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how often do your suits get cleaned?

a tailor

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some folks wear a pair of jeans several months before washing. and then they cry.
how about your suits?


there are here many who seem to not believe in cleaning their suits, because of the supposed wear on said suits. well its true that cleaning subjects the suit to wear. but juwearing subjacts the suit to wear. dose that mean that we should not wear the suit, just hang it in the closet and not wear it so that it will last for ever and ever.
consider this, you are a wearing fine multi thousand dollar suit. you are exposing it to the atmosphere. now what's in that atmosphere? let me list. there's ordinary dust, its everywear. then theres that special dust and grit that comes from buldings torn down and buildings being constructed. likewise on roads every were theres tires being ground down,you know that tread does not just evaporate. also the break linings that grind down. all that is in the air.
you know what there is in the air. lets start with those pidgeons leaving their calling cards every where, plus donations from their feathered friends. that all turns to dust. lets add to that mice,rats,dogs,and,cats. all that turns to dust. and theres more theirs the folks that spit on the pavement. drunks that upchuck all that stuff drys and turns to dust.
when a breeze blows or traffic speeds by, all that is in the air. its a wonder we are not all dead from breathing all that. but that dose not matter, its our dear suit that we should worry about.
with tender loving care we brush our suit after wearing right? how much of the dust and grit will come out with brushing? and how much of that crud has worked into the weave that will not come out with just brushing? we are using a soft clothes brush not a hard bristle brush. because those hard bristles will damage the fine woolens.

so much for the coat, now heres a special thought about trousers.
when it rains and you are walking drops of water splash up. also pepole passing splash, as well as cars passing by. and what do you think is in those drops? yep the same crud mertioned above. only this time the water helps the crud to work its way into the wool. have you noticed the bussers at lunch. they clean the tables with that grimy rag and then wipe the chair seats with the same rag. then you sit on it and body heat helps the grease to transfer. and dont ask me about the seats on trains, busses, and taxicabs.
LADIES DO NOT READ BELOW THIS LINE.
gentelmen how often have you used a public restroom. at work,resturant,station,school, etc.
did you know each time you step up to the urnal there is a bit of splash back that lands where?
you guess that right. often on your fine trousers.

here we go now. your trousers need a pressing but they look clean. so off they go to the cleaners.
"sam just press them please. a nice hard crease" hot moist steam to soften the fibers then pressure to crease.. hey wait heat and pressure isnt that what they use to permanently fuse jacket fronts. and you are doing that to the crud on your fine trousers?

so brush your suit after a wearing. steam the jacket from time to time. get the trousers pressed with a nice sharp crease. yes we take good care of our good clothes. and save money too, by not cleaning. right?

just my humble opinion, lets clean the suit from time to time. if it cant stand an occasional cleaning it cant be much of a suit.

disclamer:: i pay to have my clothes cleaned,. thats the only connection i have with the dry cleaning industry.
.
 

The Silverfox

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Well for me it depends on the suit.

First of all I usually wear a coat of some kind precisely for the reasons you mentioned. If it's not cold, I'll put on a trench or a slipon. I also actually aim my beam so that it will hit the urinal at a soft angle precisely for the reason you mention. I think I've done this since I was about 10, and I am quite frankly disgusted that everyone don't do the same. And it's actually not so much the thought of my own piss hitting me I'm worried about, but rather my piss splashing what was already there back up at me.

Secondly, if the weave is course and quite open, obviously many of your points are valid. However, for the tighter weave, less makes it into the cloth. I've actually had a suit that I've vomited on that didn't need cleaning afterwords, simply because nothing made it into the cloth because of the tightness of the weave. It simply dried onto the suit, I brushed it off and it neither smelled nor looked as if anything had happened to it. I took it to the cleaners for good measure, but quite frankly I'm not sure I should have.

And between brushing the suit down after each wear and a good steaming , you do get rid of a lot of the stuff. I'm not talking about the 30 second steaming it gets while being pressed. I'm talking about hanging your wardrobe in a room filled with steam for 30 minutes. Steam penetrates the cloth through and through, taking a lot of the stuff with it. And besides, if your suits are wool, bacteria can't develop as they would in other materials.

Obviously you can't completely dispense with cleaning, but the need shrinks dramatically with steaming and brushing, especially if the weave is a tight one. We shouldn't be fanatical about not having our clothes cleaned of course, but quite frankly, if you haven't been up to anything spectacular while wearing the suit and you don't live in the sewers, odds are you can safely have it cleaned less than 99% of the population does.
 

JayJay

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At most mine get cleaned once per season; this is especially true for s/s suits. Most of my suits have never been dry cleaned but they are brushed before and after each wear.
 

westinghouse

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Never unless it has a visible stain.

Wool breathes nicely so just air it out.

Dry cleaning destroys the deep natural luster.
 

HEWSINATOR

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So then you take them in for just a press? I used to think I could go forever too but after daily suit wearing for the last couple months (from very occassional before) I find the crease in the pants "falls" out. In fact, with a 6 suit rotation over 2 months most creases start at about the knee now.
 

westinghouse

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Originally Posted by HEWSINATOR
So then you take them in for just a press? I used to think I could go forever too but after daily suit wearing for the last couple months (from very occassional before) I find the crease in the pants "falls" out. In fact, with a 6 suit rotation over 2 months most creases start at about the knee now.

My suits have no wrinkles...ever. Hanging them properly is the key.
 

TheWraith

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Originally Posted by westinghouse
Never unless it has a visible stain.

Wool breathes nicely so just air it out.

Dry cleaning destroys the deep natural luster.


+1

I always air mine out before storing it and then wearing it again in the future. I do think, though, that a good pressing, as someone mentioned earlier, is better to do on the odd occasion than to dry clean it (unless it absolutely needs cleaning).
 

calvinloke

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Never.

Sponge and press is the way. That was the only way before the invention of dry cleaning.
 

koolhistorian

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I tend to do it once a year - normally before storage (late spring for fall/winter, autumn for summer wear, except for the linen pants that are washed at home, air dried and pressed by yours truly).
When needed, I do the necessary touch up, or they go to the tailor for a sponge and press. But it depends on usage and accidents.
 

clarinetplayer

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A good clothes brush and a Rowenta steamer should be your best friends. When on the road, I hang my suit in the bathroom when taking a shower.

Hang suit and trouser on a good, sturdy wood hanger.

When hanging in the closet, leave space between the suits so the fabric can breathe.

Dry clean only if there is a stain that you cannot remove.
 

ter1413

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Originally Posted by JayJay
At most mine get cleaned once per season; this is especially true for s/s suits. Most of my suits have never been dry cleaned but they are brushed before and after each wear.

That^^. I brush it down before each wear(generally-unless there is a stain.) I am dropping off my seersucker suit today to get cleaned since it won't get much wear anymore.
 

Xenon

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Originally Posted by a tailor
some folks wear a pair of jeans several months before washing. and then they cry.
how about your suits?

just my humble opinion, lets clean the suit from time to time. if it cant stand an occasional cleaning it cant be much of a suit.

disclamer:: i pay to have my clothes cleaned,. thats the only connection i have with the dry cleaning industry.
.


Let's stop with all the fantasy thinking on this forum, everyone knows you're absolutely right here a tailor. I dare anyone to commision a completely snow white wool suit, wear it at least 2 days (not in a row) and see what it looks like at the end of the 2nd day let alone a complete season.

I rarely ever dry clean my suits, they look clean, smell clean but the lightest color is a mediumgray and deep down I KNOW they must be disgusting. It doesn't show but i would never want to see my or anyone else's suit cloth under microscope.

It would be interesting to see the runoff dry cleaning fluid from a suit that someone claimed "only had a small stain"
 

Xenon

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BTW when the interior of a car is professionally and properly steam cleaned (with true very hot and dry focused steam), the dirt is only loosened. It must still be vacumed(sp?) to actually remove the dirt.

How many here vacume the suits?
 

Twotone

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I'll start out by saying I'm very cautious when wearing nice clothes. I remove my suit jacket when sitting at the office or driving. I'm careful when eating and where I sit. Living in Denver, we never have to worry about clothes-eating moths.

It can be difficult for even the best dry cleaners to make jackets look great. Pressing lapels and getting the roll right is not so easy. I only clean suit jackets and sport coats if something spilled on them that won't spot clean. Water-based spills (wine, etc.) can usually be cleaned if done quickly. Oil based spills (grease, gravy, etc.) are best left alone and done professionally. I have jackets and sport coats that have never been dry cleaned in the ten years I've owned them.

Trousers, however, see more wear and acquire more dirt and grime than jackets. My suit pants and odd wool or linen trousers get cleaned at least once a season and definitely prior to being stored. Cotton pants get cleaned more frequently as they show dirt and wrinkle more than other fabrics.

To sum up -- clean them when they need it.

Twotone
 

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