I compared handwashing my wool sweaters vs. dry cleaning and one saved me $80

I got tired of dropping $15 per sweater at the cleaners in Portland, so last fall I tried handwashing three of my wool sweaters at home. I used cold water, a tiny bit of Woolite, and laid them flat on towels to dry. The first one came out perfect, no shrinking or weird stretching. But the second sweater, a thicker cable knit, got way heavier when wet and I must have let it sit wrong because the shoulder got a bump. I had to re-wet it and reshape it again, which worked after another try. The cost difference was crazy, maybe 50 cents for the soap versus $45 for three sweaters at the cleaner. Has anyone else found a brand of sweater that just doesn't handle home washing no matter what you do?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane_bell1d ago

Yeah that thing with the shoulder bump happened to me too. It's not the end of the world but it is annoying to fix. But honestly I feel like people get way too dramatic about this stuff. How much time are you really spending rewetting and reshaping a sweater? Like 10 minutes? It's not that serious.

mark_green1d ago

Had a buddy try this exact same thing with his cashmere sweater from Uniqlo. He followed all the rules, cold water, gentle soap, flat drying. That thing came out looking like it belonged to a toddler. It shrunk so bad his wife couldn't even wear it as a crop top. Ngl I think some of those cheaper knits just have loose construction that can't handle any water at all.