In Lieu of Dry Cleaning Dress Shirts

lb71 said:

I am surprised by the number of people who dry clean their dress shirts. This can add up to some serious money and causes the fabric to deteriorate quicker.

Most people just can't be bothered to launder and iron a shirt themselves. But the key is to iron the shirt straight out of the wash and then let it hang dry. This makes ironing much easier since the whole shirt is wet, and you can iron it in minutes. Let it hang dry overnight and the next morning you have a crisp shirt.

The time it takes to iron offsets the time taken to bring in your shirts. You save money on not paying for the dry cleaning and longer life of the shirt.

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I should do this, but I don't.

Excellent idea!! I am going to try this out... Thanks!

lb71 said:

Most people just can't be bothered to launder and iron a shirt themselves.

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Maybe I'm just a slob or maybe it's the Yukon's seriously lower grooming standards compared to a big city, but I don't understand not washing and ironing you own shirts. It's not like it's that much effort - I used to watch my mother iron my father's shirts a dozen at a time.

Thanks for the tip! I don't dry clean my shirts (complete waste of money), but I iron after hang drying. I'll try ironing right out of the washer.

Wash n wear -- the rumpled look works here.


"Always wear a golf shirt to work -- then the boss never knows which afternoon is golf day."

My Mom got me a steamer for christmas and I tried to do my own shirts, but I found that I didn't get them as clean as when it goes in to be laundered. The inside of my collar was a bit yellow. Any ideas on how to solve this issue?

I've always been surprised by the number of people who insist that clothing must be washed every single time it is worn. That's certainly a good idea for socks and underwear, but dress shirts?

I wear a T-shirt under my dress shirts, and I only dryclean them about 4x/year (about once every 10 times they're worn). Exceptions are made, of course, if the shirt gets something spilled on it.

As long as the shirts are hung up and allowed to air out after each wearing, there isn't much need to wash them. They don't smell, they don't get wrinkled, and they look like new every time I wear them. As a bonus, they last a LOT longer if they aren't washed all the time.

After a solid 30+ years of dress shirts, I no longer wear one or a tie ever (bygone era) - 100% casual even in a corporate setting (its the culture)

Simple, casual, wash hang to dry & wear (clothes line in-doors or outside) saves lots on power usage dollars

But for the life of me I cannot understand why my wife of 41 years continues to iron the hand and bath towels - she wont give it up

ethos1 said:

But for the life of me I cannot understand why my wife of 41 years continues to iron the hand and bath towels - she wont give it up

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Word to the wise: "So long as she doesn't starch your underwear, don't complain."

DAvid said:

Word to the wise: "So long as she doesn't starch your underwear, don't complain."

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ouch & thanks, I must go check, I just have this feeling

lb71 said:

I am surprised by the number of people who dry clean their dress shirts. This can add up to some serious money and causes the fabric to deteriorate quicker.

Most people just can't be bothered to launder and iron a shirt themselves. But the key is to iron the shirt straight out of the wash and then let it hang dry. This makes ironing much easier since the whole shirt is wet, and you can iron it in minutes. Let it hang dry overnight and the next morning you have a crisp shirt.

The time it takes to iron offsets the time taken to bring in your shirts. You save money on not paying for the dry cleaning and longer life of the shirt.

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You haven't heard of Permanent Press shirts?

I agree they look much better if they are taken out of the dryer right away, rather than left to sit for hours gathering wrinkles. Theoretically the "cool-down"period at the end of a permanent press dryer cycle is supposed to do to same thing, but it's not as effective.

iherald said:

My Mom got me a steamer for christmas and I tried to do my own shirts, but I found that I didn't get them as clean as when it goes in to be laundered. The inside of my collar was a bit yellow. Any ideas on how to solve this issue?

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I only dry clean very very very and i mean very expensive clothes. Most of the time, for clothes that says "Dry Clean Only", I simply rinse it in cold water with very little soap, wring the water out and hang/iron it up. Works perfectly! Oh btw, did you know DRY CLEAN is NOT SO DRY!!!! (Dry simply means - no water, however a liquid - solvent is still used....i guess water is more harsh for specialty clothings.)

As for iherald's question, big tip I learned from P&G, if you want to clean those "yellow" collar, before you put your shirt into the laundry, put some laundry detergent on the collar itself. Rub it over the area where it's yellow and throw it into the laundry. After you take it out of the wash, the yellow collar should be gone! Works every time for me! =)