How to clean your Winter Coat

There’s no doubt that your winter coat is probably one of the most expensive articles of clothing in your closet. A good quality, warm winter coat can easily cost you well over 100 dollars. That being said, it only makes sense to clean your coat in the best, least damaging way as possible. Read on to explore the different types of material your coat may be made out of and how to properly clean it to keep it looking fresh and new all winter long!
Types of Coats and How to Clean Them
Wool: Wool coats are coats made from a natural fiber, sheep or goat hair. These coats keep you exceptionally warm. You can wash the coat with cool water on a very gentle wool wash setting on your washing machine, but it is best to dry clean these kinds of coats (unless the care tag says otherwise). Wool is washable, but the extra padding put into the coat by factories are not machine washable and can easily ruin
the coat if washed. These inner materials can fall apart and actually dissolve in water.
Fleece: Fleece that is synthetic is actually polyester; this should be washed in either cold or warm water on the permanent press cycle. After your fleece is washed you should hang it out to dry, but if that is not an option you can always dry by setting your dryer to tumble on low heat. Never, ever dry your fleece on high heat, as it can shrink!
Real Fur Coats: These coats are made from real animal hair and fibers and should only be cleaned by a professional. Since the hair is real it has to be properly maintained or it can dry out or crack. The coat always needs to be hung up on a hanger and in a fur garment bag to ensure it is kept from drying out. So if you have a real fur coat, leave it to the professionals to do the cleaning.
Leather: Authentic leather coats need to be taken care of especially well, just like the fur coats. If you notice dirt on your jacket, you can spot clean it with a damp paper towel. Just focus on the dirty spot and wipe it away and usually that will do the trick. You can also buy leather stain removal spray if you don’t feel comfortable just using water to remove stains. Although it is not entirely recommended, you could put you leather jacket in the washing machine, zipped up and turned inside out and wash with cold water then dry for ten minutes on low heat. It is recommended though to just spot clean or take it to the dry cleaners.
Anorak (water-proof): This is the most common type of winter jacket. Never wash your waterproof jacket with laundry detergent as it can break down the alignment of the jacket fibers and mess up the waterproof coating on the jacket. There are specific waterproof soaps you can buy to wash your jacket. Wash the coat on cold for thirty minutes and proceed to air dry the coat or tumble on low heat in the dryer.
For any piece of clothing, it is best to check the care tag for proper cleaning instructions. For any that require dry cleaning, stop by Laundry Day today for our 2 day dry cleaning services.!