8 Tips for Taking Good Care of Your Suits

A good suit is a serious investment. In general, it projects your personality and image to the world. Therefore, you need to make sure your suit is clean and presentable. The two primary reasons for suit care are:

●To look as sharp and impressive as possible
●To maintain the suit and increase its longevity.
It is also essential to take care of your favorite garment if you have kids or pets in the house. Adequate cleaning and sanitizing your suit will make it last longer. Following the 8 steps below will help you protect your expensive suits and make them last for an extended period.

1. Brushing 

The soft fabric of your suit can hold dirt, lint, dust, and loose hair, causing damage to the apparel. A natural bristle brush is what you require to keep your suits clean. All you need to do is hang your suits and brush, starting from top to bottom. It will help if you brush the suits slowly and gently.
Lay out the trousers and brush them as well in the same way. Make sure not to brush perpendicular to the fiber.

How often should you brush your suits?
Use this simple trick to remove dust from your suits, possibly after each wear.

Brushing can unclog the fabric and considerably extend the life of your suits. However, it is not effective in the case of microbes and spots. Machine wash is also not a good option as it might damage the apparel. Therefore, you can take the suit to the trusted tip top dry cleaners whenever possible.

2. Steaming 

Buying a vertical garment steamer is the best possible investment you can make for your beloved garment. Let’s quickly look at the benefits a steamer provides.

●Steam at 100 degrees acts as a great sterilizer. It can effectively kill microbes surviving high-temperature washes.
●It is the best way to keep your suits wrinkle-free, i.e., the steamer acts as an iron.
●Steam acts as an excellent deodorizer. Therefore, you can iron and deodorize your suits with garment steamers whenever you want.
●Steaming rejuvenates the suit’s fabric, helping it retain its shape, thereby increasing its longevity. There are specific guidelines you need to follow to maintain the shape of the garment.
●It is advised not to steam the chest area of the suit. This part mostly doesn’t get wrinkled. Hence, steaming can alter the shape of the canvas.
●Avoid using a regular iron to press your garment. Prolonged exposure to such high temperatures may damage the suit’s fabric giving an unrefined shiny appearance. However, if you must, put a thin cloth between the iron and the suit to protect the fabric from direct heat.

If you are unable to invest in a garment steamer, you can opt for suit dry cleaning. The experts will steam your garment before delivering it to you.

3. Dry-cleaning 

Dry-cleaning is a full-blown or complete cleaning of garments. It helps protect the delicate fibers of the suit from damage caused by water and heat. It is a good option when brushing or spot cleaning aren’t removing the stains and dirt from your suits anymore.

Professional cleaners like the tip top dry cleaners use chemical solvents to dry wash and sanitize your suits. Regular machine wash or hand washing your garments can cause significant damage to its fiber. It may also alter the shape of your suit. Therefore, suit dry cleaning once every two months is the best choice to preserve your favorite garment.

4. Sanitizing

Firstly, it is essential to know the difference between sterilizing your suit and sanitizing it. Sterilization is a process that kills any living organisms such as spores, moths, viruses, and bacteria. However, it can only be done with proper tools and equipment. On the other hand, sanitization only provides a mild antibacterial effect. Therefore, it is only used to remove viruses and bacteria.

If you require sterilizing your suits, it’s best to visit professionals like tip top dry cleaners. They are adept at sterilizing and sanitizing your garments to make them look new. In general, suits are treated with UV rays to kill germs and any living organisms causing harm to them.

Additionally, you will find several online tutorials teaching how to sterilize your suits with sodium bicarbonates. Machine wash above 40 degrees and spray sanitizers are good to eliminate fungi. However, these methods won’t fit if your suits are tailor-made and of delicate fabric.

5. Hanging

Make sure you hang your suits up whenever not wearing them. Avoid leaving them crumpled on the sofa! If possible, invest in a proper wooden hanger. Using metal hangers can leave impressions on the shoulders. A wooden hanger has a wide shape, which preserves the shape and drape of your suits. Natural wood hangers are the best choice as they can absorb the fabric’s moisture, keeping moths away.

6. Create space for the suit

The longevity of your suit depends on how you store them. Providing enough space for your garment in the wardrobe is essential to maintain its drape. If you pack them too close, your suits may wrinkle. In addition, close packing can lead to less ventilation. As a result, there can be moisture build-up on your suits, thus damaging the fabric. In addition, storing your garments in garment bags is a great way to protect them from moths and dust.

7. Use garment bags

It will help if you store your suits in breathable garment bags. If you don’t have a garment bag, invest in one. Keep the suits in the garment bags leaving the zipper a bit open. These bags effectively protect your garment from dust, moths, mites, and fungus. Mostly, professional cleaners use these bags to store the garments after suit dry cleaning. It is also a good option whenever you are traveling. However, if carrying a garment bag isn’t feasible while going places, you must know how to fold your suit. Make sure you do it in a way that causes fewer wrinkles to the garment.

8. Use cedar shavings

Cedarwood blocks and shavings act as excellent moth repellents. In addition, it can absorb moisture from the suits imparting a pleasant smell to the garment. So, if you have a moth problem and can’t preserve your suits, try these fantastic blocks and shavings. But, if the problem persists, you might think of suit dry cleaning.

Cedar blocks are potent insect repellents that you can keep in your wardrobe to protect your suits from moth infestation. However, over time, these blocks and shavings may lose their odor. So, you can put a few drops of cedar oil on the blocks or shavings to renew them. However, make sure not to spill the oil on your suits or other garments. It is because, in high concentrations, essential oils can damage cloth fibers.

Conclusion

When it comes to maintaining a suit, the two major care areas are cleaning and storage. In this article, we have covered both in detail. Brushing your suits after each wear with a good quality horsehair brush increases its longevity. You can store them in breathable garment bags or fold them carefully while storing them. It is recommended to visit the trusted and professional tip top dry cleaners to clean and sanitize your suits.