More and more clothing is labelled ‘dry clean only’. A good overview of why they might be labelled and what to take into account if one wants to punt on a water wash.
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I decided to wash a Silk duvet in the washing machine even though the tag said dry clean only. I used the duvet setting on the washing machine. It came our clean, the same size and apart from some ironing along the edges was fine. I decided that if I ruined the duvet, bad luck, as we had had it for years. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
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I’ve ignored ‘dry clean only’ labels for a couple of decades now and I haven’t had any problems with washing instead.
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I have to admit that I treat the care labels with the same diligence as user manuals; ie used as a last resort in most cases.
Back in the day when silk shirts, scarves, and other accoutrement were the go, they were thrown in the wash with all the other clothes and washed on the same cycle. They didn’t lose body or colour or shape any more than other clothing. Having had big capacity washing machine for a long time, we even stopped taking our doonas/duvets and blankets to the cleaners, instead washing them in the machine.
The only garments that we took to be dry-cleaned were the suit type outfits (both male and female) that didn’t look good if washed, and developed a sheen if ironed by hand. Those days are gone, and we haven’t taken anything to the dry-cleaner for well over 20 years regardless of the labels said.
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I have only ever dry cleaned one thing in my life…a dinner suit from years gone by that needed a clean before giving to a family member to use.
I also avoid clothing materials which would need dry cleaning and generally stick to natural fibres (other than silk or niche wools)…which can usually be washed the normal way.
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