Dry Cleaning Christmas Sweaters | Can You Dry Clean Holiday Sweaters?

Ugly Christmas sweaters have been trendy for a few years now. it seems the irony is wearing off. We are slowly starting to just accept that we love these decked-out, Christmas-themed sweaters. 

There are many different kinds of ugly Christmas sweaters. This makes it difficult to make a certain assessment as to whether or not your Christmas sweater needs to be dry cleaned. 

Here are a few things you should consider. 

Handwashing an original Christmas sweater is tricky. 

There is nothing quite like someone asking to borrow your beloved Christmas sweater for an Ugly Christmas Sweater party. – What’s ugly about it? 

The generation who invented tacky Christmas sweaters may have been offended at first. Now they enjoy the much-sought-after advantage of having all the OG Christmas sweaters. 

An original Christmas sweater is valuable. It should receive as much care and protection as possible. Problem is, the sweater’s eclectic or excentric elements might make cleaning a more complicated process. 

• Is it handmade? It is unlikely to have a care tag indicating the kinds of materials is it made of. 
• Is it embellished? The sequins and beads need to be kept free of irritation so the threads holding them in place don’t stretch out and become thin. 
• Is it brightly colored? What a loss it would be should the colors fade. It needs special color-sensitive care. 

Here is a general overview of how to handwash a sweater. You may need to do some research to accommodate your sweater’s unique style elements. 

• Fill your sink with cool water and a gentle, sweater-friendly detergent. 
• Swish the sweater around in the sink to be sure the whole sweater gets cleaned by the detergent. 
• After an hour or so (check the directions on your detergent), rinse the detergent off the sweater with cool water. 
• Remove excess water with a towel. Do not twist or squeeze the sweater. It is much more likely to get stretched out while wet than it is dry. Lay the sweater on the towel. Roll the sweater and the towel together. This will safely remove the excess water. 
• Lay it flat to dry. You may consider flipping the sweater over so it dries evenly on both sides. 

The Christmas sweater does not need to be cleaned each time you wear it. 

Unless you have bad luck with spills and stains, your sweater only needs to be cleaned after every three to four times wearing it. If you plan on dry cleaning your Christmas sweater, you may only need to do so at the beginning and end of the Christmas season.

How does it smell? An odor is a sure sign that the sweater needs a good cleaning. Get a second opinion. You may be used to the smell. If it does have an odor, it’s time to get it cleaned. 

Dry cleaning is a safer, easier alternative to handwashing your Christmas sweater. Hangers Cleaners has smart washers that can be programmed to clean delicate fabrics. We can also help with repairs. 

Some Christmas sweaters were not made to last. 

Unlike the original Christmas sweaters mentioned above, some DIY sweaters are pieced together knowing they would only be worn for one Christmas season. 

Crafters buy an inexpensive sweater and decorate it knowing it will not survive a wash. Hot glue is much easier and faster than sewing. Painting a sweater is a lot less complicated if you do not intend for the paint to last for more than a few parties. 

This allows DIY enthusiasts to create a new tacky Christmas sweater each year.