Should I be taking my good cotton dress shirts to the cleaner along with my suits, or can I wash those in the machine at home? Is there anything special I need to do for them?
Community Answers
282
4-10-12
Geoffrey says:
If they’re 100% cotton (or mostly cotton with a small amount of synthetic fiber in the blend), you can wash those at home. Cotton is sturdy. The washing machine they’d throw it into at the cleaners is basically a massive version of the one you’d be using at home, and this way it’s not in there with a bunch of other people’s stuff.
Wash your light and dark colors separate. If you’re particularly obsessive, do anything pure white on its own, separate from mostly-white shirts with colored patterns. I mostly don’t bother pulling the pure-whites out of the light load unless I need to bleach them, myself, but theoretically it’ll help keep them crisper and brighter.
Either hang or press your shirts as soon as they come out of the dryer, while they’re still warm. If you let them sit the wrinkles will set into place. An occasional touch-up with an iron is all most shirts need; if you’re making some sort of special appearance and need to look razor-sharp in all ways you can use a little spray starch on the cuffs and collars. Just go easy on it. Too much is hard on the cloth and your skin.
If they’re 100% cotton (or mostly cotton with a small amount of synthetic fiber in the blend), you can wash those at home. Cotton is sturdy. The washing machine they’d throw it into at the cleaners is basically a massive version of the one you’d be using at home, and this way it’s not in there with a bunch of other people’s stuff.
Wash your light and dark colors separate. If you’re particularly obsessive, do anything pure white on its own, separate from mostly-white shirts with colored patterns. I mostly don’t bother pulling the pure-whites out of the light load unless I need to bleach them, myself, but theoretically it’ll help keep them crisper and brighter.
Either hang or press your shirts as soon as they come out of the dryer, while they’re still warm. If you let them sit the wrinkles will set into place. An occasional touch-up with an iron is all most shirts need; if you’re making some sort of special appearance and need to look razor-sharp in all ways you can use a little spray starch on the cuffs and collars. Just go easy on it. Too much is hard on the cloth and your skin.
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LikeDislikeWe did a video on caring for cotton shirts on the Real Men Real Style YouTube channel that you might find helpful as well:
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LikeDislikeDry clean your best shirt. Jeans too. You’ll notice a difference.
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