How many of you wash your own dress shirts?

[guitone]

I have washed shirts in the machine with cold water, dried in the dryer and then ironed..why would you hang shirts to dry, is it wear and tear or are you concerned with shrinkage?

I never use startch, hate it..and yes, the shirts are less crisp then sending them out but they look fine, I just need to get my self psyched up to start ironing again. I always use a steam iron, this helps greatly.

If I had a cleaner than would charge $.95 a shirt I would probably use them, they are over $2 a shirt here and I thought that was too much, may more like $2.50...

 

[Pink22m]

I have washed shirts in the machine with cold water, dried in the dryer and then ironed..why would you hang shirts to dry, is it wear and tear or are you concerned with shrinkage?

I hang dry items because it does cut down on the wear and tear of the garment; shrinkage concerns are also present, although to a much lesser extent.

 

[Patrick06790]

I wash my shirts in warm water and tumble dry on no heat for about half the cycle; then hang dry the rest of the way. Iron with a spray bottle; occasionally a little starch.

I've gotten good with the iron.

I find the process restful, unless I've let the pile grow for a couple of weeks. Then it's all a big pain in the butt.

 

[montmorency]

I did my own shirts for years, but then got real busy at work and lazy at home and sent out the shirts for a year or two. All of them shrunk to the point where in order to wear them, I had to buy a collar expander. I am now buying custom made shirts and washing them myself again. For colored shirts, I wash them in cold water on the gentle cycle with detergent and Clorox 2; hang dry them; and iron them on the steam setting with Magic Sizing starch. For white shirts, I wash them in warm water with detergent and Bluette. I also pre-treat the collars because I can't get that commercial from 30 years ago about ring around the collar out of my head.

 

[Phil]

I have gotten in the habit lately of washing my dress shirts at home, putting them in the dryer, and then ironing only the cuffs and collar. It gives them that rumpled look I enjoy.

 

[Mr Checks]

think you mean "cool iron", as my Talbott shirts also say this on the tag. When I iron my Talbott's I just turn the setting up on my Rowenta a bit past the minimum setting for temperature. This is usually sufficient for removing wrinkles. I am pretty certain that you could iron them at the warmest setting and there wouldn't be any damaging effects to the shirt. I have not had any problems, so just turn up the setting a bit and you should be fine.

Thanks for the tip; I was skittish about it, given the instructions, but I just did one Talbott this morning (it took medium on my iron to get it done, but I'm going to look into the Rowenta; do you know who carries them?)

 

[AlanC]

I wouldn't worry about the 'cool iron' on your Talbott. I just iron the Talbott I have on the regular cotton setting and have never had an issue. Most instructions like that are to protect themselves, not to help you. How many cleaners do you think turn down the heat setting when they press a Talbott?

As for starch, I used to use spray starch but quit. I've not missed it. I've read a couple of places that the starch can attract varmints and can weaken the fabric over time.

 

[cosme62]

zen and the art of ironing your shirts I do it and so should you unless you are willing to pop 8-10 dollars for a prof hand laundry which is increasingly hard to find these days, never in tumbler if you do it yourself shirts iron damp with vigor

 

[Pink22m]

Thanks for the tip; I was skittish about it, given the instructions, but I just did one Talbott this morning (it took medium on my iron to get it done, but I'm going to look into the Rowenta; do you know who carries them?)

I bought my Rowenta at Target, but you could probably also get them at Walmart and maybe even Bed Bath and Beyond. If you have a Costco nearby or something equilavent, you might want to check them too.

 

[stripes22]

I use a product called Linit, found in the laundry section of the market. It is a concentrated starch that can be mixed to your own desires. It gives my shirts a beautiful finish and I highly recommend it.

I use a product called Linit, found in the laundry section of the market. It is a concentrated starch that can be mixed to your own desires. It gives my shirts a beautiful finish and I highly recommend it.

Upon recommendations of others on the forum, I tried Linit.  I mixed with water and sprayed it on the shirts.  I ended up with white flakes all over the shirts.  Have others found this?  Too strong?  Iron too hot?  Wrong method of employing starch?  Any hints on how to use it would be appreciated--especially since I have a half gallon of it.

 

[SartorialSplendour]

A few years ago, we switched from an American made, top-loading, center-agitator washing machine to a Swedish made Asko, front-loading, drum style washing machine. What a difference in our clothing. In the old days, our clothes wore out way too fast (no doubt, due to the agitator). I turn my shirts inside-out when I wash to help prolong the life of the exterior appearance. Probably the only gentler technique I could come up with would be to wash them by hand. Fortunately, this washing machine allows me to set the temperature too. It requires low-sudsing detergents, so you never have to put up with soap-fragrance while wearing your shirts. My ironing technique is to turn the shirt inside out and iron it, and then turn it right side out, and iron it. I do use a sleeve board (a bit of a nuisance, that). I never use spray starch. It made my collars look shiney.

 

[sashae]

I picked up my Rowenta Professional (DM880) from eBay for around $75 or so... Bed Bath and Beyond has them around $90. Best iron I've ever used. -s

 

[redtree00]

I picked up my Rowenta Professional (DM880) from eBay for around $75 or so... Bed Bath and Beyond has them around $90. Â Best iron I've ever used. -s

I have the same model, it is an excellent iron.