How to Protect your dress from yellowing

Did you choose a beautiful wedding dress that makes you look and feel gorgeous? Most likely, you would like to keep it looking just as pristine as the day you brought it home.

Many brides choose to purchase their gowns months before the actual date of the wedding so that they can focus on other things leading up to the big day. Since planning a wedding can take so much time, it helps to have the dress all picked out and checked off the list before proceeding. It may also be easier to enlist the help of friends and family in assisting with choosing the dress if you all meet sooner rather than later.

However, now that you have your dress, you’ll need to find a way to store it safely without it turning yellow. Since wedding dresses are made of delicate fabrics, it is very easy for them to disintegrate. Plus, the dress is white, so every little imperfection will show.

But never fear, there are plenty of ways you can keep your dress from showing wear and tear from storage. Here are our top tips to help keep your dress from turning yellow before the big day.

Be Careful of Plastic Bags

Many boutiques will let you take your dress home in a plastic garment bag that will protect it from any damage or dirt on the drive home. However, this is not a long term storage solution. Plastic will trap moisture in with the dress, causing mold, mildew and discoloration. Instead, remove your dress from the plastic bag and put it in a box with tissue paper.

An Acid-Free Environment

You should also store your dress in acid-free materials. If you choose to store it in a box, make sure all of the box materials do not contain any acid, and use acid-free tissue paper to wrap the dress and prevent discoloration at the seams and folds. You should also keep your dress out of direct sunlight at all times. Instead, keep it in a cool, dry place with even temperatures.

Consider Preservation Services

After the wedding, you may want to look into wedding gown preservation services. These services will not only get your gown cleaned professionally, but will also provide a special box for you to store your dress so that it can be preserved as a family heirloom.

1.  Never wash your dress at home.

Washing your dress at home by yourself is a terrible idea. The washing machine will be too harsh and will most likely cause damage to the delicate fabrics. Furthermore, the detergent we use at home probably won’t get out the worst spots, or may even cause them to spread and look worse! Instead, get your dress cleaned by a professional who specializes in wedding dress preservation.

2.  Never wrap your dress in plastic

Plastic will trap moisture in with the dress and cause unsightly discoloration, mold and mildew. Instead, speak with a dress preservationist about acquiring a special box and tissue paper to store your dress properly.

3.  Don’t use a hanger

Hangers will cause a heavy dress to stretch in the shoulders and bodice. Instead, store your dress in a cool, dry place in a specialty preservation box made of acid-free materials.

4.  Keep your dress out of the sun

Never store your dress in direct sunlight. Why? Because the intense light will cause discoloration and make the dress look yellow instead of white. You should also store your dress in a cool, dry location such as under your bed. Don’t store it in the basement or the attic, where moisture and uneven temperatures can threaten its condition.

Additionally, you can consider meeting with a professional wedding gown preservationist to have the process done professionally. Then, you’ll be able to keep your dress looking just as perfectly white and gorgeous as the day you brought it home from the boutique. 

Cleaning and Preserving Your Wedding Dress

Are you a newlywed concerned about preserving your wedding dress? First of all, congratulations on your wedding! If you’re worried about how to keep your dress as fresh and beautiful as when you first put it on, then you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn more about cleaning and preserving your wedding dress.

Step 1: Get It Cleaned As Soon As Possible

Your first priority should be to get your dress to the dry-cleaners. No matter how careful you are, there is always at least one stain on your wedding dress. Things like red wine, mud, and frosting from when your husband smashed cake in your face can all leave noticeable stains. And since stains darken over time, it’s imperative that you do something about them immediately.

Additionally, remember that wedding gowns are made of special materials, like lace, silk, satin and taffeta, that react differently to stains. You’ll want to make sure that your dry cleaner uses a gentle cleaning process and isn’t too rough. Otherwise, you could damage the fabric.

Step 2: Consider Boxing

When it comes time to consider storing your dress, don’t just hang it up in your closet. Hanging for years from a hanger can stretch the shoulders and the bodice, especially if the skirt is heavy and has lots of luxurious layers of fabric. Instead, consider storing it in a padded box. The box should be sealed to prevent dust and insects from getting in, and should be made from acid-free materials. Then, place the box in a cool, dry environment, such as under your bed. Don’t place it in the basement or the attic, as these areas don’t always have regular temperatures, which can cause damage.

Step 3: Use Tissue Paper in the Folds

To prevent discoloration around the folds, insert bits of tissue paper. This will help maintain the color evenly and also prevent dust from settling deep down in the folds.

Step 4: Consider Professional Service

While these tips are all well and good, you may wish to consider a professional gown cleaning and preservation service. These companies will not only clean your gown so that it looks like new, but also provide treatments and a proper storage box, as well as helpful tips on how to make your dress last longer. You can find them online, in the phone book or by asking a friend for a recommendation.

5 Things You Should Know Before Getting Your Wedding Gown Cleaned

Are you considering getting your wedding gown professionally cleaned? Many newlyweds wish to have their gowns cleaned so that they look just as beautiful as the day they came out of the bridal store. Some people also want to take it one step further and find a professional preservation method so that they can turn their wedding gowns into family heirlooms.

Whichever you choose, know that getting a wedding dress cleaned is a big process and you should think carefully about how to go about doing it. To assist you, here are five things you should know before getting your wedding gown cleaned.

1.  Price

Remember that expression, “You get what you pay for?” Well, sometimes that’s true here too. Oftentimes, cheaper cleaning companies don’t deliver quality work. However, sometimes they still charge an arm and a leg but don’t deliver quality work, and you’re left feeling ripped off. To avoid these situations, make sure you know exactly what you’re paying for. It may help to shop around to find the perfect cleaning company to suit your needs and budget.

2.  Spot-Cleaning

When shopping for a cleaning company, make sure to ask about spot-cleaning. You’ll want someone to inspect your dress completely and remove any spots, while also explaining exactly what kind of chemicals are being used. Since wedding gowns are made of special fabrics like lace, taffeta and silk, you’ll want to make sure the cleaning process is gentle enough not to damage the fabric, but strong enough to get those pesky spots out.

3.  Sugar Stains

Stains left by sugary substances, like alcohol, cake, frosting, coffee and even baby spit, will require a special process to remove. Ask directly whether the cleaning company can recognize and remove stains caused by sugary items.

4.  Storage Materials Provided

After the cleaning process, most companies will provide a bag or box to store your gown in for years to come. You’ll want to make sure that the bag or box is made of acid-free material and that the company will pack the dress in acid-free tissue paper to prevent discoloration around the seams and folds.

5.  Better Business Bureau

Finally, you can look on the Better Business Bureau’s website for a listing of trusted companies. These companies will have built a great reputation, so your best bet is to go with one of them!

The Down-low on Wedding Gown Preservation

Thinking of having your wedding gown preserved? This is an important step if you want to keep your dress for a long time. There are certain costs you should expect, as well as measures all good preservationists make, and guidelines as to what you can and cannot do with your dress after its preservation. If possible, try to do this as soon as possible to help keep your dress perfectly in-tact for years to come.

Costs and Shipping

You can expect the total cost for dress preservation to range from $200.00 to $900.00. Most reputable companies will include shipping in the overall cost of preservation. Some companies will only preserve a dress and veil, while other will also let you include purses or shoes. Check with them, first. You do not need to buy extra insurance on your dress while having it shipped if you are working with a great preservation company: they include it. Many companies will also include a warranty on their work for a limited time period. Ask the company you want to work with about their offer of a warranty.

What a Preservationist Will Do

Preservationists will carefully clean, then repack your dress and send it to you in a box. Do not trust a company if they want to send it in a garment bag. Usually, they will pack it in an unsealed costume box with tissue paper or a liner, or an archival storage box. This assures that the fabric can breathe, will not be damaged from moisture, mold, mildew, or re-acidification of the boxy. They may also include instructions with the box of how to further upkeep their work. Then, they will ship it back to you, free of charge.

After You Get Your Dress Back

After you get your dress back, feel free to carefully remove it from the box. As a precaution against skin oils, you may want to wear cotton gloves (sometimes included in preservation costs) or carefully wash and dry your hands beforehand. You can inspect it regularly. Just clear an area in which to inspect it, and then carefully repack it in the box in the same way it was shipped to you. Store it flat in a closet in the living area of your home that is regularly cleaned where the temperature is regulated throughout the year. It should stay beautiful for years. 

Facts on Preservation and Cleaning for Wedding Gowns

Preserving your wedding gown is important to keep it just as beautiful as it was the day you walked down the aisle. There are many options for both cleaning and preservation. Here, we will take a look at all of them, as well as what methods are recommended if you want to keep your wedding gown in great condition for years to come. Do not trust what everyone says, as well as what all cleaners may tell you. Our final verdicts might just surprise you!

What Experts Say

Experts in the gown preservation business can help you to preserve your gown properly. Experts who preserve historical gowns (such as those in museums) are able to keep gorgeous and old gowns looking brand new by using preservation methods that some wedding gown preservation companies may offer. By far, most preservationist experts and archivists say that these types of methods are the best because they allow a garment to breathe, be kept free of insects, stains, mold, mildew, and more, and will not cause your garment to yellow, shrink, or get destroyed over time.

What Cleaning and Preservation Methods are Available?

You may send your dress off for cleaning and preservation, or have it done at your local dry cleaners. No matter who you are considering, ask what methods they may use. Some use dry cleaning (which might damage some very fragile beading, appliques, or materials), or wet cleaning (which is the use of very gentle soap and water). If dry cleaning, ask that they use a virgin cleaning solution. After cleaning, most reputable companies will either preserve your dress using the museum method or by boxing it up in an archival box. They may or may not seal this box.

Final Verdict

But which person do you turn to for the best cleaning and preservation? Here are some tips: Do not let the cleaner put your dress in a dry cleaning bag or a plain cardboard box, as this can cause the dress to deteriorate or stain. Do not let them hang it on a regular hanger, or use chemicals that are particularly abrasive on very fragile fabric. Be sure to ask lots of questions before handing your dress over to anyone. Lastly, it is recommended that you research more about whether or not to have your box sealed before you make that decision. 

Real Dangers of DIY Wedding Dress Cleaning

When wading through wedding dress cleaning advice online, you may think that all the warnings against DIY cleaning may just be a load of malarkey. However, there is some truth to the fact that DIY wedding dress cleaning may not be the best for your dress. Here, we will take a look at the real risks that DIY cleaning may pose to the longevity of your gorgeous wedding dress, and why all this talk may not just be rumor from the professional cleaning industry.

What’s All the Hubbub?

Your first thought may be that professionals simply post these warning online to deter people from cleaning their dress themselves in order to boost their businesses. While in some cases this may be true, in most they are just being frank about what damage you could possibly do to your dress should you decide to clean it yourself. Professionals have the right equipment to thoroughly clean, preserve, and store your dress, whereas you may not. This is especially true if your dress is vintage, extremely delicate, or if you do not have access to all the equipment needed for this task.

Not Getting Your Dress Clean Enough

One of the risks DIY cleaners may run into it not actually cleaning their dress thoroughly. Failure to do this may result in later staining, yellowing, or browning. This is particularly something that you want to avoid if you want to keep your dress pure white, or if you plan on introducing it into your family as an heirloom dress. The most embarrassing thing could be, years from now, to take out your dress to show it to your anxious daughter, only to find it is stained beyond repair. Even worse is not noticing it till the wedding day. This will not happen if you contact a professional.

Other Damage

Permanent distortion of the materials, shape, and size of the dress is another huge concern. You may find that a dress become misshapen, faded, stained, or worse after improper DIY cleaning. This type of damage, sadly, cannot be undone like staining can. Damage such as this may mean that a dress can never be worn again by anyone. Often, distortion happens because of the fact that people do not have the right equipment or materials needed to properly clean very delicate fabrics. Professionals, however, have these materials on hand. 

Examining Wedding Dress Preservation Kit Warranties

Looking for the best in wedding gown preservation? If so, you may be curious about things like cost difference in preservationist services, which container offers the best long-term protection for your investment, and possible warranties and guarantees that certain companies may or may not offer. Here, we will take a look at warranties that preservationist companies offer you, either as part of your package, or for an additional fee. We will also let you know what you want to look for in these types of promises.

The Process

The process for preserving your dress should be about the same, no matter what company you go with, or whether they offer any promises on their work or not. All good preservationists will inspect, thoroughly clean, and then put your wedding dress in a specialized box. The best companies will either pack your dress with tissue paper or place it on a bust while it is in the box to keep it from becoming misshapen. They may or may not seal the box. Most of them include shipping and handling costs, and will insure your dress while it is in their care.

What is Offered by Companies

In addition to the above process, most companies offer a warranty or guarantee on their work. If the person you are wanting to clean your dress does not back-up their work, you will probably want to consider another company to do the job for you. Ask to read the warranty before you purchase your package. Usually, these warranties will cover a dress for your entire life, or for up to a certain number of years, which varies among companies. You may be able to buy a longer warranty for a little extra money added to the cost of your overall package.

What You Want

What should you look for in these promises? Most should promise against staining, like yellowing, or the appearance of brown stains on your dress after they have done their work. Some companies may also offer a special guarantee against insect infection. Carefully read the entire warranty, including what might make the warranty become invalidated. Sometimes, the rules that you need to follow in order to keep your dress under warranty can seem very extreme and strange. If this is the case for the warranty you are reading, you may want to consider trying another company who offers better terms of warranty. 

What is the best wedding gown storage strategy? Once you have paid the bill for bridal gown cleaning and drying, you would be in need of a wedding dress box. Should the box be taped, sealed or should it be something else entirely?

Preserving the wedding gown is not just a custom but also a desire for almost all and sundry. You wouldn’t want your wedding gown to get damaged. You wouldn’t want to indulge in poor quality wedding gown storage. When you put in your heart and money in selecting the gown and then wearing it on one of the most important days in your life, you should also attend to it properly after you have used it on the big day. You never know when you would want to unpack and open the wedding gown storage box again to show it to your kids or to gift it to your daughter. Thus, you have to make plans for uncertain times or an indefinite time.

The best wedding dress box is a preservation box. You shouldn’t use a taped box or a normally sealed box. It is a special preservation wedding dress box that you must use. Here are four reasons why you should endorse such a wedding gown storage tactic.

• A preservation box would provide lifetime guarantee of the protection of the gown. Such boxes are completely sealed. The wedding gown will not come in contact with air, dust or dirt which would inevitably damage the dress. Wedding dress storage should be in a controlled environment and thus the preservation box is the best solution.
  
  
• A preservation box is not prone to moisture or growth of mold and mildew. The seal is study enough to shield moisture. Humidity is an enemy of the wedding dress. Moisture damages the quality, texture and even the color of the wedding dress. When you use a preservation wedding dress box, you can be sure of having the dress preserved, whether it is the hottest summers or the chilliest winters.
  
  
• Such a wedding dress box also helps in preventing insects and pests from invading the box and building nests in it. Some insects and centipedes also gorge on the fabrics which is completely undesirable. Use such a wedding gown storage box after bridal grown cleaning to protect your investment and to treasure your emotional possession.
  
  

Irrespective of what type of material the wedding gown is made of, fabrics wear out over time. The colors fade and due to exposure to light, dust, dirt, moisture, body oils, stains and insects, the gown can lose all its elegance. Using a preservation box, you would also be protecting the quality of the fabrics and the aesthetic brilliance of your bridal gown.

Before you delve into the various DIY dress preservation methods, you have to decipher if DIY wedding dress cleaning is a viable idea. Wedding dress dry cleaning is different from washing or dry cleaning ordinary clothes. It requires a great deal of patience, expertise and deft hands as well as the right tools to go about DIY wedding dress cleaning. Unless you are up for the challenge, you should entrust the task of wedding dress dry cleaning onto a professional.

If you wish to go ahead with DIY wedding dress cleaning then you must accustom yourself with the requisites. First, you must read the instructions on the label. What type of cleaning agents can you use, what temperature must be maintained and whether you can use a washing machine or have to hand clean the dress. These are some quintessential elements of DIY wedding dress cleaning.

Second, you must understand the quality and type of fabric that has been used. Gowns may be made of silk or blended silk, a combination of different types of silk or some other fabrics like polyester. There may be some beads or sequins. You may have some additional designer elements. Accessories or accentuates might be sewed in or glued onto the gown. All such factors would have to be taken into consideration before you can embark on your DIY wedding dress cleaning adventure.

Third, you must be able to mix the detergent or the cleaning agents properly and apply them to the gown with deft and sensitive hands. Delicate handling is demanded in DIY wedding dress cleaning because the gowns are susceptible to damage even at the slightest errors or mistakes.

Fourth, you should decide whether you are going to steam press or iron the gown before DIY dress preservation. If you are hiring professional wedding dress dry cleaning services then they would use steam cleaning and prepare your gown for DIY dress preservation. If not, then you are on your own.

DIY dress preservation is not a daunting challenge once your dress is cleaned properly. You simply need a preservation box which will come with the seals and every packaging material which will ensure the safekeeping of the gown forever.

Unless you have sufficient experience in handling gowns or in washing, you should not try out DIY wedding dress cleaning. It is always best to hire a professional, even though you may want to save some money.