The most important step in the wedding gown preservation process is cleaning your wedding gown. Cleaning your wedding gown ensures that your wedding gown is free from both visible and invisible stains that may destroy the fibers of the fabrics used in your wedding gown. Unremoved stains are the main cause of why the fibers of the fabrics age and yellow. Dark brownish stains are also one of the results if you did not clean your wedding gown.
You can bring your wedding gown to a professional wedding gown cleaning company. The cleaning company examines the fibers, embellishments, and degree of stains your wedding gown has to determine the cleaning method that is best suited for your wedding gown. The result of the examination also determines the cost of the cleaning process.
There are a lot of professional cleaning companies that you can choose from in New Jersey. They price their services between $200 to $750. Additional costs are also given if you purchase extra services from their company.
Cleaning a wedding dress can be quite pricey. If you don't have the budget, you can still clean your wedding dress on your own. DIY cleaning has been the trend these days for brides who are tight on budget. Don't worry! The information below will guide you on how to DIY clean your wedding gown.
Check the Label and Ask The Experts
Before starting your DIY wedding dress cleaning process, you need to check the manufacturer's label attached to your wedding gown. It can help you to be guided on the proper method to utilize. Fabrics have specialized cleaning methods to be used to avoid destroying it. For satin fabrics, spot-cleaning is the suggested method. While for wedding gowns adorned with lace, you cannot use an abrasive method.
Prepare the Needed Materials
Go over your materials at home and see what available resources you can use in cleaning your wedding gown. Prepare water, cleaning detergent, and brush with soft bristles like a toothbrush. For spot cleaning, you can use a stain pen, vinegar, soda water, baby powder, or Borax. Always test the fabrics of your wedding dress on how it will react to the chemicals you plan to use.
The Cleaning Method
Stain Treatment
For best results, spot clean your wedding dress first. Go over your wedding dress and examine the spots that need to be treated. You can use the stain pen or mix Ariel stain remover powder to treat the stain.
Soaking
Soak your wedding dress in water to help to soften the stains on your dress. Mix the water with gentle detergents ( like Vanish Stain Powder or Oxiclean Powder) to help in removing the stains. Avoid using detergents made of harsh chemicals as it can melt the embellishments and fabrics on your wedding gown.
Scrubbing
To remove a stain that did not budge in your soaking process, scrub it using a soft-bristled brush. Don't be too harsh when brushing. Scrub every part including the beading patterns if your dress has one. In this way, stuck elements such as hair and soil are all removed.
Rinsing or Washing
Rinse or wash your wedding gown. Make sure to remove all the detergent that you used in cleaning your wedding gown.
Repair your Dress
Repairs are inevitable especially to wedding gowns that have intricate patterns. The usual scenario for this is loose beads and fabrics. You can sew the beads back on your wedding dress as well as the fabrics. Make sure to use threads that have a similar color to your wedding dress.
Repeat the Steps
If stains persist, you can repeat the process until you deem that your wedding dress is stain and dirt-free.
Dry Your Wedding Dress
Dry your wedding dress properly. You have to be careful on this one. Your dress has hanging loops attached to the shoulder part. This is used for this purpose. However, not all wedding dresses can be hanged. Heavy wedding dresses should be laid down. Hanging it will destroy the seams. It is best to lay flat your wedding dress in the clothes drying rack.
Doing the wedding dress cleaning process on your own can be quite a challenge. However, you should not skip this for your wedding dress preservation to be successful. You can follow the information stated above to guide you in your DIY wedding dress cleaning journey.
Author Bio:
Kunal Madan is the founder and CEO of Trusted Wedding Gown Preservation company. It is the nation’s leading wedding dress preservation, cleaning, and alteration gown company trusted by over 3 million brides since 1913. He also started the Azaria Bridal in Freehold Township, New Jersey to provide the best shopping experience for all teenagers, mom of the bride, and bridesmaids on their most special events.