There are few things I love more than a man in a suit (especially my husband). However my husband seems to attract dirt wherever he goes. When that is combined with children who spit up and/or wipe runny noses on you it means his suit need to be clean just about every time he wears it. This all meant that I needed to learn how to wash a suit.
The lightbulb moment happened for me when I realized most suits are made of wool (or at least they used to be) and I know how to wash wool. So I wondered if I could just wash and iron my husbands suit at home, yes I can!
It is really easy once you learn how to do it. It just takes a few items and some time. Being able to wash “dry clean only” items at home makes you feel like you are rocking this homemaking thing!
How Do I Know If I Can Wash This Suit At Home?
Most basic suits should be able to be washed using this method. I do not personally have any experience with super high end suits but as long as they are made with wool, cotton or polyester I can’t see why you wouldn’t be able to wash them.
The gold standard to know for sure is to test this method on a hidden part of the suit. Another way to know is if water has ever left any spots on the suit while it was being worn.
Why Not Dry Clean A Suit?
For me the time/money issues and the chemicals used issue are both really good reasons to not dry clean a suit (or at least not using dry cleaning chemicals).
How To Dry Clean A Suit At Home
I know I just said that I don’t like dry cleaning, but that is when horrible dry cleaning chemicals are used. You can easily dry clean a suit at home with a suit brush. Yup somethings you can get off your suit with nothing more that a suit/lint brush and some time.
No chemicals involved and very little money. Simply place your suit on a firm surface in a well lit area. Use your brush to gently work on the spot brushing with the grain of the fabric. Avoid using a circular motion with the brush. Also avoid going back and forth over the same area as this can just grind the grime into the cloth.
Tried all of the above and it didn’t come out? Well now it’s time to wash your suit.
How To Wash A Suit At Home
Learning to clean your suit at home is easy but do remember that if you have to wash your suit is will take some time to dry (don’t do this a half hour before a wedding).
First make sure all of the pockets are empty! This is not when you want to find out that there is a sharpie in the pocket of your suit.
Secondly fill your bathtub or basin with lukewarm water and a capful of wool wash. Place your suit pieces in the water and gently push down under the water. Most likely it will take a while for the water to soak into the suit material.
Allow the suit to soak in the tub for 30 minutes. Gently agitate the suit. Under no circumstances at any point wring or twist the suit.
Drain the water and refill with clean water. Gently agitate again. Soak for another 30 minutes.
If the water is clear then drain and very gently squeeze out the excess water from the suit. If the water is not clean simply repeat the soak and agitate steps until the water is clean.
Place the suit over a drying rack to dry.
Once it is dry iron and store in a garment bag. Enjoy your wonderfully clean suit.
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