Scottish Daily Mail

Is this proof dry cleaning is a waste of money?

Ignore the label. We show you can wash ‘dry clean only’ clothes at home – and save a fortune

- by Clare Goldwin

FROM wool skirts costing £7 a time to silk dresses at over a tenner, over the years I must have spent thousands keeping my dry-clean-only clothes looking pristine.

But the other weekend, fed up with the expense and the time spent trekking up the high Street to my local cleaners, I cracked — and threw two dry-clean-only wool skirts into the washing machine before putting them through a gentle 30degree cycle.

I spent the next 30 minutes in a state of high anxiety, but to my amazement they emerged l ooking i mmaculate. no shrinking, no bobbling — and not a thread out of place.

So have I been wasting my money over the years? And can all dry- clean- only garments be given the same treatment?

According to Richard neale, director of Ilkley-based laundry and dry- cleaning consultant­s LTC & DTC, it’s perfectly possible to wash many dry- clean- only clothes as lots of labels aren’t accurate in the first place.

‘Dry-clean-only labels are often put on as “cover all” by the manufactur­ers,’ he says. ‘Whether they are needed is often guesswork so you have as much chance of getting a good result by washing as by sending them to a dry-cleaners.’

I decided to put five different items, all with dry-clean-only labels in them, to the test. To add to the challenge I smeared a good blob of foundation and a smattering of tomato sauce on each item and bunged them in the washing machine. So will my clothes be ruined, or will I be ditching my dry-cleaners for good?

THE POLYESTER DRESS

Phase Eight, £120

ThIS pretty floral dress has flattering ruches so it drapes across the tummy and, while it’s quite pricey, is perfect f or a summer Christenin­g or party. Richard says polyester usually washes very well, so it’s probably labelled dry-clean-only because of the ruching, as a manufactur­er would expect a profession­al cleaner to get a better finish on the draping than you’d probably manage with an iron at home.

My dress goes in on a short 30-degree wash, and emerges looking . . . absolutely perfect. I dry it outside on the line on a coathanger and it doesn’t even need ironing. The draping looks just as it did when it went i nto t he machine. There’s no shrinkage and the make-up stains on the lining have washed out, as has the splodge of tomato sauce.

5/5

THE CASHMERE SWEATER Gap, £89.95 reduced to £59.99

WI T h a saving of almost £30, this cuddly grey cashmere jumper was an unexpected bargain, and the perfect spring cover-up. But if I’m going to be getting it dry- cleaned every time it gets dirty, the cost will soon add up.

Richard says the manufactur­er has probably put drycl ean- only on t he l abel because it doesn’t trust consumers to follow washing instructio­ns correctly.

In fact, most cashmere manufactur­ers recommend handwashin­g in cool water, not dry-cleaning, as the tumbling action of a dry- cleaning machine may damage the fibres and cause them to turn to felt (when the soft material becomes hard and compacted), especially if the garment is damp.

I nervously put the jumper into the cool handwash cycle on my machine, using regular non-biological powder. Fortyfive minutes later I pull it out and am relieved to see the wool has not bobbled or turned to felt. I dry it flat on a rack, then measure to see whether it’s shrunk.

Amazingly, there’s no shrinkage lengthways, and widthways it’s only lost half a centimetre at the waist. It’s not even noticeable when I put it on. The make-up and tomato stains have gone, too. Best of all, the spin cycle hasn’t pulled the j umper out of shape, and the wool is as soft as when I bought it.

5/5

THE SUIT Collection by John Lewis, Jacket £99; skirt £65

The fabric of both the navy skirt and jacket is a mix of wool, cotton, polyester and metalised f i bre t hat gives a sparkle. Both items have 100 per cent pol y e s t e r linings. I wash them in a 30- degree short wash with non-bio powder.

Almost immediatel­y after t aking t hem out of t he machine I notice that the skirt looks shorter. My hunch is backed up when I measure it — there’s 3cm of shrinkage. It means that when I wear the skirt, instead of sitting on the knee, it’s now just above, but what’s more striking is that the lining hangs slightly below the hemline.

Similarly, while the body of the jacket doesn’t feel like it’s changed much, the sleeves have shrunk by just over 1cm, and the lining here also pokes out slightly.

Richard explains this will have happened because of the wool in the fabric. ‘ The combinatio­n of the mechanical action of the machine and the presence of water causes the wool fibres to take on the shape of barbed spears, which catch on each other and interlock so the fabric can’t be stretched back to its original shape, and consequent­ly shrinks,’ he says, adding that if I’d handwashed it, or put it in the machine on a handwash setting, most likely it would have been fine.

While the make- up and tomato sauce stains have washed out, the colour has faded a little, too.

On the plus side, the jacket — which I dry on a coathanger — has held its shape well, even through spinning. This i s one to wash only with great care.

2/5

THE SILK SHIRT

Zara, £39.99

In A pretty baby-blue colour, this s mart silk shirt is ideal for the office. But while I see plenty of washable silk shirts in the shops, Richard says any silk has to be specially treated before i t can go i nto a washing machine.

Because this is marked dryclean- only i t’s l i kely this hasn’t. The biggest problem is likely to be ‘crease cracking’ — tiny creases covering the fabric that won’t iron out.

I put this through a short 30- degree cycle using nonbiologi­cal powder. After it’s dried, I’m pleased to see there’s no evidence of either foundation or tomato stains, but does it still fit?

The good news i s, yes! There’s slight shrinkage in the arms — a centimetre — but it’s not noticeable when I’m wearing the shirt. And, in any case, Richard says silk always shrinks slightly even if it’s dry cleaned. Once it’s ironed, it looks as crisp as it did before.

4/5

THE EMBELLISHE­D TOP

French Connection, £97

ThIS pink and pale-yellow sequinned top is ideal for summer parties and goes perfectly with a pair of pink cropped trousers that are already in my wardrobe.

I f e ar t he main problem will be sequins falling off during the spin cycle so pop the top into a mesh laundry bag before putting it into the washing machine.

hopefully, this will stop the sequins from catching on other items and collect any that do fall off.

When I retrieve my top — which has been through a cool handwash cycle using non-bio powder — I’m amazed to see all the sequins intact. But I don’t need a tape measure to t el l me t he viscose rayon top has shrunk dramatical­ly.

In fact, it’s lost 5-6cm off the width and 4cm off the length. The shape has gone, too — the bottom hemline is now wavy instead of straight.

Meanwhile at the shoulder I can see a section where the fabric has started to fray at a seam. And I can still s e e make - u p stains at t he neckline.

Richard explains that while it’s mostly best to handwash embellishe­d items, viscose is a part i c ul a r l y unstable f abric in water so he’s not surprised it’s shrunk.

This proves not everything can be chucked in the washing machine. My local cleaners can breathe a sigh of relief.

1/5

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