As Astra dry cleaner lists fabrics not worth dropping in and the one thing professionals can’t fix

A dry cleaner has revealed her go-to guide – including what fabrics cannot be cleaned and whether she can really get rid of body odour. 

Deb Rogers, from Ad Astra Wet & Dry Cleaning in Western Australia, answered her customers’ most asked questions to clear up misconceptions about her industry.

Dry cleaning is a method by which dirt and stains are removed from clothes using a liquid solvent instead of water and detergent. 

It is time to go to the professionals if you find that, no matter how many times they go through the wash, clothes don’t appear clean.

However, dry cleaning cannot remove odours and only materials like silk, wool, velvet, leather, and chiffon are worth the trouble.

What should you dry clean? 

Rogers revealed that most fabrics everyday clothes are made of – such as cotton, nylon, and polyester – do not require dry cleaning.

Cotton clothing is ‘preshrunk’ – meaning that the fabric has been put through a shrinking process to prevent further shrinking after washing and thus does not require the care of a professional.

While synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, acetate, and spandex are not likely to shrink – they may wrinkle and produce static electricity in the dryer.

Hence, it is safer to air-dry them or use dryer sheets after washing them at home.

According to Rinse, ‘fragile’ fabrics like silk, merino wool, leather, chiffon, and velvet should be brought to professional cleaners to preserve their natural luster and form.

In addition, most business suits and formal wear fair better in the hands of dry cleaners than the washing machine at home. 

Dry cleaning is a method by which dirt and stains are removed from clothes using a liquid solvent instead of water and detergent

Does dry cleaning remove body odour from clothes?

While dry cleaning can work wonders on many different kinds of dirty clothes – oil stains, tannin stains, dye stains – it does not work particularly well when it comes to odours.

In particular, dry cleaning a garment cannot eliminate perspiration and tobacco smoke odours on its own.

It is often recommended to search for other solutions if a piece’s smell is the main reason you’re considering dry cleaning, such as some DIY solutions you can try at home.