How often do you clean your kilt?

[Clockwork John]

Would that be how you got the name "Crusty"???

.

Nope. That name came from the three pairs of patched jeans I wore (without washing) until they literally fell apart.

[Ryan Ross]

I'm another hand washer. Only way to go.

[Big Homestead]

UK: Washed every few weeks to a month.

SWK Thrifty: If it needs it.

SWK Heavy: Not yet washed, not sure I would ever want to

[Nanook]

In general there should be very little need, baring a nasty spill, to wash a kilt. Most of the dirt and grime should be removable with a good clothing brush and an occasional streaming. The cotton (or silk) linings one can clean with a bit of soap, water, sponge and microfibre cloth without wetting the kilt. If they are too filthy to be acceptably "cleaned" in that manner then they are probably best replaced. This logic is not specific to kilts but even suits (some of the current fad Super 160s are, despite cost, almost uncleanable) and coats. Dry cleaning does have its place but its for when it really need be (due to environmental and health issues current dry cleaning is moving away from perc towards less effective solvents). I mentioned here the Electrolux Lagoon System (water based) and its, I think, got in theory (as I've not tried it) the best solution for our kilts.

[Chefdave]

Hand wash about once a year.

[herminator]

Dry clean: never
Machine wash: my cotton kilt twice a year (I wear it in summer only, butthen it tends to acquire a salt edge ), my PV kilts about once a year

[Hamish]

There is NO way I would ever wash a £300, hand-sewn, woollen kilt! The only kilts I have washed at home are my Freedom Kilts, Utilikilts (and similar others) and maybe, just maybe, my USA Kilts in poly-vis. ............................ But then, they very, very seldom require cleaning; some have never been cleaned. I'd swear that my oldest kilt (1973) has been dry cleaned no more than four/five times (it WAS my only kilt for over 20 years!), but that's all. If one of my woollen kilts should be in need of a cleaning, it will go to the dry cleaners - probably with the pleats basted beforehand. ............ Take care, Ham.

[thescot]

I would never let a dry cleaner touch my kilts. You can actually wash the wool just fine, but never dry it with heat.And I believe that Barbara Tewksbury advises against it, too.

Check this out: http://www.piperkeith.com/kiltwash.html

[slohairt]

I'm a hand-washer as well. I've never taken my kilts to a dry cleaners. (And I used to work at one!)

[Jock Scot]

I never clean my 3 kilts.IF I have had a disaster of some sort and a kilt may need cleaning I get my kiltmaker to attend to it.They have a "tame" cleaner that understands kilts and thus avoids the danger of any further disasters that could happen during the cleaning process.