In this article, we are going to to examine the best way to care for our treasured ballroom dresses. Let’s face it, you have taken the trouble to find the ones that really suit you and your style of dancing, so you really owe it to yourself to ensure that they are going still to look their best over the coming years. Take the time and effort and you will be well rewarded.
Firstly, your ballroom dresses must be hung in a dry area with lots of space around them to prevent creasing. Ideally they should each have a protective plastic cover. A dark-colored cover is better than a see-thorugh one as this will help stop the cloth fading from exposure to the sunlight. Just to be sure, keep them away from direct light too. Leaving the cover’s zip open allows the dress to stay aired, serving to make certain that the dress does not grow to be damp and mildew to develop.
When it comes to ballroom dancing dresses care, it goes without saying that you should check out and follow any instructions provided with the dress.
So, what’s the best way to wash your dresses, assuming that they are suitable to wash? Should you use a washing machine- or hand-wash? Generally-speaking, Lycra and georgette are suitable to be machine-washed as is much practice dancewear, but only if there are no embellishments or other bits that might drop off in the wash. Whichever way you choose to wash your dresses, to avoid shrinkage, it is best to opt for a very cool temperature. No more than 30 degrees Centigrade should be all right.
Pre-wash solutions can be effective for heavy stains. You have to be particularly watchful if the dress has dark-colored satin bias binding as this can mark the material. So you have to be painstaking in ensuring that the binding and the fabric do not come into contact with each other while still damp. This may sound like too much, but you will be thankful you did it.
If you are asking yourself why you should not wash your ballroom dresses if they have any type of embellishments or decorations, then consider what can easily happen. First of all, glue can break down and your stones come way from the dress. What’s more, your stones could damage the fabric of your dress and at the very least, they could well become lackluster because of laundering. It is not worth taking the risk.
So what exactly do you do if you are unable to wash your ballroom dresses, but you want to freshen them up and maybe remove the creases? It may be possible to hand-wash a body suit in its own. In this situation, you have got to do it with the dress inside out and be careful to use cold water and mild detergent only. Always rinse in cold water and allow to drip dry. If you cannot wash the any part of the gown, then you can try hanging it in a steamy place, for instance from the shower rail.
Washing ballroom dresses is always fraught with danger. If your garment is particularly heavy when wet, it is probably best to place it over a clothes horse to give it some extra support and help prevent stretching. On the other hand, it could be hung over your bath to drip dry.
Now let’s examine the tricky subject of ironing. If you can avoid it, then you should do so. Again, pay close attention to the maker’s instructions. Synthetic fabrics are notorious for burning easily, so use a very cool temperature.
Hopefully, you have found this advice helpful. With a little thought about storage, cleaning and ironing your ballroom dresses , you will find that they keep their initial beauty much longer and no matter how much you invested in them, it will have been money well spent.