Dry Cleaner in Tucson for Kilt

[DesertCeltic]

Can any of those who live in Tucson recommend a dry cleaner for kilts.

Thanks,

William

[AtagahiKC]

Yeah, don't do it. At least don't do it unless you baste all the pleats down so they don't screw it up when they press it.

The pleats don't hang correctly after dry cleaning as cleaners tend to press a kilt like a woman's skirt. The pleats end up splaying and rippling instead of having a flat appearance along the bottom hem.

See Barb T's excellent tutorial on how to do baste your pleats down here.

I've learned the lesson the hard way. My Saltire kilt is screwed up from a cleaner who swore they knew how to clean and press kilts correctly. They didn't.

If I ever have one dry cleaned again, I'll follow Barb's advice and baste, baste baste, and tell them to not press the kilt at all (I'll do it myself).

I also recommend removing the leather straps prior to cleaning as the solvent messes up leather. Then sew them back on after the pressing is completed.

If you are unable to baste, find someone who can to do the basting before you take it to the cleaners.

I don't clean my kilts as often as I would a pair of wool dress pants. I let them dry out before hanging them up.

If you are worried about odor, try Febreze lightly on the inside of the kilt (no one knows it if is safe for wool kilts or not). I have not used it yet, but would probably would if a kilt became too whiffy.

I wouldn't use Febreze on the outside of the kilt in case it affected the lightfastness of the dyed wool. It would probably be okay, but why find out the hard way by ruining an expensive kilt?

[RobertParker]

I think most folks here will tell you not to take it to a dry cleaner if at all possible. The chemical bath can actually be pretty hard on the fabric. As it turns out, unless you get it really dirty, kilts don't have to be cleaned all that often. When you do, most people have a variety of options. Most of them include some kind of gentle hand washing in cold water and leaving it to hang dry. Perhaps some Woolite if necessary.

[Beertigger]

I've always just (very) gently washed and pressed them myself.

See the 'care' area for some good advice on not mucking it up....

[DesertCeltic]

I appreciate the input and will heed all of your words wisely and not dry clean. I will follow the recommendations in the care area.

William

[Riverkilt]

Getcha a portable steamer, they set the pleats, make the wrinkles disappear, and clean the fabric just like they clean a wool suit.

Check your local big box store. If you can find Black and Decker Gizmo its probably less than the cost of dry cleaning even if you were fool enough to dry clean.

Or google up Jiffy Steamers...American made, solid value...

Ron

[sirdaniel1975]

I agree with the others, especially Ron.

I just don't trust dry cleaners. Twice I've had problems with them and they were different cleaners. When I was a musician for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, the cleaners on the ship put a whole in my Tux pants. I'm not sure how that happened during the process, but it did. An earlier occasion, in college they removed the buckles form my waistcoat and played stupid when I asked questions. I never retrieved the buckles and had to add new ones.

DIY (DO IT YOURSELF)!

[Aggie]

Somehow I missed Barb's post on how to baste pleats. Now I now where to go for this info. Thanks for posting this.

[Desert Celt]

Took mine to the dry cleaner on-base: didn't seem to have a problem, except of course one of the usuall questions: "do you play the bagpipes?"

DC

[Mr. MacDougall]

Back before I found this board, I had a canvas kilt from Buzz Kidder, down in Sierra Vista. Buzz (at that time) recommended dry cleaning on 'em, so I took mine to Sparkle Cleaners on Stone, north of Speedway. They messed it up something serious. Fortunately it was only (!) an $80 canvas kilt, but I still think it's best to go with Ron's recommendation, and stay away from cleaners.