There has been controversy over how often one should dryclean their clothes. Well-meaning tailors and men’s and ladies stores have been telling their clients not to clean their garments too often. This is and has been a misconception for many years; based on the idea that drycleaning will shorten the life of your garments. Nothing can be further from the truth.

On the contrary, frequent cleaning prolongs the life of a garment. Not only do stains set with age, making the garment unwearable, but ground-in dirt and soil act as an abrasive, like sandpaper, causing rapid wear of fibers. Also, insects are attracted to soils such as food, beverages, feces, perspiration, and oils from hair on the clothes and will cause further damage.

We work in an environment that creates anxiety to produce. This anxiety along with temperature factors causes one to perspire and as a result, the area most affected is usually around the underarms and crotch. This perspiration contains salts which over time deteriorate the fabric of your clothes. Even though you may wear a shirt or blouse, the perspiration will seep into the linings of the jacket or dress and deteriorate the fabric. Not all deodorants are safe to protect the underarm area as they themselves contain harmful chemicals which will deteriorate the fabric over time.

Living in an urban area will also cause your garments to pick up the pollutants from the air and damage the fibers of your garments. Just take a white handkerchief after being outside for an hour and wipe your forehead. You will see that it becomes soiled from the pollutants in the air that have landed on your body and your clothes. Just as you have to take a shower or bath on a regular basis, these pollutants also have to be flushed out of the garment on a regular basis, or they will damage your clothes.

Research was conducted by the Department of Clothing and Textiles at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in cooperation with the School of Textiles at North Carolina State System, which was developed in Japan. The research showed that the various dry cleaning processes have no negative effect on the properties of wool in men’s suiting fabrics.

What is more important is to find a good dry or wet cleaner that can clean your clothes safely. In order to do so, you must realize that you get what you pay for. When searching for a good dry or wet cleaner, look for decals and plaques indicating that the cleaner belongs to a reputable association and has passed a certification program provided by their local provincial or state governments. By belonging to a recognized and reputable association, the cleaner is continuously receiving technical and educational information to better clean your garments and adhere to municipal, provincial or state, and federal regulations to protect their employees, the public and the environment.

Never be afraid to ask your dry or wet cleaner to show you around his plant and describe the process that your garments are treated to. A good cleaner will be proud to do so.