getting SWS economy drycleaned

[GreenDragon]

OK

i plan to start taking my SWK Economy Irish National to the dry cleaner rather than try to wash it at home.

any tips on requests when i do take it to a dry cleaner?

[auld argonian]

I'd hang on...I'm not sure how acrylic fabric stands up to dry cleaning and there have been many horror stories about things being pressed badly at the cleaners. Most of the time this topic has come up the recommendation has been to wash them and hang to dry. When I clean my Stillwater acrylic kilts, i just wash them and then lay them out on a slatted table we have and carefully straighten everything out so that it dries nice and square.

Best

AA

[demobud]

Yes, be careful of overzealous dry cleaners, even if you explain to the counter person about the pleats, there is no guarantee the yahoo on the press is going to do it correctly. It reall doesn't take that long to wash and press them yourself. I can press all three of my SWK's in about 30-40 minutes.

[Ozman1944]

Just toss it in the wash (Gentle cycle, warm wash cold rinse-unless it's totally filthy). After the spin, lay it out flat, like Argonian said. I just use regular table, smooth it out, then hang to dry. Sometimes you might need to tug the pleats straight during drying, but I've never had to. I just hang mine on the hanger & let it sway in the breeze 'til dry. That DryCleaning smell is hard to get rid of, and if they are careless with pressing, your pleats are shot.

[Big Mikey]

I think you need to know your cleaner. I have been dealing with the same dry cleaner for ten years and have never had a problem. I talked at length with them before handing over an SWK standard for cleaning. I was assured that the solution they used was suitable for acrylic fabric and pressing was 10 cents a pleat, total $8.50 for cleaning and pressing. The result was a clean, well pressed kilt.

[James MacMillan]

Don't dry clean it!!!!!!!

Cold water wash, gentle cycle only.......

I speak from experience..... Don't dry clean it!!!!!!!

[GreenDragon]

so, you're saying i shouldn't dry clean it?

[emolas]

You shouldn't need to dry-clean a SWK economy, it's just not worth the hassle. I just toss mine in the cold wash, give them a good shake to fix the pleats, and then hang to dry. The acrylic dries in no time and virtually wrinkle-free. One thing you MUST do is to attach the hook velcro to something, otherwise it will attach itself to the kilt and cause all kinds of havoc. I use some spare pieces of pile tape and just stick them on the hooks but you could also fasten the kilt up as if it's being worn.

[Mr. MacDougall]

you could also fasten the kilt up as if it's being worn.

That's what I do with my Thrifties, and find it works well.

[James MacMillan]

so, you're saying i shouldn't dry clean it?

You have that right!

Don't dry clean it!