Getting your
Bridal Dress cleaned and preserved right after your
wedding because possible helps to provide you the very best possible results. You could have your dress cleaned and preserved years later on still, but the delay could cause complications. Which of the three
wedding gown preservation methods is best?
There are many Bridal Dress preservation companies that claim their particular method is finest. It doesn't have to be confusing if you have the reality. This special record is designed to educate you, so that you can understand for yourself the three strategies with their various cons and pros.
When you've competed this statement you should have the facts you should decide which technique you want to use for your Bridal Dress preservation.
What you will discover inside this Wedding Gown Preservation Report:
Chapter 1
The 5 Main Reasons to Have Your Bridal Dress Cleaned and Preserved:
-Remember your personal day
-Celebrate an anniversary
-For use by a grouped relative
-For a christening gown
-For a bassinette cover
Chapter 2
How should your Bridal Dress be cleaned:
-Dry-cleaning
-Wet-cleaning
Chapter 3
The three types of wedding gown preservation:
-Boxed method
-Sealed Boxed method
-Bagging method
Chapter 4
Debunking the myths, misinformation and out right lies:
-Boxed vs. Bagging
-"Museum" storage
-Cloth bag storage
-Boxed storage
-Sealed boxed storage
-Examining the dress
mildew and -Mold growth
-Insect infestation
-Allowing the fabric to breathe
Chapter 5
The goals of Bridal Dress preservation:
-Yellowing
-Permanent creases
-Brown spots and oxidation
Chapter 6
Upgrade offers:
-What's included in an upgrade
-What's the worthiness of an upgrade
-Why is an upgrade offered
Chapter 7
Wedding gown preservation and cleaning summary.
Chapter 1
5 Main Reasons to Have Your Bridal Dress Preserved and Clean.
1. The first and foremost reason is basically because it is your wedding gown obviously. It is the most expensive dress you'll ever personal and it's portion of the celebration of the most important day you will ever have. It is the clothemselves in all of your wedding pictures. It really is one of the things you'll keep in mind most about your wedding.
Sure you have your pictures, but to actually have the ability to see your actual Bridal Dress beautifully preserved can always bring back a flood of wonderful thoughts.
2. You may want to wear it to celebrate your 5th, or 25th or 10th wedding anniversary. It could be put by you on a mannequin and screen it for an anniversary celebration.
3. Wedding gown preservation keeps your dress in perfect condition so your sister or your own daughter or also granddaughter can use it on their big day. (It happens more regularly then you may think and is an excellent chance for you and the lucky female who wears it.)
4. Many brides are producing a christening dress from their wedding gown. Having the ability to make your Bridal Dress into an outfit that your valuable daughter will wear upon this important time is something to anticipate. It could start a great family custom and heirloom.
5. Something that is starting to take off in popularity is making a bassinette cover crafted from it. This can simply be done and provides a wonderful reminder of your special day and the special little one inside the bassinette.
No matter the reason, wedding gown preservation is important. You may not now think so, but years from now you don't want to regret that you skipped the opportunity. There will become a time when you will want your wedding gown in beautiful condition once again.
Following the wedding many brides just leave their dress in the plastic garment bag thinking they'll obtain it preserved "sometime". There is always good intentions, but that "sometime" becomes weeks or even years. By procrastinating you may be in for some serious risks to your gown.
You know your Bridal Dress has some stains on it. There may be the dirt, grass stains, and asphalt parking great deal oil on the hem of your dress sometimes. Then there may be the underarm deodorant, the perspiration, the body oils, the make-up, the spray tan that gets on the outfit. There may be a wine spill or two even.
There can be stains that are not easily noticeable also, like soda, champagne, or cake frosting. Stains caused by any liquid shall oxidize over time and turn brown. The much longer any stain units, or oxidizes the more difficult it is to eliminate. It's important to have your Bridal Dress cleaned and preserved to prevent this from happening.
Keeping your gown in a plastic bag may be the worst storage situation possible probably. Plastic is manufactured out of petroleum and provides off fumes. These chemical substance fumes causes yellowing in your gown. That's also why you need to never take your dress to a dry-cleaner and keep it in the plastic bag it returns in.
Hanging your dress could cause additional problems. Your wedding gown is quite heavy and hanging it will stretch the fabric and the seams. If your dress has sleeves then your weight of the dress shall stretch the seams in the sleeve. Whether it's strapless or you hang your outfit by the side-seam hanging loops the maker provides you'll stretch the fabric and the side-seams. And for those dresses with an extended heavy train the same can be true of the hanging loop for the teach.
Bridal Dress preservation done correct can safeguard your treasured keepsake.
Chapter 2
How should your Bridal Dress be cleaned?
There are two types of cleaning methods: dry-cleaning and wet-cleaning.
Dry-cleaning really isn't dry out at all. Dry-cleaning refers to not using drinking water for cleaning. It really is washing with a petroleum solvent as the cleaning agent. The most typical agent for dry-cleaning is perchloroethylene - "perc" for brief. It is an excellent degreaser and can be utilized on all materials including silk, acetate, rayon and polyester. It can damage some beads and sequins. It could melt the coating on some beads and melt the glue if the beads and sequins are glued onto the fabric.
Stoddard solvent isn't as popular because it is more costly and it has even more regulations for it's use - like it cannot be used in a facility in a strip mall. It is an excellent degreaser but has the added advantage that it will not harm sequins or beads.
Exxon DF-2000 is a petroleum based solvent also. It will not damage beads or sequins, but is not nearly as good of a degreaser as Stoddard solvent. It does have fewer rules so it is more popular for a few dry-cleaning establishments.
Cleaning should be done with what is called "Virgin Solvent". Virgin solvent is solvent that has been specifically cleaned and filtered before each use. Many dry-cleaners utilize the same solvent over and over this means the solvent can keep residual natural oils and "dirt" which can be re-deposited on your own dress. Dirty solvent will also leave a "dry-clean" smell on your own dress.
Wet-cleaning, using drinking water to clean your outfit has several advantages. Drinking water is best for removing any kind of sugar stain, food stain or simple dirt on the hem. It is a poor degreaser, (but petroleum solvents cannot remove glucose or food spots.) Wet-cleaning also gets rid of the sizing in fabrics (sizing can be a starch like material that is used to give "body" to the fabric by the product manufacturer). Sizing in fabrics attract mice and bugs. Proper wet-cleaning will not leave any smell in your gown.
The care label within your wedding gown should indicate which method is recommended by the manufacturer.
Knowledge is the most crucial requirements to consider in selecting who also should do your wedding gown washing and preservation. Asking questions may be the most effective method to determine their experience. How long have they been in business? Do they specialize in wedding gowns, or only clean them once in awhile? Do they examine each dress individually or place it in with all of their regular cleaning just?
Chapter 3
The 3 Types of Bridal Dress Preservation
The three types of wedding gown preservation are:
1. Plain Boxed method
2. Sealed Box method
3. Bagging method. Let's examine each.
The Plain Boxed method. Your wedding gown is cleaned first and then is positioned on a cardboard bust form. The bust gown and form are secured in the box. If the bust type was not secured correctly in the box, the outfit would slide and end up in a messy heap in underneath of the package. The dress can be folded and layered with cells paper. The box may or might not have a windowed display area. The box is shut and sent to you.
Sealed Boxed method. This method is equivalent to the Plain Boxed technique except it goes a stage further in your Bridal Dress preservation protection. The box completely is sealed. It is sealed to keep out moisture and to keep out insects.
Bagging method. Again the gown is cleaned first and then it really is hung usually on a cushioned hanger and placed in some kind of cloth bag.
Chapter 4
Debunking the myths, lies and misinformation.
Let's discuss these procedures and debunk a few of the misinformation, misunderstanding and out right lies being released on the internet about Bridal Dress preservation methods.
Initial, understand that the firms who use each of these methods try and help you to believe that their method is most beneficial. But let's look at the logical and scientific specifics.
Boxed vs. Bagging. The Boxed methods give an easy sized preservation container that can easily be kept under a bed or in the bottom of a closet. Bagging, depending on the size of your wedding gown can be very bulky and take up a great deal of closet space, particularly if your gown was fuller or acquired a train. Consider where you would store your preserved Bridal Dress and how much storage space you have.
The Bagging method can be known as "Museum" storage or "Museum Quality" storage. The pitch behind that is that museums store their dresses in luggage and not boxes. That is partially true. Even their own details explains that these museums also store dresses folded in drawers.
Museums do store the majority of their dresses in hand bags. Most of their dresses are thin A-lines and regular women's wear dresses through the entire ages. These can simply be hung, take up very little "closet" space and will only need light touch-up and preparation for display.
It really is different with bulky dresses, dresses with wedding and trains dresses. As mentioned before, if they're hung and bagged they take up a great deal of closet space. Also if they're hung the weight of the fabric could be due to the dress the stretch. Have you felt the weight of some of the wedding dresses?
The dress up manufacturer sews a ribbon loop into the seam of the dress up and recommends hanging it from those loops. Yes, the loops can be reinforced but still the entire weight of the gown is usually suspended from the seams and it'll trigger the fabric to stretch. If the gown is a light-weight "destination style" dress after that this won't matter.
If the dress has sleeves in fact it is hung from the sleeves the stretching could be worse. The shape of the sleeve could be deformed. The hanger can leave permanent marks in the very best of the sleeves.
Other advantages this technique purports to have is normally inspection of the dress and no folding of the fabric. When the wedding gown preservation is done with the Bagging method you can open the bag and quickly examine the outfit. If the dress is short without train, then it shouldn't possess any folds. If it includes a train then the teach will be hung by a ribbon loop in its seam and you will be folded about half way up the teach, this may cause a double fold back for the last 12"-24" of the teach, from the hanging loop to the hem of the train. Remember how the teach on your Bridal Dress was hung in the bag when you had taken it to your wedding ceremony. It shall be hung the same manner for this method. Therefore dresses with trains shall will have at least two folds in them using the Bagging method. (If they really don't hang the teach by the hanging loops after that the entire train is a wrinkled mess piled in the bottom of the bag - there is no place else for it to go).
Finally, the cloth storage bag that is utilized in the Bagging method should be addressed. There are two regions of concern when it comes to insect infestation when utilizing a cloth bag for storage. Insects can get into the tiniest locations and through the smallest cracks and openings. Just about everyone has experienced spiders, earwigs, tablet bugs and other insects in some pretty unusual places. The closure region, in many bags it's a zipper in the Bagging technique it is normally tied shut. This can provide an opportunity of bugs getting into at the ties or among them. Second may be the hole in the top of the bag where the hanger goes through. Insects can enter as of this opening and enter a ruin your gown.
Cloth bags do permit air go through but that also means moisture can also go through to the dress. As the humidity rises there's more dampness in the surroundings and for that reason in the fabric of your dress. It really doesn't mater much unless the humidity gets too much and that can promote mildew growth on the fabric.
Something else that can happen with the fabric bags. Cats, canines and mice especially like to "mark" their territory. It offers happened where an pet provides urinated on the bag to tag their territory. Certainly it could soak through the fabric bag and onto the marriage dress. The dress would then have to be re-cleaned.
OK, lets discuss the Boxed method now. Two types of boxes can be used, one with a windowed display area in the top and the other simply plain cardboard box. This is a personal preference for each individual to decide really.
With this technique of Bridal Dress preservation the dress is cleaned first. It is then steamed and pressed. Then it is placed on a formed bust form to complete the very best of the outfit and makes it screen better. The bust form is usually attached to the box so that the gown doesn't slide around in the box and end up in a heap in the bottom of the box.
As the dress is positioned in the box it is folded and layered with acid free tissue paper. This layering is certainly to safeguard and soften the folds. If it's an ordinary cardboard box then a final level of cells paper is placed on top of the dress. If the package is a windowed screen box then this level is not used so you can discover your outfit through the display windows.
The box can then be kept under a bed or in underneath of a closet.
The Sealed Box method undergoes the same process with the added step of sealing the whole box.
What are the disadvantages and advantages to each. The Boxed technique says you can open the box see the dress to make sure it's yours and to examine it. If it's a windowed display box, you don't need to open it to make sure it's your dress - you can see it through the window.
However, there are problems if you think you can open the box and examine the dress just. First, you must never touch a preserved and cleaned Bridal Dress unless you have white cloth gloves on. You might or might not have clean hands, but your hands shall have body oils on them and so you need gloves.
If you have white fabric gloves when you open the box you'll discover the bust form is attached to the box, so you'll need to unattached it. Next you will have to unfold the outfit, layer by level to examine the train which will be the bottom layer in the container. Once you are satisfied you'll need to refold the dress as it was before and reattach the bust form. This sounds considerably less complicated than it is.
Invest the dress out of the box actually, you'll look for it even more difficult getting everything back in the box properly.
Another thing to absolutely make sure of before you open up the box and make an effort to examine your gown is the Bridal Dress preservation company's guarantee. It may or might not say you can open the box and examine your dress. It may state you can open up the box to test your gown but doesn't particularly say whether you may take the dress out of the box. If it is not specific you then should ask specific queries to ensure of what you can or can't do this would void their guarantee.
Bridal Dress preservation companies must defend themselves from the problem where a bride can take her dress out of the box, wear it, get something on it, put it back in the box and claim that the stain or dirt or no matter what was never gotten out in the initial cleaning and preservation course of action and demand it end up being reprocessed for free.
Don't assume that simply because the box isn't sealed that you could open it, examine the outfit and or take it out rather than void the guarantee... you need to check first.
Boxes that are not sealed are vunerable to insect infestation. Insects love to enter small thin opening and into the fabric to build their nests. Just because the box is closed doesn't mean insects can't get in.
The same warning applies to Boxes as to the Bags with regards to animals marking their territory. Cardboard protects much better than a fabric bag but could be ruined by an pet urinating on it still.
Moisture and humidity can also vary in an unsealed box - same warnings apply.
What about the Sealed Box technique then? It offers all of the benefits of the Boxed method with much more protection. You don't have to worry about animals or insects.
What about examining the outfit and the relevant question of moisture and mildew in a sealed package? Many of the wedding gown preservation companies site both of these reasons as a warning never to utilize the Sealed Box method.
Let's address them one at a time.
Here's the actual science on mold and mildew development from a publication by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science. Optimal circumstances for mildew to grow can be 70%-98% relative humidity and 77-88 degrees Fahrenheit. When relative humidity is less than 62% mildew growth ceases completely.
So if your Bridal Dress is either boxed or bagged but not sealed you run the risk of mildew if you have high humidity and warm temperatures. If you live in a location of the nation where the humidity level could be higher than 70% your unsealed exposed wedding gown can run the risk of mildew growing onto it. You might run the same risk of mildew if your box can be sealed and you have sealed in that high moisture content in the container and dress.
So for optimal Bridal Dress preservation you would like to possess the Sealed Boxed technique with little or no moisture sealed in the box. That could mean you need to ensure that your Bridal Dress preservation firm dries your outfit and handles the humidity just before sealing the box.
Another objection some companies have about the Sealed Boxed method is usually that the fabric ought to be permitted to breathe. That's almost comical when you think about it. Fabric does not have any lungs - it doesn't and in fact shouldn't breathe. Having the fabric breathe means that air is permitted to flow through the fabric.
The nagging problem with air flowing through the fabric is that the air carries dust, dirt, pollen, mold bacteria and pores. The fabric acts as an all natural filter. Therefore if the air flow is allowed to circulate through the outfit then a lot more of the contaminants can build up on the fabric. A sealed box does not allow the air to circulate and eliminates this nagging issue. So what some businesses pitch as a determent in fact turns out in reality to become an advantage for sealing the container.
With regards to Bridal Dress inspection with the Sealed Boxed method you just can't thoroughly examine the gown. You will want to choose a company which has a windowed display box so can easily see and verify it's your dress. You will void their promise if the box is opened by you to take your outfit out and examine it.
That means you will have to "trust" the wedding gown preservation company that you use to do the cleaning and preservation right.
Check out the company. What type of reputation do they have? Browse their testimonials. Are they people of the Better Business Bureau and with what kind of rating. How long have they been in business? Do they focus on just wedding gowns, or do they do every type or kind of dry-cleaning? Can you contact and get your queries answered personally?
Chapter 5
What do you want your Bridal Dress preservation to do for you personally and your dress?
1. You want your wedding gown preservation to prevent your dress from yellowing. Yellowing could be caused by several situations. Don't use a plastic handbag for long term storage. Plastic bags give off petroleum distillates that may yellow your dress as time passes. Storing your clothemselves in a nonacid free environment may also trigger yellowing of your dress. This would add a regular cardboard package, or using regular tissue paper of acid free tissue instead.
2. You want your Bridal Dress preservation to avoid any long lasting creases in your gown. Make sure that the company you use properly cares for your dress. In the event that you insist upon using the Bagging method they should make provisions for your teach especially so it does not double fold back again on itself in the bag. If you use the Boxed or Seal Boxed methods they should cautiously fold the gown and buffer each fold with acid free of charge tissue paper. The folds will be produced by this buffering gentile and keep them from creasing.
(Be aware that some businesses will promote theory that your wedding gown should be re-folded every couple of years to prevent permanent creases. Although this noises good in theory it is not true at all. First if your gown is kept properly, buffered with acid free tissue paper, the folds shall remain folds. Unless there is certainly some power that "squishes" the dress flat, or specifically flattens the folds into creases, creases won't happen. Folds don't "immediately" flatten themselves into creases. The fact happens to be - creases can be taken off the fabric by appropriate steaming and or ironing. Seamstresses do this constantly. If a seam or hem has to be changed they can certainly make the "creases" disappear when they steam and or iron it.)
3. You want your wedding gown preservation to avoid and mold, mildew or insect growth or infestation. This can only be guaranteed by using the Sealed Boxed technique - observe that section under "Wedding Gown Preservation methods".
4. You desire your wedding gown preservation to prevent brown places or oxidation spots on your own dress. Brown spots usually occur when a stain in the outfit had not been properly cleaned. The stain will oxidize as time passes and turn brown. This is especially true for any sugar based stain - ones from soda, wine, cake frosting or food.
These stains might not be noticeable when you send your dress in to be cleaned and preserved. It's important that the company you use not merely does a careful visual inspection but also a black-light inspection to reveal any hidden stains. And that the business removes all the stains in your outfit completely.
Chapter 6
Upgrade Offers
Some wedding gown preservation companies offer an upgrade support. The upgrade includes using muslin in place of acid free cells paper, extra insurance, and an upgraded storage space container. Upgrades can price from $40.00 to $100.00 more than their standard offer.
Upgrades are a "rip-off"!
Muslin is an extremely cheap fabric and offers no added benefit more than acid free cells paper. It sounds great, nonetheless it does nothing to make a better storage environment or keep carefully the outfit safer or better. Acid free of charge tissue will everything muslin can perform - and saves your money.
Most wedding gown preservation businesses automatically provide $500.00 of insurance on their cleaning and preservation insurance. The insurance is provided for and through U actually.P.S. (or Fed-Ex). An upgrade escalates the insurance to $1,500. You can buy additional insurance when you ship your dress for $2 per $100 value, so for $10-$20 you can find the maximum insurance.
Remember insurance is provided so that the company providing the insurance could make cash. It is an enormous profit center for U.P.S. and Fed-Ex. Realize also that insurance companies do not like to spend on claims and will minimize the payout as much as they can. They'll claim your outfit is utilized - (which it really is) - that it is in poor condition - (that's why you are experiencing it cleaned) - that it's last seasons or older model gown - (which it really is, bridal manufacturer's bring out new dresses twice per year, creating two seasons per year, so your gown reaches least 1 to 3 or even more seasons old). Obtain the picture, insurance is normally for the insurance company. Oh, and as and apart, in 12 years that I've dealt with U personally.P.S. shipping Bridal Dress for cleaning and preservation they possess yet to reduce a dress. I assume Bridal Dress boxes are too big to lose.
The last of the upgrade items is a different storage container. Check and you'll see that the container is precisely the same except it's a different color. The size, form, it's materials are all the same, the just difference is the outside color of the package.
So is there really any significant worth in purchasing an upgrade? Absolutely not. It's simply a great ploy by that particular wedding gown preservation company to get you to spend more - hence increasing their profits dramatically.
Chapter 7
Bridal Dress cleaning and preservation summary.
Cleaning summary:
Determine the fabric of your wedding gown. If it is polyester it could usually safely be wet-cleaned then. If it's silk, acetate or rayon then you have a few choices. Is there beading or sequins on the gown? Percloroethylene (perc) is usually the most common dry-washing solvent but can discolor or melt the coating on the beads and sequins and can dissolve the glue if they're glued on. The better alternative is normally Stoddard Solvent or DF-2000. These dry-cleaning solvents are excellent degreasers but won't harm the beads and sequins still. Stoddard solvent is the best degreaser of the two.
Browse the manufacturer's fabric caution label to help you on your own choices.
Select a wedding gown preservation company that uses virgin solvent. You don't want your gown being "cleaned" in filthy solvent that may leave an unpleasant odor in your outfit.
Select an ongoing company that specializes in wedding gown cleaning and preservation. Select an ongoing company that is in business for a substantial time, is an associate of the Better Business Bureau and has excellent testimonials.
It's also best to use a firm that carefully hands inspects your outfit and then does an additional inspection using a black light. The ongoing company should do small repairs at no additional cost to you. They can fix those loose beads, replace a key or fix a little tear in the fabric within their service.
Examine the whole wedding gown preservation method carefully. Decide on an ongoing company that may provide you the reassurance, where you know your treasured keepsake will be placed in an acid free of charge environment, will be protected from unwanted creasing, shielded from mold, insects and mildew, and provides an eternity guarantee.
