After your big day, the next question usually is: what should I do with my wedding dress? To preserve it as a cherished keepsake of your special day, here are five pointers.
1. Have your dress dry cleaned right away
Most wedding dresses are white and act like a magnet for attracting dirt and stains. One major mistake brides make is leaving the dirty wedding dress in the closet for weeks before deciding to get it cleaned.
- Even minor stains become darker with time, making it harder to clean the dress.
- When the stain is finally discovered, the options for home cleaning are limited.
- Washing the wedding dress in a washing machine is out of the question. Hence, knowing where to dry clean a wedding dress is imperative.
*Hint: When a stain is identified on a wedding dress, never rub any soda water as this may simply etch the stain permanently. However, one may blot the wet stain to prevent it from spreading.
2. Select a reputable dry cleaner
The next step in dry cleaning a wedding dress is to select a decent dry cleaning service, since not all are equal.
- Never select a dry cleaning company over the Internet without first knowing its reputation.
- Many dry cleaning companies do wholesale cleaning, and handling of the garment is not done with care.
- Ensure that the dry cleaner will not use abrasive cleaning liquids like perchloroethylene, as this may melt the delicate fabric.
3. Ensure you get the best results
When you select the dry cleaning service, ask:
- How they plan to remove the stain.
- How much experience they have with wedding dresses.
- If lace or beadwork will be a problem.
- If they can store the dress after cleaning.
Always take the original instructions from the dressmaker to the dry cleaner. These instructions can provide further insight into cleaning, especially if the dress has adornments.
- At a proper dry cleaning service, the wedding dress will be carefully analyzed for the type of fabric, presence of adornments and other fine details on how best to clean it.
- Because the wedding dress is usually most dirty at the hem, this is where the cleaning usually starts. The hem is scrubbed to remove any stains. Common stains in the hem include mud, grass, sweat, oils, cake, food and makeup.
4. Ask about a guarantee
Once the dress is dry cleaned, it is pressed or steamed, then folded and placed in an acid-free container.
- Cleaning of a wedding dress does require time and may take up to 12 weeks.
Ask if there is a guarantee after the cleaning process.
- This is the only way to protect your garment.
- Make sure that the store has good customer service and check online if there are any negative reviews.
5. Store your wedding dress properly
After the dry cleaning of your wedding dress, it is important to store the dress properly. Always store the wedding dress in acid free-paper.
- If the dress is stored in its original plastic hanging bag or a plastic box, it may develop mildew if moisture is not controlled.
If you take care of your wedding dress, it will serve as a constant reminder of the best day of your life.
