How to Extend the Life of Your Dress Shirts?

Dress Shirts are a wardrobe staple, and they help to maintain your professional look, as crisp, clean dress shirts help to maintain your professional image and reputation. 

Taking proper care of your dress shirts can extend their lifespan, and keep you looking sharp.

Here's how to keep your button-down shirts looking new as long as possible.

You may also like to read: How to remove wine stains on your shirt?

1. Understanding Care Labels

Care labels provide essential information about how to clean and maintain your shirts. Decoding these labels can prevent unnecessary damage:

>> Machine Wash: Most cotton or polyester shirts can be machine washed. Follow the temperature guidelines on the label (e.g. cold or warm water).

>> Dry Clean Only: Some shirts made by dedicated materials are dry clean ONLY. They require professional cleaning due to the fabric type. Don't risk washing these at home.

>> Do Not Blench: If the label specifies this, avoid using bleach, even on white shirts. Opt for oxygen-based whiteners instead. Alternatively, you can send them to us at My Locker Laundry.

2. Cleaning Your Dress Shirts

Pre-Treat Stains

Inspect shirts for stains, especially on the collar, cuffs, and underarms. If you notice that there are stains (which are perfect normal), use a stain remover to pre-treat these areas before washing. Avoid letter stains sit too long, as prolonged stains are harder to treat. Address stains as soon as possible.

Washing Tips

Select gentle detergent instead of harsh detergents, because harsh detergents will weaken fibers over time. Follow the colours rule: separate your clothes by colour. Wash whites separately with coloured clothes, do not wash them together. When you are using your washing machine, use a gentle or delicate cycle to ensure you are using the right cycle for your wash.

3. Ironing Your Shirts

When you are ironing your shirts, check the label for heat settings. Match your iron's heat level to the3 fabric type. For example: Cotton -> Med to High Heat; Polyester -> Low to Medium Heat. Silk -> We recommend you NOT to wash and iron silk at home as they are dedicated materials require much care. If you like to DIY, select low heat only with a pressing cloth between your iron and your clothes to avoid misfortune.

We would also recommend you to iron in the right order. Start with the collar, then move to the cuffs, sleeves and body. Iron along the grain of the fabric to prevent stretching.

Got stubborn wrinkles? Try steam instead.

4. Professional Cleaning Services

For your beloved garments and dressed shirts, consider using professional dry cleaning services like My Locker Laundry. We ensure your shirts are treated with care and precision, take care of the stubborn stains, and extend their lifespan as much as possible.

Ready for your regular suit cleaning? Get started with My Locker Laundry.