’ll likely ruin whatever other items you’re washing with it. By taking your rayon clothing to a dry cleaner, you avoid this issue completely.
Silk
As one of the most durable materials around, silk is constructed of natural fibres that at so strong they were once used in the construction of parachutes. However, because of its hefty fibres, it’s hard for dyes to be absorbed into them. That’s a good thing if you’re worried about watching it with colours that tend to bleed. But on the other hand, it’s easy for the silks dyes to leak from the garment. By taking it to a reliable dry cleaner, the chances of that happening are minimized quite a bit.
Wool
Much like silk, wool is an extremely durable material. Unless you decide to submerge it in water too often. By doing this, the molecular level of the fibres will be altered, misaligning them and resulting in a much smaller clothing item than what you started with. Both hot and cold temperatures can cause shrinkage, so take it to dry cleaning if you want your wool garments to last you for years.
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