Washing Guide for Clothes with Sequins or Metallic Accents

 When you walk through the clothing aisles for women, men, kids, or anyone, even pets, you will notice one similarity that almost every cloth in those sections has some embellishments adorned on it. It might be a button, a zipper, or even metal rims/jeans studs which are pretty standard. In 2019 and 2020, we saw a whole craze for clothes embellished with sequins, metallic embroidery, ribbons, or absolutely anything that has some accent on them. This ornamental detailing looks gorgeous but washing them is pretty tiresome as they require extra care and a lot of patience. Follow the washing guide for clothes with sequins or metallic accents, and then read the techniques to wash and/or dry clean each of your accented outfits.

Standard Washing Guide

Standard washing guide works on five basic steps of freshening, spot removal, dry clean, machine wash, drying, and straightening the crease with iron. In the washing guide for embellished clothes too, we follow the same steps, just the technique and tricks of the same varies.

Step-1: Freshening

When you clean the garment sticking to dry cleaning and machine wash is not the only option. Sometimes by spraying a freshener liquid or air drying, it can help too. So follow the steps below to know how to freshen the outfit without washing it:

• Hang the outfit in the sun using a hanger to air it.
• Use a fabric freshener on the flip side of the garment. But before that, do a patch test to ensure that the product doesn’t lose its color. If you directly spray the freshener on the embellished product, it will go dull.
• If the garment doesn’t face watermarks, mix an extremely mild detergent in water, wipe the lint clean, and air-dry it.

Step-2: Spot cleaning

Another alternate method is spot cleaning, wherein you don’t need to wash the entire product; rather, you can clean the stained area.

• Start by scratching the stain with your nails or with the edge of a dull spoon.
• Then dip a cotton swab in a mixture of mild stain remover, baking soda, and water.
• Blot the stained area with a paper towel to dry the area.

If by mistake you spill the solution on a non-washable product, control the damage by:

• Drying the product as early as possible.
• Repeat the blotting process until the moisture is dried out.
• Once it is dry, use the hairdryer’s cool setting and flow cool air gently (without pointing it straight on the area.

Step-3: Dry Cleaning

Dry cleaning the garment at home can be a bit challenging because the only option that an unprofessional has is to use dry cleaning solvent. A professional dry cleaner has specialized machines. Follow the steps to dry clean the product:

• Send your dress to a dry cleaner that deals in cleaning gowns and wedding outfits.
• If you did the patch test, share the results of the same with a dry cleaner.
• Ask the dry cleaner to use cleaning methods such as hydrocarbon solvent.
• If the garment has metal accents, ensure that the garment cleaner uses foil to cover the detailing to protect it from getting crack or tarnished.

Step-4: Hand Washing

If the label of your garment allows it to be hand-washed, follow these steps:

• Zip and button up the outfit and flip it.
• Take a bowl or use a sink and fill water in it.
• Mix the correct amount of gentle machine detergent powder in warm water (water must not exceed 25-30°C).
• Dip your outfit in the water, and using swishing action, gently clean the costume.
• Rinse the garment until you see clear rinsing water.
• Squeeze the outfit carefully to blot out access water. Don’t wring the outfit; otherwise, the embellishments might tarnish.

If the outfit can be machine washed, here is some machine washing tips for you:

• Zip and button up the outfit and flip it.
• Pack your outfit in a mesh laundry bag and seal the end.
• Change the settings to the gentlest mode available on your machine.
• Once it is washed, check out the machine for broken embellishments, as it can clog your drain pipes.

Step-5: Drying

The next step after washing the outfit is drying it. For which here are a few tips.

• Flip the garment and, using a lint-free towel, roll the dress and squeeze it to remove excess water.
• Turn it to the right side and lay it flat under the sun.
• Avoid popping sequins and metals in the machine hot dryer as it will end up spoiling the shine of the outfit or, at worse, melt the embellishment.

Step-6: Removing creases

It is always advised that one must never iron beads and sequin dresses if the outfit is highly creased, use these alternative options.

• Flip the garment inside out and use a steamer press. Note that you must only use it when the fabric is washable, and the steam must be kept at least 30cm away.
• You can also hang the dress in a steamed bathroom.
• If nothing comes in handy, flip the outfit, cover it with another cloth, and iron it.

Tricks to Clean Clothes with Beads or Sequins

The first tip you need to remember while washing clothes with beads and sequins is that the way you clean your outfit (washing or dry cleaning) will directly reflect how long its shine and accent will stay intact. Every time you wash the cloth, it will definitely take a toll on its look and touch, which will damage the entire accent after regular use.

Therefore, to ensure that your sequin and bead dresses don’t loosen up or look faded, we suggest that you try the spot cleaning method. If the stain is non-oily, mix one teaspoon dishwasher and one cup of cold water. Mix the solution well and dip a cotton swab in it to remove the stain. It’s an intricate work, so focus and work between the embellishments to reach the fabric and the stain at the same time. After you are convinced that you cleaned the whole area, bold it using a paper towel or white cloth to transfer the entire stain. If the stain on your outfit is due to an oil-based product, use dry cleaning solvent and dip a cotton swab in it.

If the product doesn’t have any stain, but you wish to clean it overall, stick to dry clean only. The only exception to the rule is if the product has a label that allows washing. You can hand wash the garment or go for a machine wash but ensure that you use the gentlest washer. Also, don’t forget to secure the garment in a laundry bag (mesh preferably). Once your garment is washed, check the machine for establishments as if they stay in the washer, it might clog the drain pipes.

After the sequined garment is washed, seek to air dry because if you hot dry it, there is a fair chance that the finish and decoration will loosen its glue. Hang the cloth directly under sunlight to dry it. On the other hand, if your outfit is knitted, lay it flat on something to dry off; otherwise, it will stretch.

Regarding ironing the clothes, we suggest that you avoid it or if it is highly creased, iron the fabric’s flip side. Another option is to attach a pressing cloth between iron and fabric and press it using the lowest temperature. If the outfit’s embellishments are closely packed, stick to a cloth steamer to avoid damage (on the flip side only).

Tricks to Clean Clothes with Metal Accents

Cleaning clothes with metal accents is challenging and risky as it can spoil the shine and color of the outfit. It is observed that acidic water, baking soda, vinegar, bleach chlorine, and such concentrations react with the metals. Therefore test the solution on an inconspicuous spot to ensure it doesn’t tarnish because if it does, it can bleed on your fabric and won’t go quickly.

For laundering the metal accented outfit at home:

1. Start by checking the label.
2. If it says dry cleaning, stick to that, or if it permits hand washing, pack your garment in a mesh bag and pop it in the gentlest cycle of the washer you are using.
3. Don’t heat-dry the embellished clothes as they will tarnish, and the metals might melt; therefore, stick to air dry.

Tricks to Clean with Ribbon Accents

Ribbons are not made of superior quality and tend to bleed colors. Therefore, ensure that you remove the ribbon before washing the garment. If they are irremovable, use cold water to clean them. Another problem that arises when you wash your outfits is that they fray from the end. To avoid that, use transparent nail paint and brush it at the end.

These tricks work in most situations, but you must take help from a professional laundry service for heavily embellished clothing like an overall sequin dress. Professional launderers and dry cleaners have machines to clean the product without any tarnish or damage securely. If you have stained or dirty attire that requires cleaning, visit Run Errand Run. The company provides affordable laundry and dry cleaning services in Vineland, New Jersey, United States. Run Errand Run launderers will pick your clothes from your place, get them clean, and then deliver them back to your home timely at a just price.

Source: Washing Guide for Clothes with Sequins or Metallic Accents