Is Dry Cleaning Safe For Linen?
Washing linen materials and clothing typically depend on what you use the linen for and how well you take care of it. Whether you use it for tablecloths or curtains, there will be a range of cleaning options that are suitable for you and your specific type of linen.
One of the most beloved methods of cleaning is dry cleaning. Dry cleaning linen can seem like an affordable and time-effective solution to getting items clean quickly, and in bulk. However, many are left unsure of the effects it may have on the fabric, and whether or not it could produce lasting negative effects on their clothing.
Depending on how your fabric is used, it can be machine washed, hand washed or dry cleaned. To maintain a high quality of the fabric, it is vital that you choose the right one for the type of linen you own.
With so many cleaning options attached to linen fabrics, we thought it best to put together this article explaining what circumstances dry cleaning would be safe for linen and where you can get your linen cleaned safely. Keep reading to find out all about linen, dry cleaning and how you can get it done.
Can Linen Be Dry Cleaned?
Dry cleaning is one of the most popular and well-known methods of cleaning cloths and fabrics across the world; with global market size of $60.88 billion and an annual growth rate of 3.4%, it is one of the most popular choices in larger cities and areas that are heavily populated.
As well as eliminating the daily hassle of washing from our lives, dry cleaning offers a professional service that can make your clothes look and feel brand new again. Dry cleaning uses a solvent that is lighter than water, allowing it to go through the fabric of your clothes much more delicately than traditional washing. Paired alongside an extensive quality-control inspection, linen will often be returned to you clean, pressed, and ready to wear without fading or tears.
Because of the care and resources that dry cleaners provide for your clothes, they are perfect for linen materials that may be at greater risk of harm than other materials like cloth and felt. The specialised cleaning agents provide a delicate clean to the fabric which prevents fading or stretching whilst still providing the in-depth cleanse that not even your washing machine can provide.
Dry cleaning linen is one of the best ways to look after the fabric to ensure its softness.
Is Dry Cleaning Linen Worth It?
There are a range of options available for people who wish to clean their clothes to a high standard safely. From washing machines to dry cleaners, people can choose the method best for their specific type of fabric to make sure that the colour and integrity remain and the dirt washes away.
Dry cleaning may be one of the better options for cleaning because it is so affordable. With energy bills increasing across the country, it can be a great way to limit your spending and help to fight off the increases by outsourcing your cleaning needs. Research suggests that the energy bill cap could rise to £4,649.72 in the first quarter of 2023, and to £5,341.08 in the second quarter, which can have a dramatic effect on the amount of energy you can afford to use in a week. Dry cleaning your linen can help you limit weekly costs and get a better feel for your clothes.
Another benefit of dry cleaning your linen may be its cost-effectiveness. Washing and drying clothes is a time-consuming process that all Brits across the country have to do on a daily or weekly schedule. Studies have found that on average we spend 102 minutes per week, or 88 hours a year, washing clothes and hanging them out to dry. By choosing to wash items such as linen at the dry cleaners you can get more time to yourself to relax, get outside and do something more productive or entertaining than washing. Besides, it’s not like we enjoy it – we found that 50% of Brits say they hate ironing, making it the least liked household chore, and 27% say they dislike doing the laundry.
Our washing machines go through a lot in their lifetime. Whether they’re being battered from the inside by shoes and hard materials, or clogged up with excess dust and fabrics, they typically go through a lot, and their durability reflects that. However, when the time comes for your washing machine to be replaced, you can often be stuck in a difficult place practically and financially.
We found that the average lifespan of a washing machine is around 11 years, and once it finally needs replacing, the replacement will cost, on average, between $250 and $2,050. That amount of money is a significant bulk purchase for any family, which makes dry cleaning a much more affordable alternative. Dry cleaning has much cheaper costs on a weekly basis that provides greater care and service for all of your clothes regardless of material – not to mention that it is a much more reliable and constant option than your standard washing machine.
What Does Dry Cleaning Do To Linen?
Dry cleaning is an amazingly convenient way to have your clothes cleaned. It is a process that helps to remove dirt and stains from your clothing without it ever being touched by water, helping you to keep the vibrant colours and patterns on your clothes without the risk of them being faded out over time.
Dry cleaning works by using chemicals such as tetrachloroethylene, otherwise known as ‘perc’ in the industry, that evaporate quickly to clean significantly stained or soiled items of clothing with no lasting effects. These chemicals are paired alongside large, innovative machines that continuously circulate the solutions throughout the entire process to remove impurities and produce cleaner, fresher clothes at the end. After the process is completed, the clothes are removed and the solvent is distilled and purified so that it can be used again.
Whilst removing general dirt and grime from your clothes, dry cleaning can also help to remove lingering smells that may have been embedded in your linen. We found that cigarette smoke is one of the most common smells attached to clothes, with 13.5% of adults being smokers in the UK. As a result, many may use dry cleaning to get the smoky odour away from their clothes and to return them to their original condition.
If the solution used to clean is consistently distilled, dry cleaning can also help you to remove stains and discolouration on your clothing; a full-service dry cleaner can remove most impairments provided you act quickly and effectively communicate the origins of the stain to the cleaner beforehand. This is especially helpful for linen products that are made with tighter fibres which may be harder to get a stain out of.
Does Dry Cleaning Shrink Linen?
Unfortunately, all linen will eventually undergo some amount of shrinkage regardless of how or where you choose to clean them. The linen that you clean in your washing machine at home will shrink the same amount as the one you send to the dry cleaners. This is because of the natural quality and durability of the fabric, which makes it much easier to shrink and shrivel up over time.
Besides purchasing pre-washed fabrics, there is little you can do to limit the amount that your linen products will change. Even opting for pre-washed linen will not prevent them from shrinking at least to some degree, regardless of whether they are cleaned by a dry cleaner or not.
However, linen will not be affected by shrinking to a massive degree. Linen is widely popular because it is such a sustainable and reusable material – overall, linen has jumped 102% on the runways in recent years, showing it becoming a trend across the world with a closer focus on eco-friendly resources. Its sustainability and reusability make it one of the most durable materials you can use, which means that any shrinking brought on as a result of dry cleaning will be scarcely noticeable.
Ultimately, the linen will shrink wherever you choose to wash it. Technically, linen will shrink if sent to the dry cleaners, but it will also shrink if cleaned anywhere else – at least with a dry cleaner, you have a softer and cleaner fabric returned.
Conclusion
We hope that you’ve found this article both helpful and entertaining and that we answered the question “is dry cleaning linen safe” to your liking. For more content like this, check out our other articles over on the blog page, or contact a member of our team for more help.
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