AIBU to wonder how to keep dressing up outfits clean?

[Pishedorf]

DD got an Elsa and Anna dress for her birthday and wears them all the effing time so they get filthy. I try handwashing them as the fabric is flimsy I didn't think they would sustain the machine but it doesn't seem to stop them getting wrecked. I'm not going through DH's obsessive search for months beforehand to find the elusive bloody Elsa dress again to replace it, so how can I clean the damn things without wrecking them?

A gentle wash in the washing machine. Wool wash. They do survive, honest!

Agree with norm, I put all mine through the washing machine on a gentle cycle 40 degrees, occasionally in a pillow case if I particularly like the dress. They all seem to survive!

Merida and Cinderella have survived the washing machine and still look good

I wash all dressing up clothes on a 15 minute 20 degree cycle with a slow spin, and they all come out fine.

Put in a pillow case and in a delicate wash.

Works like a dream!

I've been sponging DD2s (generic and probably even more flimsy than branded) princess dress down with a damp cloth because I didn't dare risk the upset of it falling apart in the washer

Going to have to try and work out where the fuck the wool cycle is, don't think I've ever owned anything made with real wool.

Brill, thanks!

Washing machine on short cycle 30 degrees. I've washed most of my DDs dressing up dresses like this and they've been fine. Its dd2 trying to put them on that's ripped them.

mine go in with the normal wash at 60 and no problems so far.

No eating allowed when wearing them!!!

If they are very flimsy just put them inside a pillow case and tie it shut before popping it into the machine. I do it now because one dress caught somehow inside the machine and the thin fabric ripped.

Second no eating when wearing them. Then you won't have food stains to deal with. Don't over wash them, a bit of grubbiness is fine. Wash in pillowcase on delicates cycle. Drop dry.

No eating! they're just dressing up outfits. My ds wears his just like he does 'ordinary' clothes. He digs in the garden, goes to asda, eats his dinner, puts on my make up all in his dressing up stuff. I just bung it in the machine at the end of the day like his other clothes. If i told him he couldnt get it dirty he'd never be able to wear it.

I agree Dia! No eating indeed! My DD and her friends wear them the whole time they're playing...in the garden, eating fish fingers, drinking juice and jumping in puddles! No eating indeed!

I say it, he actually has about 15

What technique are you using to get the item off before eating Momof2, that doesn't involve either crying as though you've burnt the dress in front of their very eyes or overly long discussions reassuring them they can put it back on after they've eaten?

Don't tell me, you tell them to take it off and they take it off

X-posts, not just mine then?

Not just yours agent. I dined with a ninja on thursday.

Put them in a pillowcase in the machine.

Get spares

I would love to dine with a ninja Dia.

Did he catch on to ninja's being quiet so you had some peace and quiet while you ate?

Spares? At £10-£15 a pop ICan?

Did he catch on to ninja's being quiet so you had some peace and quiet while you ate?

No, he missed that memo. Also missed the one about not talking/singing/rhyming/shouting with his mouth full

Basting the pillowcase shut or using a large zipped bra bag works better. Then again, I love to sew. If I lived in the UK, I'd offer a school labeling service, with second labels in hidden locations to foil borrowers.