A nice dress shirt can last a long time and remain looking great, as long as you take proper care of it. However, taking care of a dress shirt isn’t as easy as tossing it in the wash. In fact, just tossing it in the wash might just ruin the shirt or severely lower its longevity. From proper cleaning to using mens wooden suit hangers for care, here are some tips for caring for a men’s dress shirt.
1. Wear an Undershirt
Whenever possible, you should wear an undershirt under your dress shirt. The undershirt can act as a barrier, protecting your expensive dress shirt from sweat stains and odors. Of course, you should see to your comfort as well. Try a few different types of undershirts to see which ones work best for you.
2. Wash Only When Necessary
Only wash your dress shirt when necessary. Frequent washing isn’t good and unnecessary. Don’t take it to extremes though. If the shirt has stains or an odor, then clean it. If the shirt is just fine, then don’t worry about it.
3. Check the Manufacturer’s Cleaning Instructions
When the time for cleaning arrives, pay close attention to the manufacturer’s instructions on the tag. Barring that, you should do a little research to see the best way to clean a shirt with fabric like yours. In general, there are two ways to go about cleaning a dress shirt properly.
Take it to the Dry Cleaners
Show care when using a dry cleaner. You’ll want a wash and press service rather than just a dry-clean. A regular dry-clean might not remove all the staining since it’s a dry process with no water.
A wash and press service will wash the shirt and press it afterward to remove moisture. A potential downside to this process is if the dry-cleaning attendant presses your shirt a little too aggressively. So, only use a dry-cleaning service you trust.
Wash it Yourself
Once again, start with the manufacturer’s instructions whenever possible. When doing it yourself, you can retreat stains, and specify a delicate or normal wash cycle. Avoid the dryer and let your shirt air-dry. Afterward, you can iron the shirt.
4. Store Your Dress Shirt the Right Way
When you’re not wearing your shirt, you need to store it somewhere dry, clean, and dark. Avoid letting your shirt sit in the sunlight. Never use a wire hanger for your dress shirt. Instead, find wooden suit hangers. These hangers will not damage your shirt. Mens wooden suit hangers help the shirt to breathe and last longer.
Caring for your dress shirts will help your clothes look better, last longer, and save you money over time. If you do nothing else, start using wooden suit hangers like those found in Butler Luxury right away.