Whether it's your wedding gown, prom dress, or a formal gown,
cleaning a satin dress is a difficult task. Delicate material needs delicate
care. Below are a few ideas to help you clean your satin dress with ease. To
care your dress and keep them looking their finest:
Day-to-day Care
It is important to occasionally check your dress to ensure
that there are no loose embellishments, neglected stain or wrinkle. This is a
problem before it is too late, before the right things, you really need to wear
it. This also helps before ironing. In addition, keep your dress a few inches
apart, in addition to their hangers on, let them breathe naturally drape to
prevent poor form. So take a few minutes to look at and see if anything could
need some repair.
Consider Dry Cleaning
Many dry cleaners have special procedures to clean even the
intricate dresses, and the low cost may surprise you. This is the safest way to
clean satin, although you will have to pay for the service. If you do go this
route, you can consider getting the dress waterproofed, which will make it more
durable and resistant to stains in the future.
Select a Delicate Detergent
If professional dry cleaning is not an option, you may be
able to buy dry cleaning solution from your local market. Do a spot test first,
and then dab the solution over any stains with cotton wool. If you decide to
wash the satin dress on your own, you should select a very mild detergent.
There are detergents specifically designed to clean satin, but you may also use
a gentle all-purpose detergent like Woolier or Ivory Soap Suds.
Wash by Hand
You shouldn't wash the satin dress on the delicate cycle in
your machine, it is risky. The material may get caught on something in the
machine and be damaged. So hand washing is the safest method. Use cool or cold
water and a large basin or bathtub. Add detergent to the water, and allow your
satin dress to soak for 5 minutes. Turn the garment inside out, and gently
swish the dress around and rub the suds into the material. Follow this with a
cool or cold water rinse, and be sure to rinse thoroughly.
Allow to Air Dry, and Use Towels
Once washed, the best way to dry a satin item is to lay it on
a clean, dry towel. Then, roll the towel up and squeeze out any residual water.
Next, unroll it, and lay the item flat on a second dry towel, and allow it to
air dry. A dress had better be put away from the sun or any heat but ventilated
spot. Bright, dust and mould will cause damage to it. And it can't be hung up
for storage. It is commonly heavy, if hung a long time, it will be stretched or
even tear because of the gravitation.
Iron Carefully
Hanging the fabric so that wrinkles fall out is often all
that's needed. If you must iron a dress, do so with caution. Make sure you are
using a dry iron, with no steam. Turn the fabric inside out, and use a very low
heat setting. It is recommended that you do not apply the iron directly to the
fabric. Instead, lay a thin cloth, like a bed sheet or handkerchief, over your
dress and iron on top of this cloth. This way, the iron never touches the
fabric. Do not spend too long in one spot!
If the dress still has wrinkles after several hours on a
hanger, try hanging it in the bathroom during a hot shower for a gentle
steaming. Make sure the dress itself doesn't get wet.
More stubborn wrinkles can be removed with a warm iron. Avoid
the hotter settings as they may damage the fibers.
If using steam, use distilled water and clean any rust or
particles from inside the steamer first.
You may want to test the iron or steamer on an unnoticeable
spot first, or place a clean cloth between the iron and the dress.
For most of the wedding gowns and formal dresses, you should
avoid to use plastic products to packaging, because it can cause permanent fold
and poly absorb moisture, so that it makes dresses mildew. Especially the pure
cotton wedding dress (Tips: How To Preserve Your Wedding Dress), cotton fiber
is easy to damage. White copy paper or unbleached muslin is the most ideal
packaging materials.
