The wedding is over, the gifts are opened, and there are many photos and memories left to remember this significant day. But here the question arises, what to do with an expensive wedding dress? It can be sold for a pretty good price or kept as a treasured memory. However, before that, in any case, it must be brought into a presentable form, that is, cleaned or washed. After all, any wedding is an active event, with songs, dances, treats and wine. In addition, the hem is sure to get dirty, no matter how neat and careful the bride is. How to wash a wedding dress at home to restore it to its former glory? In such a procedure, there are many nuances that should be considered.
What are the nuances to consider
Many girls after a fun wedding are wondering if it is possible to wash a wedding dress at home? Theoretically, you can take such a dress to dry cleaning, but no one can give a guarantee that it will not be spoiled. If you want to return along with its former appearance, you need to approach the washing procedure wisely.
First you need to determine what material the outfit is made of. Most often, these are delicate fabrics - silk, satin, polyester or chiffon. It should be borne in mind that clothes made from natural fabrics may shrink or shed a little if the water temperature or detergent is not selected correctly.
Next, determine the degree of contamination of the outfit.In all wedding dresses, the hem is mostly heavily soiled, the second dirty place is the armpit area, in this area there may be stains from sweat.
To wash a wedding dress with rhinestones, you need to be very careful, only with this approach to washing you can completely preserve the original finish of the dress. Very often, when washing, glued stones fall off, so you need to be very careful not to lose them. After drying, all the fallen elements can be returned to their place using a special glue for fabrics.
If there are concerns that home washing can spoil a wedding dress, then it is better to take it to a dry cleaner.
Stain removal
On a wedding dress after a fun wedding, you can find a number of different stains - this is wine, grass, sweat, as well as prints of someone's shoes on the hem. There is no need to immediately panic, from such an abundance of pollution. Such stains are easily washed out, the main thing is to understand which agent to use.
- Sweat stains from a wedding dress can be easily washed off with a concentrated salt solution.
- You can remove stains of champagne or wine with ordinary soapy water.
- Grass stains are well removed with a solution of ammonia. To begin with, all green spots are treated with this agent, then they are washed with laundry soap and only after that they are washed.
When washing wedding dresses, you can not use ordinary bleaches, they can ruin the fabric, and in some cases give a yellowish tint.
Handwash
After removing all the spots, the wedding dress should be washed without fail in order to restore its original whiteness and freshness. In normal home conditions, this can be done like this:
- In a large basin, and preferably a bath, pour water at room temperature and add a suitable detergent. You can take a powder for delicate fabrics or a gel.Wait until the detergent is completely dissolved.
- The dress is gently dipped in a soapy solution and left for several hours.
- After that, start washing. If the hem is made of polyester or light chiffon, it can be lightly rubbed with a soft brush. In the case when the dress is lace, then it is lightly wrinkled with hands in soapy water.
- Then the formal attire should be well rinsed in several waters. It is very simple to determine whether a thing is well rinsed; soap bubbles should not remain on it.
If the product does not have glass beads or rhinestones, then it can be washed by another method. A strong rope is stretched over the bath, on which a dress is broadcast on wooden or plastic hangers. After that, the fabric is poured with cool water from the shower and at the same time the fabric is lathered with a soapy sponge. With such a wash, there is less chance of ruining the fabric, but it is not suitable for all formal dresses.
When hand washing, do not stretch the fabric too much so as not to deform the shape of the dress.
Washing machine
Some housewives believe that it is impossible to wash a wedding dress in normal home conditions in a washing machine without spoiling it. In fact, if all the recommendations are followed, the risk of ruining a wedding dress during machine washing is minimal. The main recommendations look like this:
- When washing such a dress in a washing machine, you need to set the machine to a delicate washing mode and set the temperature, which is not more than 30 degrees. In many washers of this type, a quick wash mode is provided, which is exactly what it is ideal for a wedding dress.
- The spin mode should be turned off altogether or the thing should be squeezed at the minimum speed.
- When washing, you should use only white powders and colorless gels, as ugly stains can appear on the fibers of the fabric.
- To protect areas decorated with beads or rhinestones, they are pre-sewn with a special fabric.
- It is advisable to wash the wedding dress in a special bag that will prevent the product from deforming.
It should be understood that when washing in a washing machine, the wedding dress is washed well, but the corset can be hopelessly damaged. It will be unrealistic to restore such a thing and you will have to send the ceremonial outfit to the scrap. Often such an oversight occurs when a rather high water temperature or a very intensive washing mode is set.
How to dry your wedding dress
The appearance of a wedding dress will largely depend on how properly it was dried and stroked. In order not to accidentally spoil an expensive thing, you must adhere to the following recommendations:
- It is not recommended to squeeze such a thing strongly, as this will certainly lead to its deformation. In this case, it will be very difficult to return the dress to its former form.
- Some housewives recommend drying the wedding dress on a hanger, believing that under their weight all the folds on the fabric will straighten out well. But many housewives believe that this way the thing can deteriorate, and therefore they prefer to dry elegant clothes on a horizontal plane, for example, on a dryer. To do this, a large basin is first placed under it and a rag is laid to collect the flowing water.
- Do not dry such a product in direct sunlight, as this may cause persistent yellow spots.
- You can not hang an expensive thing next to radiators and other heating systems.
After washing, an elegant dress can be spread on the bottom of the bathroom, after laying a cotton light fabric. After the water drains, the thing is hung on a coat hanger.
How to iron an outfit
After the puffy dress is completely dry, you can start ironing it. Ironing can be done on an ironing board or on a large table, the main thing is to make sure that the surface is absolutely clean. A white cotton sheet must be covered on the surface of the ironing board or a bedspread placed on the table.
The ironing algorithm directly depends on the fabric from which the solemn thing is made:
- A satin dress can only be ironed on the wrong side, otherwise the fabric will lose its attractive sheen.
- A lace item is ironed only through a cotton napkin; the mode for silk should be set on the iron.
- If the clothes are sewn from tulle or chiffon, then it is advisable to iron them by weight with a steam iron.
After the dress is ironed, it needs to be allowed to hang for a couple more hours, and then you can hide it in a clothes bag. If all the manipulations were performed correctly, then the dress becomes as attractive as it was purchased in the salon.
Washing tricks
There are certain tricks, following which you can make cleaning the outfit easier.
- If only the hem is dirty, and the bodice is completely clean, then only this part of the wedding dress is washed. It is convenient to do this procedure together. One person holds the dress suspended over a bath of soapy water or a large basin, and the second one washes the bottom of the thing.
- Large beads that are sewn to the bodice, and other large decor can be carefully torn off for the duration of washing, and sewn back after drying and ironing.
- If there is a lacing on the back of formal wear, it is pulled out and washed separately so that the lace does not fray. The dress must be zipped before washing.
Washing a wedding dress usually takes a lot of time, but the result is worth it. After all, properly performed manipulation allows you to return things to their original appearance. Such a thing can be profitably sold or left as a keepsake and after many years to show it to children and grandchildren.
