My husband wears a suit six days a week: 5 days to work and 1 day to church. His suits are the most expensive pieces of clothing we own, both because of the original price tag as well as the ongoing price of keeping them clean.
Around here the average price for dry cleaning a men’s suit with two pair of pants is $21. To put that into perspective, that is more than I spend buying clothes for the rest of the family each month.
Here are five ways we save money on dry cleaning:
1-Avoid buying “dry clean only” items
When I’m shopping for clothes and see a tag that says “dry clean only,” I immediately consider the cost of dry cleaning into the price. Am I willing to essentially pay a fee each time I wear this (because let’s be honest– I have kids, so it will likely need to be washed every time I wear it)? Of course for outerwear items like wool coats, I can get away with once a season or so by spot cleaning.
2- Don’t dry clean it, even if the tag says to
I do a lot of my family’s clothes shopping at garage sales and thrift stores. When a tag says dry clean only for an item I spent very little money on, and it’s the sort of item that I think seems like it could be washed at home, I ignore it. I figure if the item is ruined by washing it at home, I am not out very much money. It is a risk I am willing to take when I buy the item.
In my experience, most things that say dry clean only can actually be washed with cold water on the gentle cycle then either hung or laid flat to dry. I have never actually done this with my husband’s suits since there is a lot more at stake with a $200+ suit than with a $2 blouse.
3- Go as long as possible between cleanings
My husband handles any spot cleaning at home and hangs his suit nicely each night. He makes every effort to take his suit off right when he gets home, before the kids start climbing all over him. He keeps a spare set of regular clothes in the car in case he has errands or emergencies that require it. He changed a flat tire in his suit once because that was all he had at the time, but now he has instructions to change his clothes before changing any tires!
4- Try home dry cleaning
When I was in high school I had a few things that were “dry clean only” that I was afraid to ruin by washing at home (maybe I wasn’t as brave back then). My mom brought a Dryel at-home dry cleaning kit
Looking at the reviews on Amazon, it looks like the latest version of Dryel’s in-dryer bag is not as sturdy as the one they used to make. There is a Woolite version of the home dry cleaning system has great reviews and doesn’t use a bag at all.
5- Get an awesome deal on dry cleaning
When my husband was in law school, we often found great deals for local dry cleaners in the school newspaper or ads that come free in the mail. Now we find great dry cleaning deals on sites like Groupon and Living Social. Daily deal sites often save 50% on dry cleaning.
For example, we recently found a Groupon priced at $15 that was good for $30 worth of dry cleaning. Be sure to read the fine print and note the expiration date. The entire amount may need to be used all in one visit or there may be other specifications to be aware of. If you’re new to Groupon you can sign up here and choose your nearest city.
It’s still painful to have to pay for dry cleaning, but by always being on the lookout for deals from daily deal sites, we often save 50% off the regular dry cleaning price.
How about you?
- How much do you spend each month (or year) on dry cleaning?
- How do you save money on dry cleaning or do you avoid doing it at all?
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Though i did try to do to dry cleaning at home, its always messy and so much time consuming that i end up sending the clothes to the dry cleaner. Anyways, these are some great tips that can come in handy. Thank you Stephanie for sharing this!
I just picked up my blazer and a knee length dress from the drycleaners that cost $33 to clean. The dress is white and made of rayon (as well as nylon i think) and it had sweat marks that I could NOT get out at home… so that I might have to keep taking to the drycleaners, but i think i can clean the blazer at home.
It really helped when you mentioned how you can always look for coupons when looking for a good dry cleaning service. I can see how anyone looking into this would want to make sure they find a dry cleaning company that has great reviews. Personally, Iw ould want to choose a company that has great ratings and customer service when choosing the best company to clean your delicate clothes.
I sew and I love to drool at the websites for Neiman-Marcus et al. That said, I know that the silk in a light-colored blouse can perfectly well be pre-washed and then washed after you’ve made the garment. For a print or jewel tone, probably not. Now I am retired in a terribly lah-di-dah community where local businesses charge the visitors through the nose for whatever they need. So for dry-cleaning, I will drive “over the mountain” [where the bear went] for ordinary people’s prices when my things have to be cleaned. Meanwhile, I find that bulky hand-knitted ponchos and afghans are nicely freshened in the dryer on “air.” And I am sewing and loving all kinds of polar fleece. Many people don’t seem to understand that the fuzzy synthetic fabric should never be put in the dryer! Just hang it up! It will look better longer. And I will be trying gently pre-washing the wools in my fabric stash before sewing them, thanks to Diane’s post, above.
Hi Will! I’m sure there is some dry cleaning that’s “green” and some that’s not. Frankly, we always just go to the place where we have the best deal! PLz Visit http://daystarlaundry.net/
Love this post! As a person who sews and loves fabric. I also do upholstery. I have used different types of fabric. I have washed wool clothes in cold water with baby shampoo. The dry cleaning companies want you to think that you must dry clean only… Just DO NOT put the item in the dryer. Hang dry on a hanger and it will be just fine. I have never had a suit or wool sweater have any problems when i do this. I have saved so much money by doing this.
BTW, I learned this information from a friend who worked at a dry cleaners. We need to know that the dry cleaning fluids and things they use are very cancer causing on your lungs. My friend had to quit her job when she got asthma and became very ill. I decided then I would not use a dry cleaner if at all possible.
ugh – i have a stack of clothes of my husband’s that is waiting to be dry cleaned!! so expensive! i may try the at home kit! thank you 🙂
I think you can do 4 items per load with the home dry cleaning, so if you have a pile, it might be worth a try!
My husband wears suits for work too. We were fortunate enough to find some pretty expensive suits at Goodwill for $10 a piece! One of them still had the alteration chalk on it (never been worn). In between dry cleanings, we use a clothes steamer to freshen up the suits. Doing this means we are able to go a little longer between trips to the dry cleaner.
I’m enjoying reading your blog.
~Bonnie
That is awesome that you’ve found second-hand suits! I always look and if I ever find one that will fit him it will be like hitting the jackpot! My husband is way taller than average, so he’s a little hard to shop for at a thrift store. I’ve heard good things about clothes steamers (because I hate ironing), but that’s great that they help spread out the trips to the dry cleaners!
We don’t have much to dry clean now that we are retired but ‘Im-in-doors also has military ironing skills! Maybe I could hire him out!
I made a real mess of a pair of uniform trousers the 1st week we were married and from that day forward I have been banned from ironing anything that remotely resembles a coat or trousers! Has worked for me for 41 years!
That’s great! Way to get out of ironing for 41 years! 🙂
Yeah, so when I first got a big boy job, I went to the dry cleaners like it was my job. Then I realized it was stupid. Besides the seasonal dry clean my suits got (dryel bag, FTW) I didn’t need any dry cleaning done. It’s terrible on your clothing* and wallet.
*I think there are new techniques that don’t use such harsh chemicals but I’m not sure. I don’t wear suits anymore! 😀
Hi Will! I’m sure there is some dry cleaning that’s “green” and some that’s not. Frankly, we always just go to the place where we have the best deal!
This is too funny — we both came up with a post on dry cleaning — on the same EXACT day (I swear I did not look at your blog before posting one myself!!!!) Great minds think alike?
That’s awesome!! I love it! I’ll have to try your methods. My husband has one suit that is really getting worn and needs to be replaced anyway, so I will experiment with it! Thanks for sharing!
I have to honestly say that we spend NO money on dry cleaning. I have some very expensive dresses and hub’s has some expensive suits (all over $300) and I have never dry cleaned any of them. I hand wash them and iron as necessary (or if necessary). Two reasons for this:
1. I believe that if the military can teach you to put a crease in a uniform you can do it in the civilian world too. My hubby joined before the digi camo and had to iron his uniform. He was happy when he no longer had to, but we still have the skills from doing so.
2. The more important reason is that most dry cleaners don’t clean your expensive clothes. Yep you read that right. I have had several friends throughout my life that have had family members that owned dry cleaners. I’ve been told by all of them separately, that more often than not, if something you own is very expensive and requires special cleaning they don’t want to be liable for anything that could happen to it. So instead of cleaning it they will just steam it or tumble it in the dryer and spray it with the dry cleaning equivalent of febreeze.
After realizing those two things I never paid for dry cleaning again, and probably never will
That’s awesome that you don’t pay for dry cleaning and that you have military ironing skills. I really loathe ironing. The only time I get the ironing board out is when I’m sewing! We bought all wrinkle-free shirts for my husband because we both hate ironing.
I totally believe that you’re right with #2. I think the main thing they do is get rid of smells. We need to experiment with ways to do this ourselves.
I LOVE ironing. It is very soothing to me, but I don’t have little ones under my feet while I’m doing it so I can understand it not being your favorite chore.
For smells I mostly spot wash and air clothes out. My mom swore that morning dew could get wrinkles and “funk” out of anything. She used to hang clothes outside overnight for the morning fog to settle on. That was in south Louisiana though. No morning for here in North NV.
That’s awesome that you love ironing! We get plenty of morning dew here, so I’ll have to give that a try! 🙂
I’ve found that a lot of dry-cleaning places will charge less per item if I drop things off in bulk. We don’t have a ton of dry-clean clothes, but I’ve had things mended that were beyond my capabilities (broken zippers, etc) or tailored to fit better and had my wedding dress cleaned and boxed up before the move.
I usually save things up that aren’t urgent so I can take them in all at once and get a discount.
Dropping things off in bulk is another great tip! Unfortunately my husband is alternating between two suits (he had a third but somehow lost it in law school), so we can’t really save up the dry cleaning. He really needs another!
I typically choose not to dry-clean (no suits for my family!) and avoid buying dry-clean only pieces. The few items that I do have get cleaned with dryel bags (after going as long as possible before cleaning them)! I picked up a brand new dryel kit at a thrift store, and recently found a refill kit at a garage sale – keep an eye out!
I’ll have to be on the lookout for Dryel at thrift stores and yard sales. Thanks for the Tip Sarah Kristen!