Cleaning your wedding gown

Your wedding day was perfect! Now that it is over, what do you do with your wedding gown? Many brides simply hang them in a plastic bag in their closet and forget about them. I wanted to give you some advice today about why this may not be the best thing to do.
Did you know that your gown may look clean to you, but some stains dry clear? Then over time they oxidize, turn brown, and become difficult to clean. In addition to that, some plastic bags give off plastic fumes that can turn your gown yellow.
So my tip is to clean your gown even if you don’t think it is dirty. But please read the care label on the inside of your gown first. The label may say hand wash only, dry clean only or dry clean only with petroleum-based solvent. You also need to find out what material the fabric is.
If your gown has sequins or beads on it, examine it to see if they are glued on or sewn on. Some dry cleaning solvent may be harmful because they can melt the glue that holds the sequins or beading on or melt the actual sequins or beading.
Be prepared to ask your dry cleaner questions before you turn over your precious gown to them. Ask them about the number of years of experience they have cleaning wedding gowns. Do they do the work on premises or send it off to someone else? Ask them do they use the wet cleaning or dry cleaning method. Ask them if they use virgin or recycled solvent. Virgin solvent has not been used before so it is fresher.
If you know what a stain is on your gown, please tell your dry cleaner. This information along with the fabric type could help determine what method of cleaning they use. Once you get your gown back from the dry cleaners, take it out of the plastic bag. It is now time to preserve your gown.

Stay tuned for gown preservation tips!