How To Wash a Suit at Home

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Now, you may be thinking why would I ever want to attempt something so sartorially risky as putting a heavily structured garment like a suit jacket or blazer in my washing machine at home?

The simple answer is because there are techniques you can use to wash them in your machine without any fear of damaging the garments and therefore, save money that you otherwise would have had to spend at the dry cleaners. Wouldn’t a wool suit get ruined and shrink in the wash? You might be wondering. Again, the answer is no. Not if you’re using the proper techniques.

In the broad strokes though, do fight the urge to take your garments to the dry cleaner every time they need to be washed because the harsh solvents used in dry cleaning will degrade and break down garment fibers over time. Furthermore, water doesn’t actually shrink wool garments rather the agitation that can be caused by a washing machine or more likely a dryer will cause wool fibers to seize together or felt. Therefore, the primary thing you should be looking out for when washing your garments is preventing felting or for non-woolen garments, other damage to the fibers.

Step By Step Washing Process

Preston Schlueter in the process of folding a suit jacket before washing
Preston Schlueter in the process of folding a suit jacket before washing
  • You’re going to want to make sure that the garments in question are properly folded in order to minimize excess agitation that might occur during washing. First of all, turn your trousers and/or your waistcoat inside out before folding them so that any potential felting will be on the inside of the garments. Second, you should end all folding processes not by folding into thirds but by rolling from the bottom to the top as tightly as possible but without causing any undue bunching. By rolling your garments tightly, you’re going to minimize how much they can move and thus prevent any felting that might occur.
Do not forget the mesh bag for your delicates!
Do not forget the mesh bag for your delicates!
  • Place each individual rolled garment into its own separate mesh washing bag. The bag should also be rolled up as tightly as possible and secured with safety pins as necessary.
  • Add an appropriate amount of cleaning agent to your washing machine depending on the number of garments being washed. A general ratio of about one tablespoon per garment works well for small loads and for larger loads, just follow the standard directions for your specific machine. A gentle cleaning agent like wool and cashmere shampoo should be added to the drawer of the machine if you are washing wool suits, and soap flakes can be put directly into the drum of the machine if you’re washing non-woolen suits.
  • You don’t have to select the cycle for woolen or delicates on your machine if all of your garments are properly secured in their individual mesh bags; the Express cycle is fine for most applications. Once the machine is finished with all of its cycles, promptly remove your garments from the washing machine and take them out of their individual mesh bags to prevent any additional creasing.
  • The water temperature on the machine should be set to warm or about 30°C – 40°C .

Drying Techniques

Dry your garments on a rack to maintain its natural shape & structure
Dry your garments on a rack to maintain its natural shape & structure

A word of warning here, don’t use your dryer as the heat and agitation that will occur inside the machine are prime conditions for felting your garments which of course, you don’t want rather each of your garments should be laid flat in their natural shapes on a drying rack. You can speed up this drying process a bit by first laying a clean towel down on a work surface.

With each item in its original shape, gently roll the item up in the towel like a sleeping bag to remove some of the excess water. Wait a few seconds, unroll the towel, and then place the garments on a drying rack. You can reshape or block your garments a bit with your hands while they’re on the drying rack just to make sure that everything is shaped as properly as possible. After most of the moisture has evaporated, you can move your jacket from the drying rack back to its original hanger just to make sure that its shoulders and other padded areas dry in their natural shape.

Kent Clothes Brush - Use in between wears to remove lint
Kent Clothes Brush – Use in between wears to remove lint

A few additional tips here, avoid placing your garments in direct sunlight or near heat sources like a radiator while they’re drying as this can cause shrinking or yellowing of the fibers. Also, never hang wet woolens up right away as gravity will pull on the water that’s still locked into the fibers meaning that your garment’s shape will probably be distorted. To remove any wrinkles after your garments are dry, using a garment steamer is best on structured items like jackets. If you’d like to intentionally reintroduce a crease to a garment, say on the legs of your trousers, for example, that would be a good time to use an iron. If any pilling has happened to occur to your garments, you can take a pill comb and gently run it across the fabric in one direction to remove those pills. Also, using clothes brush in between wears is a good way to more generally remove lint, fuzz, and hair from your clothing.

Hand-Washing & Spot Treatment

If you can believe it, hand washing suits is actually a little bit trickier than machine washing because working these structured garments around in a basin and trying to wash them completely can be a little bit unwieldy. If you’re trying to wash the entire garment, using your machine is actually best.

For spot treatment of specific areas, all you have to do is use a small amount of the relevant cleaning agent and a little bit of warm water and gently blot at the stain. Don’t scrub at it or you might felt woolens and otherwise damage different types of fibers.

CONCLUSION

There you have it! All the techniques necessary to wash your suits in your washing machine at home. If you’re still apprehensive about trying this method, we would suggest that you do it with a non woolen suit first as it will probably be a little bit less temperamental and there will be no chance of felting.

Are you courageous enough to attempt this method of washing your suits? Share with us in the comments section below!

Thanks to the Laundry Evangelist’s Laundry Camp for many of the tips shown in this video. If you ever have the chance to visit it at the Mall of America, you should do so.

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Reader Comments

  1. If you want to try this on a wool suit jacket, one could go to a thrift store find a cheap wool suit jacket and try the method on that first, rather than your own expensive suit. Go when the thrift store is having a sale (if they have sales).

    1. Same. Very skeptical. Should we have a live broadcast washing the Purple Label chalk strip that we all like so much ? I think a before and after video would get a million hits.

      1. Why would you be skeptical? It’s wool, not silk. It can handle water and soap. No differently from sweaters. It’s just a finer texture. If you’re skeptical it can handle a wash, I don’t know why you’d be ok with chemical dry-cleaning, which actually isn’t “dry” at all, and is much harsher on fabrics!

        The only concern is how rough a washer can be physically on clothes, which is mitigated by a delicates cycle and the mesh bag.

        1. One should be skeptical because wool suits are not cheap and one does not want their favorite suit ruined.
          Getting a wool item from a thrift shop to test out this method is very sound.

  2. Dear Sir–
    I have been looking for a mens double breasted blazer; American sizing, classic cut, size 46 regular, 4-1/4 to 4-1/2″ wide lapels. I cannot find this item anywhere, except if I want to spend $5,000 for a trip to Europe and another $5,000 for a bespoke blazer. This simply does not make sense to me, not to say that I would pay a reasonable price. I did find a muted chalk stripe Brooks Brothers blazer at a thrift store that is nearly new for $16.00. That is the closest that I can come in two years. SUIT SUPPLY has nice blazers, but I am completely confounded with the sizing; classic, modern, slim fit, IT, etc. I contacted Hardwick Clothing (a suit which I have-single breasted) they tell me that they currently do not cut DB blazers. SUIT SUPPLY sizes are for smaller persons; size 46 sizes rarely exist for sale. Basically, the blazer that I am looking for is unavailable.

    1. George, I would assume (based on your specifics about US sizes) that you live Stateside. Have you considered most MTM companies? If you’re looking into options from SS and BB I would also reasonably assume that you don’t have too limited a budget. A quality DB blazer/sports jacket should be easily procured from nearly every reputable MTM outfit for a reasonable price. For $450 – $950 you can get something that should fit you well and last long enough to get your money’s worth out of it.

    2. George, re your quest for a decent blazer, at a decent price:

      have you considered the platinum service offered by iTailor? They offer a made to measure service with a guarantee.

      (-be prepared to pay a local alterations tailor or seamstress to write down your measurements correctly….you won’t get it right on your own)

    3. George, You’re about 3 weeks too late!! I just donated two size 46, tailor made, DB jackets to Goodwill !! I was clearing out my closet.
      Dark Blue and Charcoal Grey.
      Sorry.

    4. My friend… You can get a bespoke or even MTM suit made anywhere you live. I don’t know why Suit Supply would be your first stop either – they sell skinny suits with wide lapels, quite the opposite of what you want. Hit up traditional retailers – J Press, BB, Hart Schnaffer Marx (sp), etc. etc. etc.

  3. Did I miss the instruction on water temperature? I assume one should use cold water.

    1. HI Jay, in the US, washing machines have the setting warm which is about 30°C – 40°C. I hope that helps

  4. I have been hand washing and washing my suits in a Whirlpool Cabrio for years. In fact I bought the Cabrio when it first came out because it was designed like a wet cleaning machine that higher end cleaners used. The only challenge is that some suits are made with water soluble fusing. I don’t use a mesh laundry bag, but one would be needed for a front load machine. I try to only launder my suits once per year. I refuse to take my suits to a dry cleaner.

  5. Well done GG – a fascinating article and video. I’m glad you did a video on this one. I really wanted to see how that washed suit came out.

    I am too chicken to try this on my suits. I might get a cheap charity store suit or sports jacket to give it a go.

    1. Are we all sure that every dry cleaner uses the same harsh chemicals? I see a lot of Dry Cleaners in Australia claim to use “eco clean” ( ….. whatever that means)

      1. Hi John,
        I work as an environmental consultant and dry cleaners worldwide tend to lead to serious environmental issues. There are new “eco” solvents, however, that can be misleading. If you are curious, look at the chemicals involved. The chemicals that have a severe negative impact are chlorinated solvents (trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene, etc.). Petroleum based solvents are much safer for the environment.

  6. I like the idea of washing your own suit, but to be honest I am not sure, knowing my luck they will end up looking like I have slept in them. Alas I have my doubts, I would have to see it done for real to be totally convinced.

    1. Francis, the key here is the garment steamer. These gadgets are great. I have had jackets sent to me by eBay sellers and the jacket is totally scrunched up in a bag on delivery and is covered in creases.

      A minute’s work with the steamer and they look like new.

      GG should do a video on the use of garment steamers (if they have not done one already…).

  7. Interesting indeed! Kind of scary though…lol
    My washing machine has a steam cleaning programme..Anyone tried something similar?

  8. Hi, Only thing I m wondering in this washing thing is that dosen´t the lining shrink much more than the wool when put it water. I have one own experience for wetting the suit. I was wearing Ermengildo Zegna full canvas suit and I came out from the bar at night and needed to walk about 500 meter with extremely heavy rain. suit was totally wet and the body canvas and lining (cupro) shrinked so much that I needed to throw the suit away..I m a tailor my self and couldn’t pressed the suit deacent form any more

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