Dry Cleaning, necessary? Options

[angelrevelation]

A lot of the clothes I've bought/wanted lately have been dry-clean only. But some of them, like this sweater dress for example: http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=1...;scid=581475012. Is it really necessary to dry clean them? Each garment costs at LEAST $3-6 to clean (one of my dresses cost like $15 just because it had set in food stains), which adds up. Something like that is just like any sweater, just bigger, right?

What materials absolutely must be dry cleaned, and what can you get away with just washing at home? As long as you use cold water and a gentle cycle... Are you willing to risk it?

[karmakiller]

This article might help you.

Since that dress is wool and nylon, I would suggest that you handwash it. Definitely do not put wool in the wash machine, because the spin cycle will not be kind to it (it will felt). Since your dress is a mixture of fabrics, the risk of it shrinking aren't as high as if it were 100% wool.

Your safest bet is to handwash it with lukewarm water and use some woolite (or a wool safe detergent) , and roll it in a towel to dry. Don't wring it out. If you hang it to dry, the dress it's self might be too heavy and could cause it to stretch.