The wedding day, full of events and fuss, has finally come to an end and the young wife is faced with the task of cleaning a dirty wedding dress before storing it or returning it to the salon. Washing this rather complicated piece of clothing is an activity that requires knowledge of certain nuances.
The article will talk about how to clean a wedding dress at home, how to steam, iron and starch it, if necessary. Simple tips and recommendations will help bring your wedding dress back to its original form.
Posted by Michelle (@eternitymomentswedding) Mar 21, 2022 at 8:38 am PDT
Ways to solve the problem
- Boiling pot of water.
- Using steam in the bathroom.
- Ironing.
- Using a steamer.
- Use of professional services.
Boiling pan
This method is used by the most courageous girls. A minimum of two people are required to complete the procedure. The largest container is placed on the stove, brought to a boil and the whole process begins.
The dress must be held high enough so as not to scald yourself or ruin the fabric by dropping part of it on the stove.
The disadvantages include the inconvenience of implementation, as well as the danger of steaming a wedding veil in this way, in which holes can instantly appear.
Bathroom
The method is simple and inexpensive. For steaming, a whole bath of boiling water is collected, and the dress is suspended above it at a distance of about 20 cm from the water. Despite the advantages, there are a number of disadvantages:
- The material absorbs water, the clothes become heavier and at some point they may fall and get wet.
- Not all kinks in the fabric will straighten out at a given temperature; the ideal effect may not be achieved.
- If the clothes are decorated with some elements, such as rhinestones, they may come off. The same applies to beads and sparkles.
- Not suitable for all styles and types of dresses. Heavy outfits and those with full skirts cannot be processed using this method.
Ironing
An economical option for steaming, but very labor-intensive. In this case, you will have to ask for help from a friend or mother, who will have to hold, straighten or turn it when necessary.
Main disadvantages:
- there is a risk of not guessing the behavior of the fabric at a certain temperature and burning it;
- it is impossible to iron parts decorated with beads, rhinestones, etc.;
- Not all tight spots in complex designs can be reached with a regular iron.
If you still choose this option, then read the following recommendations:
- The process begins with ironing the bodice. If it is decorated, place a terry towel on the ironing board. Then turn the clothes inside out, since this part of the wardrobe is ironed from the inside. If there is no decor, you can carry out the procedure outside without fear.
- Use water to lightly wet the creases.
- The dress should be ironed through gauze or a special mesh. Elements with finishing must be ironed from the inside out.
- Ironing begins with the underskirt in a circle, then gradually moving to the top layer.
- Many ironing boards are equipped with a special sleeve holder. After ironing, you need to put curled paper in each sleeve so that nothing gets wrinkled.
- The train must be ironed on both sides.
- Bows, ribbons, and various accessories are made from various materials; taking this fact into account, you need to choose the right temperature regime for each type of fabric.
- At the end of the work, you should definitely treat the material with an antistatic agent. Follow the recommendations on the product regarding spray distance.
Using a steamer
The best solution to give a decent look to your outfit. The only negative is the cost. It's good if you have it at home. If not, then not everyone is able to spend 4,000 rubles or more on such a thing. Although it is worth it and in the future it will help you easily bring any item from your wardrobe into the desired form.
Correct use of the steamer:
- Place the outfit on the hanger.
- Fill the instrument with clean water and turn it on.
- Level the uneven area by stretching it.
- Use the device from top to bottom, removing all wrinkles.
- After the procedure is completed, the outfit should hang to cool.
Advantages of this method:
- Speed of work. The whole procedure will take a maximum of 20 minutes.
- The fabric is obedient. All creases are removed before your eyes.
- Destruction of harmful organisms. Microbes and mites are no longer scary, they are completely killed.
- No shiny areas like when using an iron.
How to wash a wedding dress at home?
Before talking about how to wash a wedding dress, it is important to determine the material from which it is made. This is usually synthetic and needs to be cleaned by hand .
As a rule, the most contaminated part of a dress is the hem and armpit area. These two areas are subject to intense contamination during wear.
If the dress has rhinestones, beads, stones or other decorative elements, wash it with extreme caution . It is important to maintain the aesthetic appeal of the outfit.
Extreme care is required in cases where the parts are not sewn, but glued to the fabric. They may fall off during washing. Sometimes, after cleaning is completed, you have to spend hours restoring the original appearance of the dress, returning the elements to their places using glue or thread and a needle.
Dirty wedding dress
Handwash
To hand wash and bleach your wedding dress, you need to choose the right detergent . Give preference to gentle washing powders, soap solutions (with baby or laundry soap), saline solutions and other cleaning agents for delicate fabrics. Auxiliary tools include sponges and toothbrushes with soft bristles.
Here are some recommendations for getting rid of contaminants :
- To wash a dirty hem, immerse it in warm water with detergent for 2-3 hours and brush with a toothbrush.
- To remove sweat stains, soak your bodice in soapy water and scrub it with a sponge.
- If sweat stains are on silk fabric, dissolve 1 tbsp. l. salt in 1 tbsp. water and treat contaminated areas.
- To clean other stains, moisten the material with soapy water and scrub with a toothbrush and powder or soap.
- Wine stains are washed off with a hot soapy solution, which is poured onto the stain until it disappears.
- In the presence of severe contamination, an oxygen stain remover is used.
a wedding dress in the bath . To do this, take warm water in which soap or powder is dissolved. The product is immersed in the resulting liquid and washed with a brush or sponge. The wash is completed by rinsing until there are no soap bubbles.
Another option is hanging washing. The product is hung on a hanger, moistened with warm water from a shower hose, rubbed with a soapy brush or sponge and washed off from top to bottom.
Machine washable
Washing a wedding dress in a machine
Hand washing is a difficult task. Is it possible to wash a wedding dress at home in an automatic washing machine? The answer is ambiguous.
In general, machine washing is not recommended. This is especially true for outfits with fragile decorative details. However, some tissues are considered not very capricious and are quite tolerant of this procedure .
With this cleaning method, it is recommended to use a special fabric bag , which protects the fabric and decorative elements from damage. “Delicate”, “gentle” or “hand” washing is used. The water temperature should not exceed 40 degrees.
To learn the features of machine washing, watch the video:
Features of ironing and steaming dresses with various materials
Everyone knows that each fabric has its own processing characteristics. For everything to work out at its best, you need to accurately identify the material and learn about its properties.
Atlas
The most important feature is that clothes of this material are always ironed only from the inside.
Under no circumstances should you use the steaming function, satin does not absorb moisture and marks will remain!
Ironing process:
- Place a thick fabric between the ironing board and the outfit.
- Select the silk program.
- Slowly move the iron over the material.
- Be sure to let the area cool, otherwise the fabric will break.
- You can move on to the next place.
Chiffon
It is a delicate type of fabric and therefore requires special care. Steaming occurs by weight. The outfit is placed on a hanger and processed with the device from top to bottom, carefully passing over problem areas. Be sure to keep the steamer at a safe distance.
Lace
Steaming occurs at the lowest possible temperature. Otherwise, the lace outfit will instantly turn yellow.
When ironing or steaming, the fabric must be covered with thick material to prevent melting. Cuffs and collars are treated with liquid starch to give them a dazzling whiteness.
Tulle decorated with sequins and beads
To avoid damage to the decor, it is necessary to carry out the steaming procedure at a safe distance. When steaming a tulle dress, it is best to trust the professionals; they will definitely not ruin the outfit.
Preparation
You need to start cleaning your wedding dress as early as possible. If the outfit remains dirty for a long time, you will have to deal with old stains - and this is more difficult and does not always give results.
Exploring the shortcut
The dress must be handled as recommended by the manufacturers. They indicate on the labels the recommended washing and ironing modes. After studying these instructions, you need to stock up on quality detergent, an iron and a steamer.
Visual inspection
A thorough study of the condition of the wedding dress will help determine the scope of work - the need to remove stains (it’s a good idea to remember where they came from) and general washing of the product. If possible, you should remove decorative elements from the outfit that can be removed if they do not need to be washed.
Typically need cleaning:
- hem of the dress (if it is long);
- bodice from the inside, especially under the arms, where there are traces of sweat and deodorant.
The spots can be randomly located anywhere. It is necessary to remove them before soaking, so that later the dress does not have to be washed.
Final Recommendations
As you can see, steaming a wedding dress yourself is a very difficult and sometimes dangerous task, so I would recommend leaving it to professionals.
And in order to save money, you can ask to leave the dress in the salon until the eve of the wedding (many salons provide this service free of charge). This will allow you to solve two problems at once: firstly, you won’t have to figure out where and how to store the dress, and secondly, you will receive it in perfect condition the day before the wedding and all you have to do is hang it carefully until tomorrow.
Where can you steam a dress for a wedding?
You can remove wrinkles by:
- wedding salon;
- dry cleaning;
- studio;
- cleaning company;
- at home.
Many wedding and evening fashion salons provide a free ironing service for purchased outfits. Sometimes you have to pay an additional 300-1000 rubles for this. It depends on the interior, the characteristics of the material and the time it will take to work.
At the dry cleaner you will have to pay 200-500 rubles. A similar service in a studio costs about the same. Ironing of used clothes, which are planned to be returned after the celebration, is required. Those who are not sure whether to get rid of an item should find out whether a wedding dress can be sold.
Specialists from cleaning companies will cope with the task for 1000-2000 rubles.
Almost everywhere, steamers are used to smooth out uneven surfaces. Despite this, it is advisable for brides to first read reviews about the company that she plans to entrust with the care of such a delicate and important outfit.
If you don’t know what to do with your wedding dress after the wedding, be sure to read our article. In it we will talk about all the possible options: where to store it, is it worth selling, can it be altered, etc.
Have you decided to sell the dress or rent it out? You will learn how to do it correctly.
In order not to harm yourself, it is worth knowing what signs exist about a wedding dress. This article talks about what you can do with it and what you absolutely cannot do.
Getting rid of various dirt and stains
Before the main cleaning of wedding decorations, you should get rid of local difficult stains. For each of them there is its own proven remedy. Using regular bleaches and stain removers will not lead to results.
Determine what caused the contamination and use the following tips to remove it.
| Problem | Her decision |
| It helps best in the fight against traces of sweat. | Concentrated saline solution and weak soda solution. |
| Can handle wine stains. | Hot soapy water |
| To get rid of greasy stains. | Before washing, wipe damaged areas with nail polish remover or sprinkle with starch for 15 minutes. |
| Grass pollution | They are treated with ammonia and laundry soap. |
| A makeup stain on the product. | It is sprayed with mineral water and covered with salt until it is completely absorbed into the fabric. |
Dirt is removed by first soaking the damaged area, as shown in the video. Then carefully clean off the dirt with a wet soapy sponge.
A foam of laundry soap will help simply remove dust. When using such irreplaceable products, a girl will not be able to find a previously contaminated area. After working with the ingrained “traces of the holiday,” the entire dress begins to be washed. But first check the composition of the fabric.
What to do with other types of stains?
The ink from the pen is treated with a cotton swab sprinkled with hairspray. Flower pollen is removed with an alcohol solution or hydrogen peroxide only if the fabric is not colored. In this case, peroxide can whiten the color.
An unusual folk remedy – bread crumb – will help get rid of soot. Roll a heated piece of white bread into a ball and wipe the damaged areas. Bread absorbs black marks. Then the fabric is soaked and wiped with laundry soap, and then rinsed. If this method does not remove all the soot, use a solution of baking soda, dishwashing detergent, vinegar and water. All components are taken in equal proportions. The resulting solution foams and hisses. Apply the product immediately and leave for 15 minutes. It is the chemical reaction that allows you to finally get rid of the black spot.
Rice. 3 – Bread crumb for removing stains
