When should I dry clean my clothes?

That, in and of itself, is a broad question.  First of all let's understand what dry cleaning is.  Dry cleaning is no different than washing and drying your clothes at home with the main exception that the liquid used is not water.  Various solvents are used to clean clothes.  Water is a solvent as it dissolves things like sugars, juices, coffee, etc. with the help of other solvents like soap. Dry cleaning solvent typically dissolves oil based stains.  Some examples are grease from foods and cooking, greases and oils and other items to some degree that might be dissolved by paint turpentine.  Some soaps added to dry cleaning solvent have the ability to suspend some moisture in the solvent helping slightly to remove some water soluble stains.

That being said, you have stains that are a combination of both characteristics and need some extra help to be removed.  This is professionally called spotting and pre-spotting.  A good cleaner will examine every garment prior to going into the dry cleaning machine and either remove certain stains that will not come out in dry cleaning or add certain chemical combinations to help the solvent remove the stain.  That is similar to using Spray and Wash prior to washing your clothes.  After a garment has been dry cleaned there will sometimes be visible stains left that may be removed by further spotting before it goes to the press department or have to be re-cleaned.  There are times when a decision is made that the stain can't come off without damage to the fabric and a tag will be attached to the hanger letting the customer know the cleaner has at least tried and was unable to remove the stain.  Low quality and poorly trained spotters typically use a lot more stain tags than quality cleaners and well trained spotters do.  The old adage of "You get what you pay for" certainly applies to the dry cleaning industry.

Now, when should you dry clean your clothes?  There is no simple answer here.  Ideally, you should wear it once - clean it.  This is what I did with every garment that could be dry cleaned (even typically washed items like jeans and golf shirts) that I wore.  I, fortunately, didn't have to pay for this so economics was not a factor for me.  Clothes do last longer when dry cleaned and typically suffer far less apparent wear and tear signs than clothes that are washed.

   

Wool suits, sweaters, pants, skirts, and like items can safely be worn for 3 or more times with no 'real' effect on the garment.  That is assuming that you are not spilling things on them, coming into  contact with heavily soiled surfaces, or sweating like crazy.  Invisible stains are the 'Trojan horse' of stains on garments.  With age, these type of stains will turn yellow (oxidize) and be very difficult if not impossible to remove.  White wines, soda, soups, perspiration, body oils etc. are examples of invisible stains.  If you spill something on your clothes remember where and what and point it out at the cleaners and make sure it's noted at time of dropoff.  Sheer garments like silks and rayons should generally be worn once and cleaned.  Garments coming into direct contact with your skin (especially the upper body) should be cleaned as soon as possible.  Synthetics can go longer with out cleaning than natural fiber garments.

Never clean 'half' of a suit to save money - especially light colored suits as color shading differences may occur.  The biggest mistake most people are guilty of is wearing a garment a few times, hanging it in the closet, and forgetting about it for 6-9 months or so.  As I mentioned earlier, stains oxidize with age and may never come out once that has happened.  Also, a garment that has something on it that would interest a hungry moth not only endangers that garment in your closet, but every other natural fiber garment in your closet becomes a big time target for tiny little experimental teeth and hungry little larvae once they hatch.

So, summing it up, ideally, wear it once, clean it.  Especially if you have a highly relative investment in the garment.  Economics may dictate, so use your discretion on this.  You can get away longer without cleaning on dark clothing than light clothing color-wise.  Thicker garments, as described earlier can go longer than sheer garments.  Appearance is the defining factor.  A cleaner typically will return a well pressed and (hopefully) well cleaned garment.  Many times in order to wear a garment again one must do some touch up ironing.  Keep in mind that heat will cause stains to set and will speed up the oxidation process.

That is why Lexie Laundry and Cleaners gives inexplicable services and touches to your clothes. Focusing on the tiniest detail during the cleaning process.  We care and that is why we are sharing this quality information