The process of having your wedding dress cleaned can seem kind of scary. After all, you’ve spent thousands of dollars, and you married the love of your life in that dress. The sentimental value alone makes the dress priceless and you want to know that it is in good hands.
That’s why we’ve decided to walk you through the cleaning and preservation process, so you know where you’re dress will be and what will be happening to it from start to finish.
The Cleaning Process
The wedding dress cleaning process generally starts at the bottom hem. This area is where the most dirt tends to accumulate. A professional will scrub out any stains or spots with special tools and chemicals. The tools and products used will depend almost entirely on the type of material the dress is made out of. For example, a dress made of satin will need a different cleaning process than a dress made out of taffeta or lace.
After stains are spot removed, the entire dress is dry cleaned using special formulas intended for the garment in question. This helps to ensure that the dress isn’t damaged during the cleaning process. The goal of wedding dress cleaning is to get the dress looking brand new again, and devoid of any stains, spots or minor imperfections.
Once the dress has been cleaned, it will be steamed or pressed by a professional. The steaming or pressing process is to remove any wrinkles that may have formed when the dress was being worn or during the cleaning process. This is the final step in the actual cleaning process and is important in preserving the integrity of the garment.
Preservation
If you’ve chosen to have your dress preserved during the wedding dress cleaning process, the professionals will begin preserving it as soon as it is done being cleaned. The dress is checked over for any residual spots or stains. Remember, not all stains can be removed, and there is no guarantee that 100% of stains will be pulled from a delicate fabrics of a wedding gown.
Professionals argue that there are a few stains that are particularly difficult to take out. For example, some brides use Wite-Out to cover stains during the big day, but Wite-Out is notoriously difficult to remove from clothing. Experts also advise that red clay, often found in the south, and self-tanning residue, are among the hardest stains to remove with 100% efficacy (find out more on which stains can and can not be removed here).
Once the gown has been checked over, a professional will fold the dress and fit it into an acid-free preservation chest or box. You have several options for preservation, and each will have a slightly different process. For example, if you are choosing to have your dress framed, the folding process will be different than if you are having your dress placed in an archival chest.
Return Times
Wedding dress cleaning and preservation can take anywhere from around 4 weeks to 2 months, depending on the service you’ve purchased, the time of year, and the process that is used by the wedding dress cleaning service. Before you hand over your dress, be sure to ask when you can expect to have it returned, or, at the very least, what the typical return time is.
The Bottom Line
Wedding dress cleaning is a delicate process, but when done right, it will make your gown shine once again, regardless of what happened to it during the ceremony. Whenever you are having your dress cleaned or preserved, don’t be afraid to ask questions to make sure you choose a trusted professional.
Photo credit: internetsense / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)
