# Pros and cons of dry cleaning dress shirts



## 2UFU (Dec 27, 2007)

I usually send my dress shirts to dry cleaners for their launder shirt services. When I ask local dry cleaners to try to remove stains on my shirts, a few of them recommend that my dress shirts be dry cleaned rather than laundered. I am curious to know the pros and cons of getting dress shirts dry cleaned. 
Thank you.


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## Trip English (Dec 22, 2008)

I'm speaking from limited experience, but aside from the dryness of the cleaning (chemicals instead of standard washing), I believe the cost is significantly more. When I was first starting to wear dress shirts to work on a regular basis I asked this same question of the dry cleaner and his response was mostly to do with it being too expensive and not needed. I already pay $2.25. a shirt! I'd avoid it just to save money!


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## Cruiser (Jul 21, 2006)

In another thread it was brought out that one reason for not wearing a non-iron cotton shirt was the toxicity of the chemicals used to render the cloth wrinkle free. If you adhere to this line of thinking you probably don't want to dry clean your shirts since about 95 percent of all dry cleaners use the toxic chemical perchloroethylene as the cleaning agent. The health concerns associated with long term exposure to this chemical are well known. 

My Lands End non-iron shirts clearly say on the label "Do Not Dry Clean." Of course the label also says to not starch or use fabric softener. I suppose all of this has something to do with the non-iron treatment of the shirt; however, I wouldn't dry clean them anyway and I've never seen any need to use either starch or fabric softener on them. They look great right out of the dryer with just a minor touch up with the iron.

Cruiser


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## Pink and Green (Jul 22, 2009)

When I worked at a certain southern department store, I could not believe the sheer number of men who dry cleaned everything. Aside from being hard on the clothing, there were the chemical issues Cruiser mentioned above.

This is exactly why I stopped buying Purple Label from PRL - the expense of dry cleaning the stuff and the worry about what was going to happen to my shorts, shirt, etc. Although to be fair, they were the best looking shorts I've ever seen.

Yes to organic fabrics, no to dry cleaning. I try to space out suit cleanings as much as possible as well.


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## Coleman (Mar 18, 2009)

Major Con: the dry cleaners! :icon_smile_big:

But hey, I'm a bit biased, seeing as I'm generally quite rumpled (wash OCBDs myself, hang dry, don't iron :icon_smile_wink.


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## Centurion (Dec 9, 2009)

Is organic dry cleaning real? If so, what is different in the approach?


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## LanceW (Jun 2, 2009)

I have my shirts made with fused collars and cuffs to make them easier to launder at home. I can't stand how every cleaner I've found staples or pins their tag through my cloth.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Pros: Ease for you (but the same "ease" as having them laundered)

Cons: chemicals, cost, time, broken buttons, pins through cloth, over-pressed shirts, smell (some dry cleaners don't change their cleaning fluids often enough hence the dry cleaning "smell"), ruined shirts, lost shirts, you forget to pick up the shirts and they get donated, etc.

I always wash my own shirts and if they need special attention (e.g. ring-around-the-collar) then I follow the Kabbaz method with a toothbrush and Colgate's Octagon soap - never failed to remove a stain yet!) 

Sounds like your laundry person is either: (1) just being lazy about removing the stains themselves; (2) calculating the cost of the extra time to remove stains and would rather put the onus/cost on you; (3) not experienced enough to know how to remove stains properly.


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## Nerev (Apr 25, 2009)

If your dry cleaner is suggesting dry cleaning over regular laundering because they are unable to get the stains out, I would suggest finding a better dry cleaner. Not all dry cleaners are the same, and some are better than others.

As for the dry cleaning itself, the one I go to does not use perc, but rather uses some sort of "green power" stuff, of which I have no idea about. They are a bit more expensive though, $2.80 for a shirt compared to the $1.80 at the end of my block laundered and not dry cleaned. They have great service though, work Saturday's and some locations Sundays, almost always next day service with same day service for $1 more on each item, and offer tons of copouns like $10 off $35 or $20 off $70 for dry cleaning (not laundering). What am I trying to tell you? There are good dry cleaners out there, but you'll have to look around and get to know the people. I probably tried 3-4 before I found this one, and it is about a 10-15 minute drive away. I probably pass 20 dry cleaners on the way, but it is definately worth it.


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

Cardinals5 said:


> ...you forget to pick up the shirts and they get donated, etc.


I chuckle a little at that, since I have seen constantly replenished racks of dry cleaner leavings at dollar stores.


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## Cardinals5 (Jun 16, 2009)

Taken Aback said:


> I chuckle a little at that, since I have seen constantly replenished racks of dry cleaner leavings at dollar stores.


I, too, chuckle every time I pick up a classic and/or expensive shirt at a thrift store that has been donated by a dry cleaner. I've purchased some gorgeous shirts that way - just this past week I found a recent Gitman Bros ocbd and very thick USA-made Gant ocbd (with the third collar button in the back). Both of them were white and in perfect condition.


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## Taken Aback (Aug 3, 2009)

Same here (even a a GANT as well!), but I was commenting on how some cleaners are not nearly so altruistic as to actually donate.


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## WindsorNot (Aug 7, 2009)

Pro: You can be lazy and not wash them yourself

Cons: Cost, chemicals, and 100% probability that your clothing will shrink, warp, and all buttons will eventually be broken. Wait, why are we paying people to destroy our shirts?


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

You might look around for a home-based laundress.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

^^
LOL! Indeed Orsini, yours is the solution I seem to have adopted. My wife cares for my dress shirts and does a wonderful job of it. However, it is not a cheap solution!


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## unmodern (Aug 10, 2009)

I don't understand dry cleaning a shirt. Expensive, time-intensive, and bad for the shirt. I wash my clothes every two weeks, cold water wash, and hang dry in my room with the fan going. As necessary, I use Oxyclean on the collars and cuffs before washing. All in all it's about a half hour or hour out of my morning, and I get immense satisfaction from knowing that I am taking great care of my clothes. I'd imagine that those with heftier wardrobes could even go three or four weeks between loads.


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## Galt (Oct 4, 2008)

I guess I'm in the minortity here. I take everything to the dry cleaners, and I've never had a problem. I travel every week for work, so my time at home is limited.

With that being said, I guess I consider all my clothes shrink to fit... meaning that I expect shrinking and size up accordingly. Yea, buttons break, but the dry cleaners will always sew a new one on for free.

I have a few suits have been in rotation for over 5 years, and have been to the dry cleaners about every two weeks, and they still seem to be fine. 

How do you clean and press suits at home?


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## WindsorNot (Aug 7, 2009)

Cold water wash cycle, warm tumble dry until mostly dry (still slightly damp), then steam iron and hange. I've got my ironing procedure down to 1-2 minutes per shirt. Put on your basketball game of choice in the background and it is no longer even a choir! Hook'em. Yes, cleaners will sew replacement buttons, but the replacement rarely matches. 

Case: I turned in a BB cardigan a few weeks ago with pristine buttons. It came back with every button chipped. . Sure, you can ask for a refund, but I still felt violated.


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## longwing (Mar 28, 2005)

When your shirts are stained you might just try applying some Spray'n'Wash and laundering at home. Maybe you could Spray'n'Wash before dropping off at the cleaners. It's pretty amazing stuff.


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## zblaesi (Dec 30, 2009)

For those of you who opt for washing your clothing at home, what routines do you follow? I find that with some of my shirts, I wear them for so little time, never getting them dirty or sweaty, that it almost seems like a waste to wash them. Do any of you hang your shirts back up after light wearing and wait to wash them after you wear them a second time?

As for drying, I've been drying most of my clothes on Delicate for about 15-20 minutes, taking them out, and letting them hang dry the rest. Is this good practice? And when should I iron? When they're damp (i.e. before I hang them)? Or after they dry?


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## KRMaley (Mar 28, 2010)

Pros: Save you time.

Cons: Money, they always loose or ruin something, dealing with dry cleaners.

I can't believe I still dry clean shirts! Ughh.

KM


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## Joe Beamish (Mar 21, 2008)

zblaesi, I keep it simple with my OCBDs. I wash them in cold (regular cycle), then hang them. When they're dry, I iron them, but not always; in fact, I'm doing this less and less these days especially I as I haven't attended any smarty business meetings in quite awhile. 

Shirts that have been in heavy rotation for over two years look new.

I use spray n' wash for stains and collars.


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## 714guy (Jun 2, 2010)

Dry cleaning is just too expensive for me, the money saved can be spent on shoes.


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

eagle2250 said:


> ^^
> LOL! Indeed Orsini, yours is the solution I seem to have adopted. My wife cares for my dress shirts and does a wonderful job of it. However, it is not a cheap solution!


LOL: but, consider this: my wife has never ironed anything of mine, and she's probably as expensive as yours :icon_smile_big:


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## Wisco (Dec 3, 2009)

zblaesi said:


> For those of you who opt for washing your clothing at home, what routines do you follow? I find that with some of my shirts, I wear them for so little time, never getting them dirty or sweaty, that it almost seems like a waste to wash them. Do any of you hang your shirts back up after light wearing and wait to wash them after you wear them a second time?
> 
> As for drying, I've been drying most of my clothes on Delicate for about 15-20 minutes, taking them out, and letting them hang dry the rest. Is this good practice? And when should I iron? When they're damp (i.e. before I hang them)? Or after they dry?


I used to send everything to the cleaners before I found AACC. Suits got shiny, shirts got crushed buttons and the $100+ a month for too frequent cleaning just got to be too much.

I now wash all dress shirts in cold gentle cycle with Tide Coldwater detergent. The liquid detergent also works as a pre-spot or collar wring dressing. Pop them in the dryer for 15-20 minutes on low heat until the shirt bodies are barely damp. The collar area is sometimes a bit more damp, but no bother. I hang them on felted hangers (those Joy Mangini (sp?) felted ones from Bed Bath and Beyond or similar stores) and iron while still a bit damp. No starch. I also recently bought a steamer at Costco for $40 and am loving it for suits and wool trouser care.... but that is another thread.

My wife first noticed the fact that home laundered and ironed shirts smell nicer... probably the lack of spray starch and other crap the Dry Cleaner shops use. A really crisply ironed shirt is as much a function of the shirt material as the ironing. A nice broadcloth will iron up sharp while a well used all cotton BB OCBD will iron "softer".

Oh, I do the ironing in our house for my shirts as well as my wife's "professional" shirts. I find it relaxing and somewhat of a stress reliever. I usually put on some music or mindless TV and go at it.

Ciao,

Wisco


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## zblaesi (Dec 30, 2009)

Do you guys wash your shirts after every wearing, even if you don't sweat at all? I wonder if it might better preserve shirts to mist them, iron them, and hang them back up after light wearings; this cuts down on washings. I don't see the sense in washing shirts if they're only worn for a little while during the day in air conditioning and don't smell or anything. Is this just me?


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## ZachGranstrom (Mar 11, 2010)

^^^
2-3 wearings until I wash them.


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## Youngster (Jun 5, 2008)

ZachGranstrom said:


> ^^^
> 2-3 wearings until I wash them.


I've been know to go to 4 wearings. 
Undershirts man. That's what they're for.


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## Nico01 (Jan 8, 2009)

Usually 2 wearings per shirt, maybe 3 if I only tossed it on to go to dinner, etc. Pants I usually get three wearings unless I get bicycle grease on the damn things.


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## TheWGP (Jan 15, 2010)

I'm about the same - two wearings per shirt is my "norm" but I'll wear it a third time if one of the first two was just for a couple hours for dinner or a quick meeting. Obviously this is an easier practice in the fall/winter - summer tends to bring the average down quite a bit thanks to the weather!


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## Fraser Tartan (May 12, 2010)

Shirts washed after every wear.


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## My Pet. A Pantsuit (Dec 25, 2008)

If I wear the thing for an eight hour day, it gets washed. If it's only for an hour, I might reconsider.


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## andy b. (Mar 18, 2010)

I've been going 2-3 wearings before washing. Now that warmer weather is here, it is pretty much only one wearing and then into the wash. We don't have the greatest AC at work. 

Andy B.


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## Saltydog (Nov 3, 2007)

Years ago I would wear my shirts twice between laundering. The anti-perspirant I was using at the time gunked up the underarms and I blamed not laundering after every washing. However, since then I use a different (clear gel not the old powder based areosol) antiperspirant and have never seen even a little build up on my undershirts. All that to say...I may go back to the wearing twice between laundering--at least in cooler weather. Sure would save on the hassle and expense of dealing with the cleaners and wear and longevity of the shirts. I mostly wear heavy OCBD's with heavy starch...so they typically hold their crispness without too much wrinkle. Occasionally non-irons. Certainly they could go a couple of wearings without going into the wash--so long as there is no odor or ring around the collar of course. I'd be interested in hearing from more of you on this practice. We could all stand to save the money. Just don't want to be mistaken for a European on a crowed elevator!


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## zblaesi (Dec 30, 2009)

I sort of just assumed it was dirty and uncivilized to not wash clothing after each wearing, but then I just started to realize--hey, my shirts don't even get dirty! Seems like a waste to wash them when I've only worn them for a short amount of time during the day, with little to no sweat. I think I'll start hanging them back up for 2-3 wearings. Only problem... _my shirts do get wrinkled_. I wonder if it's okay to just mist the shirts, iron them, and hang them back up, or if it's bad to iron shirts prior to washing.


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## Luckycharmboi2 (May 30, 2009)

I wearing on a shirt before washing. Some khakis can take 2 wearings before wash, but depends on the pants. I also usually get about 2 (maybe 3 with steaming in between) wearings from the pants accompanying my 100% cotton poplin suits.


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

2UFU said:


> I usually send my dress shirts to dry cleaners for their launder shirt services.


Why? Why don't you just handwash and drip dry them?


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## The Rambler (Feb 18, 2010)

I love the look, beautifully exemplified by Coleman on these pages, and dried outdoors on a clothesline it's even better. But I cant iron well, and feel a not really rational need to have a decently pressed shirt for work. Cuts useful life of shirt by 50% or more to send them to the laundry, I bet.


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## Coleman (Mar 18, 2009)

I only wear a shirt once before cleaning it (and I do wear undershirts). I'm more worried about collar stains (an undershirt doesn't help much there). 

I've never had shirts dry cleaned, so I can't speak to the damage that may or may not occur. 

I do like a soft looking (and even rumpled in some cases) shirt, so I don't like starch.

My main reason for not dry cleaning shirts is money. It takes me an hour every other week to prep my OCBDs the night before cleaning. The next night I run them through the washer on cold. Then I hang dry them. All in all I put in 1.5 hours on my OCBDs every other week (3 hours a month). I don't press them; I like them to look as soft as possible and a bit of rumple is a plus with OCBDs in my book (I, in fact, consider it the ideal look of the OCBD). 

I'd press a shirt of finer material, like broadcloth or pinpoint, but I'd still wash and hang dry it myself (and I still wouldn't use starch).


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## Earl of Ormonde (Sep 5, 2008)

Coleman said:


> I only wear a shirt once before cleaning it (and I do wear undershirts). I'm more worried about collar stains (an undershirt doesn't help much there).
> 
> I've never had shirts dry cleaned, so I can't speak to the damage that may or may not occur.
> 
> ...


A man after my own heart on all points.


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## maximar (Jan 11, 2010)

There are places where they charge 99 cents per shirt in the NYC area. I don't know about any other cities. I take my hard to iron shirts there like RL polos. But even though it's only 99 cents per shirt, I still wash almost all my shirts at home because I don't think cleaners do a very good job. They destroy clothes period. I like my shirts super crisp that they may be able to stand by themselves after ironing. Put it this way, I iron non-irons. The opposite of Coleman.


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## dmbfrisb (Apr 17, 2010)

zblaesi said:


> Do you guys wash your shirts after every wearing, even if you don't sweat at all? I wonder if it might better preserve shirts to mist them, iron them, and hang them back up after light wearings; this cuts down on washings. I don't see the sense in washing shirts if they're only worn for a little while during the day in air conditioning and don't smell or anything. Is this just me?


I roll the dice a little dangerously. I do not have a sense of smell (several pros/cons) so I am semi-hyper-sensitive to the potential for odor. I'll shower in the mornings and maybe again if need be. If it's a day under 80, I'll usually have an undershirt on under my shirt. If I know I didn't sweat or only wore the shirt for a short duration, I will hit it with a steamer inside the armpits and back before putting it away. Sometimes, to be extra careful, I'll add a little vodka to the steamer or dilute it and spray it on. I am told that these methods are good deodorizers, and while I cannot positively confirm their effectiveness, I have not received complaints from brutally-honest collegues. If we're talking about sweaters and delicate knits, I may give them an additional 1-2 wearings before playing washing-machine roulette.


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## stubloom (Jun 6, 2010)

This is a response to Centurion who asked whether "organic dry cleaning" is real.

Cleaners who claim to be organic dry cleaners clean in synthetic petroleum, a hydrocarbon solvent manufactured by Exxon Mobil (DF2000) or Conoco Phillips (EcoSolv).

Technically, synthetic petroleum is "organic" because it contains carbon. But so is nuclear waste organic because it, too, contains carbon. To suggest that synthetic petroleum is organic in much the same way that an apple is organic is deceptive and misleading. Actually, it's more than that. It's a scam.

Further information on this subject can be found at

Blog post: BP CEO says gulf oil spill is organic and non-toxic
https://ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/5/18/bp-ceo-says-gulf-oil-spill-is-organic-and-non-toxic.aspx

Blog post: A brief guide to understanding drycleaning solvents and fluids
https://ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/5/26/a-brief-guide-to-understanding-drycleaning-solvents-and-fluids.aspx

Blog post: Garment care, green care or both
https://ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/5/27/garment-care,-green-care-or-both.aspx


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## stubloom (Jun 6, 2010)

Many of the negative comments on this thread relate to the inability of dry cleaners and shirt laundries to produce a laundered shirt that's absolutely clean and meticulously pressed.

Here's my perspective: The overwhelming majority of cleaners in the USA are ordinary cleaners. Their goal is to produce a shirt that's "good enough." The gap between the product the cleaner delivers and the product many members expect is a chasm the size of the Grand Canyon.

So how do you bridge the "expectation gap"?

By communicating your specific quality standards to the cleaner and then finding out whether the cleaner can meet those standards.

The problem, as I see it, is three fold:

1. Members have'nt identified their specific quality standards.
2. Members have'nt communicated those expectations to the cleaner.
3. The cleaner does'nt have the technical skills necessary to meet those quality standards.

Further information on this subject can be found at

Blog post: Your shirt laundry bill of rights
https://ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/4/20/your-shirt-laundry-bill-of-rights.aspx

Blog post: 10 reasons why cleaners can't produce laundered shirts with extraordinarily clean collars and cuffs
https://ravefabricare.com/true-quality-cleaning/2010/6/7/10-reasons-why-cleaners-can't-produce-laundered-shirts-with-extraordinarily-clean-collars-and-cuffs.aspx


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## Joe Beamish (Mar 21, 2008)

Oy vey.


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