How Frequently Should You Dry Clean Your Suits?

Suits are true reflection of personality and class. This attire, which is perfectly stitched using yarns of delicate fabric is no doubt an expensive piece of clothing.

From work to weddings, they bring an understated elegance to your formal attire. Hence, it’s important to take good care of them.

When it comes to cleaning your suits, they must be dry cleaned as this not only cleans the material but also prolongs their life. However, there is a lot of confusion about when and how frequently one must get their suits dry cleaned.

In this post, we attempt to shed some light on this topic. This should help you decide if it is time for your suit to be sent to the cleaners.

1.Look out for stains

The worst thing you can do is, give time to the stains to settle down on your clothes. By the time you take it to the laundry the stain has already oxidised on your suit and it becomes more difficult to remove it.

Hence, after you take off your suit at the end of the day, check properly to see if there are any stains that you may not have noticed before. It is very easy to miss those accidental stains from coffee or food plates, particularly in parts we do not normally see such as the underside of the elbows. As a responsible owner, you should always ensure that any major stains are immediately dealt with.

2.The dust and the grime

There is no escaping dirt and dust, not in India at least! Every time you wear your suit, it invariably gets coated with a layer of dust. A gentle brushing or shake can dislodge the bigger particles, but over time, the finer dust that stays behind leaves your suit looking dull and dirty. Moreover, direct exposure to heavily polluted environment means that you should probably get your suit dry cleaned immediately. If left alone, dust can damage the fibres of the suit and severely reduce its life. It makes sense to tackle this problem with a regular cleaning schedule. At the very least, invest in a good suit brush.

Regular brushing after you take off your suit also prolongs its life and lowers the need for a dry clean. Using small strokes against the “grain” and then finishing off with soft strokes along the grain to brighten its sheen also works wonders. Doing this also gives you a good indication of when the accumulated dust and other fine particles are beyond repair. That is the time when you should take your suit to the dry cleaner.

3.How often do you wear your suits?

How often you wear your suit has an impact on how frequently it needs to be sent to the dry cleaners. If you wear a wedding suit only once or twice a year, it is a good idea to get it dry cleaned before the start of the wedding season and then once again after the season is over. On the other hand, if you wear suits to work every day, you need a much more frequent schedule. You also have to consider other factors like the environment you work in and how much you tend to sweat.

If you have to wear your suit at any point outside an air-conditioned room, chances are that it has absorbed all the sweat that passes through the shirt, even though you may not feel warm or sweaty. Frequently wearing suits also necessitates owning multiple suits that you should cycle.

Taking all these factors into consideration, you should dry clean your suits at least once every two months. For the worst cases, you might need to get a dry-cleaning service for your suit every 2-3 weeks.

These cover the basics of how and when you should get a dry cleaning service for your suits. We would like to add some additional tips for keeping your suit clean and some factors you must keep in mind when deciding on a dry cleaning service.

Some essential tips to maintain your suits

1. If you do not wear suits frequently or cycle them for regular wear, it is best to hang them on a wooden suit hanger for a day or two before you pack them up. This will remove small creases if any. When you pack them, use a cover that lets the air circulate. This lets the fabric breathe. These small steps will lower your dry-cleaning cost significantly.

2.Consider the reputation and quality of the dry-cleaning service you use. Choose a dry cleaner that uses environment friendly methods and has a good track record of not losing their customers’ clothes. Many dry cleaners in cities now offer a pick-up and drop off service that can save your time.

 [You can also read : Items You Should Always Get Dry Cleaned]