How to Clean Men's Clothing to Extend Its Useful Life

Section: Tailoring and Clothing Maintenance - Blog

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Many people dump their clothes into the washing machine after wearing them.Others rely on hand washing, especially for smaller stains. While this might work for some items, it's not the best choice for all clothing. Here's three important facts about how to clean your clothes to protect your monetary investment and extend their wearable life.

1. Hand Washing

Washing machines reduce the need for hand washing. This doesn't mean, however, a small coffee stain on yourbusiness shirt requires you to run a whole load in the washer. Instead, consider hand washing the garment in a small tub. Let it soak for a few minutes, and then apply a concentrated amount of detergent to the stained areas. Rinse, wring out the water, and then hang it to dry.

2. Hang Drying

Although dryers are a convenience found in most homes, you can still buy a clothesline at most stores. While dryers are convenient, exposing quality clothing to the extreme heat and tumbling movements of a dryer can destroy them.

Ever wondered where all that lint came from? Yes, lint is evidence of how your clothes are being torn apart, bit by bit. A better option is to pin the clothes to the clothesline and let them dry naturally. If you need your business shirts sooner, iron them while they are still moist. You could even turn off the iron's steam function and use the shirt's moisture to iron the cotton fabric.

3. Specialty Cleaners

While detergents will remove most stains, removing persistent or hard-set stains (such as armpit discolouring caused by antiperspirants) may be beyond their abilities. Therefore, experiment with a variety of cleaners before you throw your stained garment away.

Detergent boosters like Oxiclean or specialty cleaners like sweat stain removers are viable options and may prolong your clothes' wearable life. Avoid overdoing it, though. Soaking a shirt in a 50% concentration of bleach could leave you with only half a business shirt!

Whether you're in the market for a new suit or business shirt, or you'd just like to see what styles are new and fashionable, you'll discover a full range of men's clothing options by stopping by ourSydney showroom to browse. We'll be glad to show you the latest styles or help you accessorise an outfit.

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