Dry cleaning for to-be-donated clothes?
August 22, 2010 9:39 AM Subscribe
I have some dry clean-only clothes that I want to donate. They could use a cleaning but I don't want to pay for it if I'm going to be donating them. There was a program in the DC area that let you donate clothes and a dry cleaners would clean them for free. Anyone heard of something similar in NYC?
I wash all of my dry clean only clothes in my washing machine on cold/delicate with woolite and then let them hang dry. They're all fine. Just something to keep in mind.
posted by phunniemee at 10:31 AM on August 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 10:31 AM on August 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: phunniemee: That's a thought. What about stuff that needs to be pressed?
posted by orrnyereg at 10:39 AM on August 22, 2010
posted by orrnyereg at 10:39 AM on August 22, 2010
Well, as I hang them up to dry I give everything a good smoothing-down. I shake them out, pull on opposite ends so that nothing is puckering, and shift them throughout the drying process so nothing develops hang folds or the dreaded shoulder nipples. Usually this negates the need to press them.
My boyfriend, on the other hand, likes to iron his dry clean only (and regular wash) work shirts dry. He'll pull them out of the wash, let them rest for a while until they're damp (not wet), and irons them like that. Which makes them hot, very nearly dry, and wrinkle free. I wouldn't do that to any of my dresses, but it works for him.
The only dry clean only thing I've ever owned that I've sent to the dry cleaner is a vintage coat from the 60s, which I would never have stuck in my washer, but other than that, I think this whole dry cleaning thing is a gigantic ruse.
Good luck!
posted by phunniemee at 1:20 PM on August 22, 2010
My boyfriend, on the other hand, likes to iron his dry clean only (and regular wash) work shirts dry. He'll pull them out of the wash, let them rest for a while until they're damp (not wet), and irons them like that. Which makes them hot, very nearly dry, and wrinkle free. I wouldn't do that to any of my dresses, but it works for him.
The only dry clean only thing I've ever owned that I've sent to the dry cleaner is a vintage coat from the 60s, which I would never have stuck in my washer, but other than that, I think this whole dry cleaning thing is a gigantic ruse.
Good luck!
posted by phunniemee at 1:20 PM on August 22, 2010
I haven't been inside a dry cleaner's for decades, preferring to carefully machine wash anything with a dry clean only label.
If you're worried about pressing, try phunniemee's iron while damp method or try a test area with a just-damp cloth (plain cotton, such as a tea towel) between the iron and the garment.
posted by ceri richard at 1:36 PM on August 22, 2010
If you're worried about pressing, try phunniemee's iron while damp method or try a test area with a just-damp cloth (plain cotton, such as a tea towel) between the iron and the garment.
posted by ceri richard at 1:36 PM on August 22, 2010
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http://www.dressforsuccess.org/
http://careergear.org/
http://www.operationfairydust.org/
posted by kaudio at 9:53 AM on August 22, 2010 [1 favorite]