Cleaning cotton dress shirts

[RTenenbaum]

What is the least damaging way to clean cotton (and some cotton/polyester mixture) dress shirts? (1) Wash at home in cold water and then iron? (2) Have a cleaner launder them? (3) Have a cleaner dry clean them?

I've noticed most shirts include washing instructions on the tag but say "for best results, dry clean." Does dry cleaning shorten the life of a shirt or damage it? And what's the consensus on having a dry cleaner add light starch?

 

[alliswell]

Originally Posted by RTenenbaum

What is the least damaging way to clean cotton (and some cotton/polyester mixture) dress shirts? (1) Wash at home in cold water and then iron? (2) Have a cleaner launder them? (3) Have a cleaner dry clean them? I've noticed most shirts include washing instructions on the tag but say "for best results, dry clean." Does dry cleaning shorten the life of a shirt or damage it? And what's the consensus on having a dry cleaner add light starch?
A), though warm water works too.

 

[acridsheep]

I can't imagine a 100% cotton shirt would ever have instructions that say "for best results, dry clean."

Machine wash in cold water, hang dry. Press when slightly damp.

 

[Ivar]

Originally Posted by alliswell

A), though warm water works too.

+ 1

Good luck getting your white shirts snow-white if you only wash them in cold water.

 

[RTenenbaum]

Thanks for the replies. So does it damage cotton when you dry clean it?

 

[GBR]

Cotton/polyester shorts should simply be burned. No need to buy or keep such things.

Just wash them yourself in a warm water programme of your washing machine (.40 deg C ). They are not fragile and will neither disintegrate nor shrink. Cotton is strong etc. The colours will not be damaged.

Dry cleaning is another nonsense and should simply be ignored. A waste of money. Why do they need starching? More nonsense.

I have been washing my own shirts (Ascot Chang) for the best part of 40 years and all have given exceptional service without deterioration save by age.

 

[Simon Avram]

I have been training to make shirts for a while now. My company is interested in feedback on consumer preferences so we can maximize the life of your shirt. I am taking note of consumer comments on these forums for the products my company is planning. Traditionally, the stiffness or softness of a shirt and its parts was mostly regulated by starch. Provided a shirt was properly fitted and used, starch would also absorb a lot of the sweat preventing stains. Many traditional shirt makers will make a shirt that still will get its best results by being starched. However, some modern shirt makers (through advancements in cotton treatments, construction methods, cotton seeds, and mill technology) have moved in the direction that starch is only going to cause undesired results. Traditional shirts had removable collars and cuffs and were much more suited to the labour intense dry cleaners of yesteryear. Men would wear the shirt body a few times but change the collars and cuffs with every wear. In my experience, traditional shirts are more expensive than modern shirts made of the latest and finest quality cotton yarn (220-300). I am not sure how long mills have been spinning yarn as high as 300 but it is fairly recent. I have never seen yarn higher than 180 or 200 being referred to in books from the 20th century. Yarn of such finest will have its beauty ruined by starch. Therefore, any shirt using such yarn must be made not to require starch. Simon Avram. p.s. please don't burn anything with polyester in it. It can be dangerous. p.s.s. a French shirt maker has taken the time to write up how to treat your shirt after washing it. While it can be written up in a better format it is by far the best blog post on the Internet. http://lavraiechemisesurmesure.blogs...e-chemise.html There is a common method that is missing. The freeze dry method. Edit: I have rewritten this post.

 

[westinghouse]

No starch on expensive shirts!!!

 

[stubloom]

These topics (launder vs dry clean; starch vs no starch) have been previously addressed: Launder vs Dry Clean http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=242188 Starch vs No Starch http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=236664 http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=213146 As regards the assertion that starch serves to protect a shirt against sweat stains, I prefer not to comment.

 

[Simon Avram]

I have rewritten my post. There is a bit of confusion to what people refer to as expensive shirts. On one hand, they could be referring to traditional shirt makers who will charge hundreds of dollars for just their labour. On the other hand, they could be referring to expensive cotton yarn. Or if they have thousands of dollars per shirt (minium order 4 please) then they could be referring to both. Actually the last case will probably cost in the tens of thousands of dollars if it requires a special small run at the mill.

Simon Avram.

 

[nihraguk]

I've been washing my shirts by hand, per the washing instructions on the label/from the tailor. Are you saying I can just toss them in the machine and hang dry?

 

[E TF]

My shirts (all bespoke or MTM) only visit the dry cleaner if I spill something on one of them. Otherwise they just go in the machine at home along with everything else at 40 deg c and are then dried on the line. I iron them myself. They seem to last 3 or 4 years before starting to fray at the edges, at which point they either go back to the maker for new collars and cuffs or go into the pile for gardening or dog-walking wear. And I rather like wearing a well-loved but frayed dress shirt with shorts and canvas shoes down at the beach - I have a cracked old panama set aside for the purpose too.

And don't forget if they did't wear out you'd never have an excuse to order new ones.

 

[idfnl]

Bunch of unemployeds in here if you have time to wash and press that **** yourself.

Launder at the cleaners, light or med startch depending on the shirt.

Never had a problem. BUT... pick the right cleaners. If your shirt comes back stiff as a canvas sail go somewhere else. I'm amazed how many guys wear those ultra stiff shirts.

 

[NOBD]

Originally Posted by nihraguk

I've been washing my shirts by hand, per the washing instructions on the label/from the tailor. Are you saying I can just toss them in the machine and hang dry?

Sure.

 

[D Yizz]

The sun is a shirt's best friend to take yellow stains off. A lot better than dry cleaning.