It’s a common fact that when you’ve found something that you love to wear you try your best to preserve it as long as possible, but with our busy social lives this can often be a problem. Sometimes we don’t have the time to give them the care that they need, and when we’re in a rush we often chuck them through the washing machine without checking what else is lurking within the washing load. In fact the actual washing process itself is one of the prime indicators why clothes deteriorate like they do, but we can’t just stop washing our clothes purely for hygiene reasons more than anything.
So how do we prolong the life of our favourite clothes?
Well as a starting point, make sure that all fastenings are closed or concealed, meaning zips need to be done up and any fastenings attached properly. I made the error a few years back to wash one of my favourite lace dresses with some underwear ready for a night out, but the bra hooks were left exposed and my little lace number was in a state afterwards.
When washing large bundles through the washing machine it’s said that it is better to wash items by fabric type and not by their colours. For example silk items will last a lot longer if their washed with other silk items and are not washed with more hardcore materials like denim, which would also increase the chances of a zip snagging the silk items. However even though there is a lot of valid proof that this method works the best to preserve the manufacturing of the items, it can also deter the colour preservation, so this rule needs to be adapted further. It’s common knowledge that when similar colours are washed together i.e. Darks and Lights this retains the colour the most and it gives you peace of mind that you don’t have to worry about any rogue red socks turning all your clothes pink. However to factor in both of these points would mean more time spent separating all items by colour and then by material. Most people don’t even have enough time to eat breakfast let alone having the time to separate washing piles. It also means electricity and water bills would increase due to the amount of washing cycles, which on reflection could figure out pretty costly.
Don’t forget each item of clothing comes with a care label inside where the information has come from tried and tested examples of the original garment, so realistically if you were to just follow these guidelines you will find that this alone would actually make your clothes last the longest. These days we can be really naïve and neglect these guidelines particularly when we’re in a rush, and then we wonder why our favourite jumper has shrunk because we haven’t read the care label.
Of course there is an even easier way that takes out all of the leg work in between and that’s by opting to use dry cleaning services. It means that your favourite garments are handled by experts who use only the best methods of cleaning to preserve your items, they’re also skilled in handling items that maybe on their way out or have seen better days. For example if some of the buttons were falling off they would be able to sow them back on securely. The more modern services offer fast dry cleaning methods so there is a quicker turn around period, which is handy if you have a big event coming up, and most are at affordable prices which is makes them really cost efficient.