I washed my suits in the bath tub

[binge]

Originally Posted by IndianBoyz

Yes I do. Wouldn't like that to happen to one of my precious knits..

Don't drop the soap.

 

[Ataturk]

Silly quesiton -- how do you know soap and water actually remove this perchloroethylene from clothes?

 

[voxsartoria]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

My bar must qualify as a Superfund site.

Having you been soaking your suits in 100% thujone again?

It doesn't make you sleepy?


- B

 

[Mild Mannered]

JUMBO RESPONSE POST

Originally Posted by Bartolo

That's excellent! You got all the perc out!
(That's not perc in that bottle. Read the label.)

Thank you. Yes you are correct. I just tossed up a photo of a Perc bottle to give an idea.
I admit I didn;t read the label of it before posting, but it's just a reference shot.

Originally Posted by Sean Archer

Rats. I just took my suit to the dry cleaners and they use "solvents". I wish you had posted this yesterday

.

Sorry about that. I meant to post this a couple of weeks ago. But again, do this at your own risk.
I am not responsible for any possible damage any of you do to your suits/jackets. Just wanted to share what I did to mine.

Originally Posted by JayJay

I'm not sure I'm brave enough to try this.

Hi JayJay, yeah I wasn't brave enough too. Can you imagine how many dry cleanings over say 10 years? For me this was a last resort. I really wasn't feeling well with the dry cleaning chemicals,
so it was either throw them out, or try something agressive to save my investments.
Some important tips I would share:
Use only icy cold water. Do not squeeze the fabrics or wring them with your hands. Do not be agressive with the garments, just let the water -and- time (3 hours-first soaking) do all the work.
Then just before draining, gently move the suit about in the water to 'loosen' the chemicals out of it. This is where the really dramatic moments occur. Its weird. Soak for 30 min..nothing. Soak for 3 hours..and wow how much crap comes out of the suit. If you ever get to that point of just throwing out a jacket, then you're ready to try this, and it's been a good experience for me.
I'm not afraid anymore. Wait..lol..I still have a Brioni suit that I am scared to do.

Originally Posted by Despos

I understand your situation but there are other, better methods to rid your clothes of perc. There are many alternative cleaning solvents used today. .

I'm sure you are right. My problem was trying to remove (best I could) the 5-10 years worth of chemicals already in my clothes. As for the future, I will definitely look into the 'Green Cleaning' options.

Originally Posted by IndianBoyz

I want to handwash my cashmere and merino sweaters. Not sure how to though. Just cold water and powdered soap? How to dry?

I have successfully washed both cashmere & merino in my bathtub and the key is cold water, little soap (dont over-do it) and time. Never harshly agitate or squeeze the wool because that can cause some shrinkage. Time is the real key to loosening things off the clothes naturally.
As for drying,
I would reccommend when removing the sweater, to ever-so-gently squeeze the water out best you can, then take to the dining table. Put a sheet of plastic on your table to protect it. Then place a giant towel on the table, and let the garment rest on it to absorbe as much water as possible for an hour or so. When the sweater (or jacket) feels lighter, then you can hang it for the rest of the drying time. As for the soap, I use very little liquid laundry detergent. No need to use a lot.

Special word to 'Savage'.
Please read above text. Yes I agree, hanging outrightly may stretch the jacket from the weight of the water. Best to lay it down for an hout first on a towel as you say.

Originally Posted by dv3

Did you ask the dry-cleaners advice before doing this? It seems like an extreme reaction.

Answer is no. Reason is, it was the dry cleaners that put the devilish chemicals in my clothes in the first place without telling me the dangers beforehand. Therefore I don't trust them to give me any advice lol.

Originally Posted by Albern

MM, I think it's really cool how you've gone to great lengths to protect your health.

Thank you. I agree 100% with you. Thanks for the information you posted too. I certainly do appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Despos

That is the problem. Too many different fabrics in a garment and each responds differently. Any shaping in a garment will be undone. The layers between the cloth and lining would take forever to dry. Wadding in shoulder pads would be a mess. Etc, etc...

I agree with you 100%. But I am a patient man. True, it took 2 full days for the jackets to dry,
but it was worth the wait in my estimation. You are also 100% correct about, say the lining losing its shape and creases. Once dry, I spent a lot of time with my iron and full size & mini ironing boards, as well as a cloth 'sausage' that I used to re-shape the shoulder areas.
It was a hell of a task, but it was better than watching TV. My back still aches from all the nights at the ironing boards.

Originally Posted by Ataturk

Silly quesiton -- how do you know soap and water actually remove this perchloroethylene from clothes?

Answer is...I didn't have a clue. My thinking was to at least dilute the chemicals out of the suits & jackets with cold water and lots of time. The liquid laundery soap was only used sparingly to assist with seperating the chemicals from the clothes.
I will say truthfully that I probably only got 75-80% of the chemicals out. I'm sure there are still residual traces left.
With three soakings per garment, I probably could have done 2 more soakings, but it seemed acceptable to me to quit at 3. The wool smelled strong when wet too, like I was on a sheep farm.
But once dry, I really can't smell anything at all now. All my clothes smells really fresh and naturally clean. Only one very old suit by Samuelsohn still has some lingering scent, but only 1/10th of that it was before I started.

ok I hope I responded to everyone. Thanks everyone for reading, and If you are at the point of literally throwing a dry-cleaned garment in the trash, that's the time to try this experiment.
Maybe in the next days I will post some photos of what these suits look like now, after cleaning.
But be patient because it won't be for a few days yet.

 

[Intelligent Design]

Originally Posted by PocketCircle

I just washed my cashmere briefs by hand and there is now a big hole on the back. Damn.

Speed holes, right?

 

[FlaneurNYC]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

My bar must qualify as a Superfund site.

As my liver would have last night.

 

[jamesbond]

Originally Posted by horton

I would handwash them with the cashmere soap from The Laundress. It's pricey but works great and a little goes a long way. Dry flat

This is how i do my sweaters. They even have a instructional video on there site of how to do this, all you need is a bin for holding water + your sweater and a drying rack.

If i lived in the city I would find a place that would sponge and press my suits and jackets. Thats all you really need to have done to clean them.

 

[binge]

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[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by voxsartoria

Having you been soaking your suits in 100% thujone again? It doesn't make you sleepy? - B
Naturally. Gives them that sage-freshness and allows me to cavort with my favorite winged chartreuse chanteuse.

Originally Posted by FlaneurNYC

As my liver would have last night.

Owned. Nice. ~ H

 

[Despos]

^
There was a good tip in that clip. "Wearing the suit while washing keeps the shape." OP should wear the suit in the tub for 3 hours FTW.
Thanks binge

 

[DocHolliday]

Could be the latest SF suit trend: shrink to fit.

 

[Huntsman]

Originally Posted by Despos

^ There was a good tip in that clip. "Wearing the suit while washing keeps the shape." OP should wear the suit in the tub for 3 hours FTW. Thanks binge

Originally Posted by DocHolliday

Could be the latest SF suit trend: shrink to fit.
This is already done in SW&D.

 

[Mild Mannered]

Originally Posted by binge

IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later. I AGREE

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Love it! Why didn't I think of this! Now I'll have to see this movie.

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by Huntsman

This is already done in SW&D.

next someone will promote wearing the suit into seawater and drying it out after while still in them.

 

[Huntsman]

I laughed for a moment. Then stopped short realizing how many of your countrymen are in that position. Stay well.