Risk washing a garment that says DO NOT WASH and DO NOT DRY CLEAN in the washing machine?

[battenburg100]

Hi everyone
I would be grateful for any advice as I have no clue what to do.

I bought a new suit jacket ( Polyester 67%, Viscose 29%, Elastane 4% Lining: Polyester 100%) and am unsure how I will keep it clean as the washing instructions are:

DO NOT WASH (ie no contact with water) and DO NOT DRY CLEAN! So how am I to keep it clean?

I am tempted to risk washing the jacket on a DELICATES cycle but this involves water, as does spot cleaning.

I was hoping to wear the jacket to work on a regular basis and now I don't know what to do.

It doesn't make sense to me that a garment can be sold and never able to be washed!

Thanks so much for all your advice.

I don't tend to ever wash jackets. How dirty is to going to get wearing to to work? I would wear it and only consider how it might be washed if it desperately needed it.

I would wash on a delicate cycle in a large laundry bag (can buy from Lakeland). And then shake it and hang it out to dry. I cannot see anything that should mean only dry cleaning would do. Good luck!

Do you have a steam programme on your machine?

I would wash it on the Delicates programmes - usually 30, lower spin speed, 45 minutes or so wash, then hang it out or on airer to dry, should be fine.

How much was it?
I'm surprised about the no dry cleaning. There was a thread about a dress with strict instructions where it turned out to be down to the buttons.
The no washing is usually because the interlinings and internal structure of the jacket can shrink or lose their shaping if it's soaked/washed, although its more of a thing with wool jackets.
Spot cleaning should be for the outer fabric.

Everything in this house goes in the washing machine / dishwasher irrespective of instructions. If it survives then great, if not it was just wasting space anyway because I'm not hand washing it.

I have a dress with viscose in it that says dry clean only. I stuck it on a delicates wash and dried flat. It was fine.

I've done this, delicate programme, in a bag, turned inside out, delicate detergent and reshape while damp.
Hit and miss. Jackets really shouldn't need cleaning often though.

I would contact where you bought it from and ask for advice, as that sounds like a mistake!

That's ridiculous

I wash almost everything, most things can be washed. The problem with that fibre mix is that viscose shrinks on washing. You may find that the jacket comes out with the lining the same size but the outer fabric shrunken. It will come back to size with careful steam pressing, but it can be tricky to get both parts of the garment to be in unison again in certain places. (Collars, shoulders etc, where it is hard to get the iron in well) . The other issue is any padding in the shoulders, this can go lumpy when washed, depending on what it is. I would chance a cool/tepid very gentle hand wash, with the jacket laid flat in the sink, no rubbing, no twisting. Then getting excess water out by blotting on a towel. If this is all easy you could risk a wool cycle in your machine, especially if you have a Miele as their wool cycle is excellent with minimal agitation.

I've washed a dress of DD's like this - because she wasn't going to wear it again otherwise. I used a mesh bag thing and it was either the hand-wash cycle or a delicates. Surprisingly it survived in one piece.

Yeah, sounds like a mistake. Where was it from?

You can absolutely wash things that say dry clean only in the washing machine!

Read this book: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089CP57H6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

it was featured in the Times last year and I bought it. It's very entertaining and confirms what my mum always told me, that everything can go in the washing machine!

I rejected a skirt because those were the laundry instructions and I couldn’t work out how it would work.

Could you spot clean/febreze it? If not, I would just chance it on a delicates wash, because surely otherwise it won’t be worn?

Oh tricky

I once washed a dress that said: do not wash

It shrunk to doll size when I hand washed it cold

Still remember that sinking feeling as it belonged to a friend. It was a viscose mix

But 9 out of 10 times I have washed stuff and it was ok

But tbh I have never washed a jacket in my life 😁

I’d always wear it with something covering armpits (eg short sleeve top not a cami) to minimise how dirty it gets to reduce washing frequency. Viscose will shrink, and not always just the first time it gets washed.
You could try Soak brand hand wash liquid in cold/tepid water. Usually it’s warmth or agitation that’s the problem and that would avoid both.

If you already brought it and it needs a wash then you've got nothing to lose really. If you've not worn it yet then I would treat it much like a coat see how much wear you can get iut of it before it needs washing. Just wear long sleeves under it. Not sure how that will go if it's really fitted though.

I'd be wary of washing - I ruined a kids jacket this way as the interlinings shrank and picked the outer fabric. No amount of pressing removed it completely. I think the best suggestion is to contact the manufacturer for cleaning instructions, and also to protect it as much as possible when wearing e.g. long sleeves etc.

I'd risk it delicate wash and do it on 30. I've done it with a few items.

I ruined a beautiful dry clean only dress by hand washing it cold so I wouldn’t risk it. I’d sponge clean it and hang it to air outside in between.

Thanks for all your advice everyone - it's much appreciated.

The jacket was 24.99 from a High Street store, so although not too expensive, I don't want to write it off. But having weighed things up, I will probably chance washing it on the Delicates cycle and hope it doesn't shrink, especially as it is a fitted style.

I gues it's possible the instructions could be a mistake, but I also bought another different suit jacket from there, with the same instructions (DO NOT WASH and DO NOT DRY CLEAN).

I was planning on wearing it with a vest top underneath, so am conscious of sweat going directly on to the jacket after a long day at work!

Could I ask which would be more preferable - the Delicates cycle or the Wool cycle?

I ruined a pair of trousers by washing them - they were mixed fibre with viscose.
I really wouldn’t wash the jacket - I’d take it to the dry cleaners for a delicate clean.

What choice have you got? Wear it till it’s really dirty and throw away or wear till really dirty and make a choice between dry clean or delicate wash!

I'd spot clean any obvious staining and then do a cool delicates wash BUT I would roll it up and put it inside a stocking knotted at the top to be absolutely sure that the spin doesn't stretch it out of shape. Take it out of the machine and dry it on a hanger.

What is the fabric made from? I own a lot of designer clothes that can't be washed or dry cleaned.

Usually it's because of temperature sensitivity but sometimes it's because the fibres will stretch in the machine and not ruin the fit. Particularly true for delicate wools

I'd be tempted to say hand wash it. Give it a soak in a very gentle solution of detergent no hotter than 30c for about 20 mins and then manually sort of kneed it without scrunching. You can spot clean any particularly grubby bits.
It will take a long time to dry from hand washing and you don't want it to crease so you will need to hand it on a coat hanger outside to dry. Don't be tempted to ring it out.