5 Ways to Extend the Life of Your Clothes – Tips from a Dry Cleaner

At Canyon View Cleaners we see it all.

Unfortunately, far too many people simply do not understand how to properly take care of their clothing and as such, soon find that their favorite shirt or pair of pants is not so great anymore.

After just a few washes you notice the colors start to fade, maybe the size shrinks up a little bit or it just doesn’t feel like it did the first couple of times you wore it. This is frustrating and can get rather expensive very quickly as you find yourself having to replace your clothes much sooner than anticipated.

Well there is good news!

Follow just a few simple tips and you can extend the life of your clothes much longer than most would assume possible.

1. Avoid Using the Dryer As Much As Possible. This is by far the most important tip. The dryer is responsible for by far the most damage to your clothes. It’s guilty of shrinkage, holding stains into the fabric, causing unnecessary wrinkles and color fading. Instead, hang dry just about everything other than socks and underwear. Inexpensive drying racks can be purchased for $10-$20 dollars and fold up for quick and easy storage.
2. Shake Out The Wrinkles When Things Are Still Wet. If you want to save yourself the dreaded effort from having to iron everything, while your clothes are still damp when you pull them out of the wash, give them a firm shake (or whip) to straighten them out and either hang or lie flat. You’ll be surprised just how good things look once they’re dry, plus by avoiding heavy wrinkles, you’ll keep your clothes looking like you just brought them home from the store much longer.
3. Give Your Clothes Some Space In the Closet. A best practice is hanging your clothes with two finger spaces apart. This allows your clothes to hang straight and avoid getting wrinkled. Some garments like sweaters and jackets may form harmful creases from hanging in the closet improperly for extended period of time.
4. Wash Your Denim Alone. Keep your jeans grouped together in the wash and avoid putting anything else in along with them. Denim, especially on the first few washes tend to “bleed” color out and this will get on to other fabrics in the wash, often causing permanent discoloration. Heavy denim items such as long pants and jackets are hard on other fabrics such as cottons and will wear out the lighter fabrics much quicker than if you kept the loads separate.
5. Care for Your Stains Immediately. Dab ice water and seltzer onto food stains immediately to keep it from setting and do not try to scrub the stain out. Simply dab the stain with the water and seltzer mix (or just cold water if that’s your only option) to remove as much of the food as possible. This will dramatically improve your chances of getting the stain completely removed and will help avoid damaging the fabric in the process.

Canyon View Cleaners is your source for all of your dry cleaning needs. Come to one of our convenient locations in Draper or Sandy, Utah.