What every bride should know before cleaning her wedding dress
What every bride should know before cleaning her wedding dress
You found your perfect wedding dress, the one you dreamt of since you were a child. You wore it down the aisle on your perfect day and want it to last forever. You invested so much time and money finding the dress and now you ask yourself, "What should I do with my wedding dress?"
You might start off by calling a local dry cleaner or asking your friends who they used, but more than likely you will start by searching on the Internet. Unfortunately, this task can be very time consuming and intimidating. This is also where it can get tricky. Your search will provide hundreds, if not thousands, of listings on the subject and you might start to feel overwhelmed. How do you choose? How do you know they are specialized? What if the cleaner sends your gown out to be cleaned in another state and it gets damaged or lost? Who's responsible? Who's insured? And finally, who will fix it?
There seems to be a rapid growth in the number of dry cleaners and other wedding vendors being romanced to earn extra money by providing wedding gown cleaning and preservation services. These companies often claim they are experts in gown cleaning and preservation services, but most are sub-contracting the work to other so-called "gown cleaners" out of state and are offered a huge profit for sending it in. More and more brides are finding themselves in the middle of a nightmare come true. Lost gowns, damaged gowns, someone else's gown, and even worse, no gown at all. Even the actress Lezza Gibbons was subject to fraud by a so-called popular gown cleaning company. Now more than ever the bride needs to be sure her gown is in good hands.
Here's a few good tips to have on hand before deciding who should clean your gown.
Make sure the cleaner specializes in wedding gown cleaning and only uses museum quality preservation products that meet specifications used by leading textile conservators or major museums. Archival boxes should never be sealed shut or have a window. This can be an easy way of identifying a legitimate service. Museum conservators recommend refolding textiles every 3-5 years to prevent permanent creases. Another clue!
Ask if your wedding gown will be cleaned alone or with another gown. Gowns with trim or that are heavily beaded can cause snags to your gown. All trim should be covered before cleaning. When possible, no more than 2 gowns per load should be cleaned together at one time.
How often is the cleaner distilling their solvent? Because of ecological regulations and expenses, many cleaners are not distilling their solvents often enough. A cleaner solvent means a cleaner gown.
Make sure that bust pads made of foam and any tulle underskirts are always removed before archiving or placing the gown in a box. The bust pad foam can disintegrate, causing gases and glue-like oils to transfer onto your gown. The tulle can also break down, releasing the plasticizer gases and causing fume fading (like a streaking effect).
Check references from your bridal consultant or on review sites such as Yelp, Merchant Circle, and bridal sites. Make sure to consider that not all reviews need to be 5 out of 5 stars. A good mix shows a real business experience.
Ask if the cleaner is insured for the value of replacement. Ask for them to write down the gown's value on all copies of the invoice. If your gown is shipped away, find out which state the gown will be shipped to and check on the consumer laws in that state.
Ask if the cleaner belongs to the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artist Works http://www.conservation-us.org/ . This is a great sign they are aware of museum industry standards.
Go to Google maps and search for the cleaner's location. Through the satellite feature, you will be able to check and see the physical location of the facility. Many are NOT operating a cleaning plant. If you see a normal dry cleaner's sign or a different company's signage, then it's a good bet they aren't specialized.
Ask if "THE GREEN BRIDE GUIDE" approves the cleaner. This is a company who interviews and approves companies who are committed to doing green business.
Always make sure that photos of your wedding dress are taken before cleaning and if possible, while you are in the presence of the cleaner. This can serve not only as a reminder of the gowns condition, it can also prevent issues if damage is done.
At National Gown Cleaners, we feel that a treasured garment, like your wedding gown, should only be handled by a qualified expert in textile conservation. They should know how to properly clean and preserve your treasure so that your daughter or her daughter might have the chance to wear your gown and look as stunning in it as you did on your wedding day.
Founded in 1930, National Gown Cleaners began providing conservation cleaning services and archival materials to the museum industry and private textile conservators for their historical textiles and couture collections. Soon afterwards, we found our clients were referring us to their friends and families and before we knew it, we had expanded to serve the public as well. We offerWetcleaning & Dry-cleaning services and usefour solvents known as Perchloroethylene, Stoddard solvent, Hydrocarbon (I.E. Exxon DF-2000), and Greenearth. National Gown Cleaners is also recognizedby the Green Bridal Guide as a green cleaner with a 5 out of 5 rating.
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