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Machine washable suit?

sbwoodside

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Hi there, I'm looking for a good quality suit that I can machine wash. So far I've found Brooks Taverner (from SuitsMen) and Marks & Spencer have some, but they are only available on order from UK (I'm in Canada). Is there anything available on this side of the pond?

Also, the reason I want a machine wash suit is because I'm allergic to dust mites. Dry cleaning kills the mites but doesn't get rid of the allergen. The best thing is machine wash hot. So far these suits seem to be machine wash warm. Does anyone know of a machine-wash hot suit jacket... or any idea what will happen if I try to wash one of the machine wash warm suits in hot water?

They say 40 degrees C... I need to get it up to 55 degrees celsius to kill the mites.

--simon
 

jahxius

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I think some prada clothing, suits included, are made with special microfibers for machine washing, although I'm not sure, you may want to google it.
 

sbwoodside

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I ordered the M&S suit ... should arrive any day now. I'll let know how it works out.
 

blackjack

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Originally Posted by sbwoodside
Hi there, I'm looking for a good quality suit that I can machine wash. So far I've found Brooks Taverner (from SuitsMen) and Marks & Spencer have some, but they are only available on order from UK (I'm in Canada). Is there anything available on this side of the pond?

Also, the reason I want a machine wash suit is because I'm allergic to dust mites. Dry cleaning kills the mites but doesn't get rid of the allergen. The best thing is machine wash hot. So far these suits seem to be machine wash warm. Does anyone know of a machine-wash hot suit jacket... or any idea what will happen if I try to wash one of the machine wash warm suits in hot water?

They say 40 degrees C... I need to get it up to 55 degrees celsius to kill the mites.

--simon


Why not consider buying a Whirlpool Fabric Freshener for around $200? The steam will be sure to kill the dust mites you speak of - and it seems like good way to relax the wrinkles out of your suits.

For the times you do want to send your suits to the "dry cleaners", simply take the time to search for the few cleaners who offer liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) cleaning. It'll be more expensive but you won't get the same chemical residues with regular perc.
 

2fingers

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M&S do say they will ship to Canada for GBP 20, but not sure if that's on all products. I saw these on the rack while I was in the UK a few weeks ago - they looked OK, but I didn't pay much attention.

A suit that will wash at 55 C and look good is a tall order. I agree with blackjack - don't know if the Whirlpool is hot enough though (never tried it). I put my clothes in the sauna - works a treat! Kill the mites beofre they porduce allergens - also gets rid of wrinkles. Yeah I know - you don't have a sauna - I'm sure there must be something along the lines of the Whirlpool available - it's a pretty common allergy.
 

flipster

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I have the same problem with dustmites. Although not as heavy as yours, any clothing that contain mites (that means, my nose start running when I wear it) I just put the item for a night in the fridge. That always worked out for me.
 

blackjack

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If you aren't able to wash the clothes in hot water, you might want to consider buying a bottle of De-mite laundry additive http://www.de-mite.com/ They claim they can eliminate dust mites even when using cold water.
 

acidboy

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I've seen those M&S washable suits.... I believe its made from polyester blended wool. I've tried them on once and are quite roomy and boxy fwiw- unless you're getting the Autograph line from them.
 

sbwoodside

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Here's an update: I've washed the suit hot four times so far. It's alive! What I neglected to account for is shrinkage, of course, but at least it didn't fall apart. I bought a 36L... the arms were perfect, but the torso/waist/whatever was a bit too tight to look good when I buttoned it. After machine washing hot, the sleeves shrank by about an inch, and the torso, by about 2 inches I'd say. Here's what it looked like at that point:
3373538659_714efe2520_o.jpg
After that I took it to a tailor, who got most of the length in the arms back but wasn't able to get the waist/torso/whatever out enough for me to be able to button it up. Still, overall I'd say it's a huge success, since I now have a suit that I can wear and it fits me! I'm sure you guys will be able to see all kinds of problems with the fit but for me, to be even remotely close is a revelation. PS I forgot to say, I bought a new shirt from the tailor also, he's adjusting it now.
 

JayJay

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But you still can't button the jacket, right?
 

Twotone

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JC Pennys carries some washable suits and separates.

Twotone
 

sbwoodside

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Originally Posted by JayJay
But you still can't button the jacket, right?

Right. The tailor I went to recommended next time getting a 38L instead of a 36L.

By the way I paid CAD$50 for this alteration... is that too much? He seems to have done a good job, but I'm new to the world of the sartorial arts.
 

Xiaogou

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There is a Japanese company that has washable suits. From what I recall, they are decent quality, but the brandname escapes me.
 

JoeWoah

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I expected more from this thread.
lurker[1].gif
 

sbwoodside

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One important feature of the M&S suits is that they are designed to be machine washed warm already (40 degrees celcius) so going up to 55 celcius is not so much of a stretch (which IIRC is the threshold for killing mites). Also, I measured the termperature of my hot water to make sure it was not too much hotter (it was actually 57 I think).

Do the other suits you guys have found, are they machine wash cold, or warm? I would probably not want to put a wash cold suit in a hot wash.

Regarding the freezer solution: I've heard of that but never tried it.... does it really work?

Regarding the anti-mite additives ... I'm not too keen on adding chemicals to my wash, basically I just prefer to stay away from chemicals as much as I can (another reason I don't like dry cleaning).
 

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