ELIXI Laundry Services

How to Wash a Dress Shirt
Shirts are made to be worn, not worshiped. This means they get dirty. However, with proper care, a high quality dress shirt can last for several years and continue to look great. In this post, we’re going to break down three of the most popular washing methods and detail how you can keep your dress shirts looking great for years to come. We’ll also outline how to deal with special emergencies as well as provide some other cleaning tips.

Method 1: “Wash and press” at the cleaners
Wash and press is the “normal” way to clean dress shirts when you take them to the cleaners. (Don’t be too confused by this. Even though you take your shirt to the “dry-cleaners”, they are most likely doing wash and press unless you are expressly asking them to dry clean ). This is our first choice. At around N200/shirt, this cleaning method is relatively cheap and easy and it keeps the shirts looking great. At most cleaners, here’s what the process involves:

They wash your shirt in a normal washing machine using water and detergent.
They remove most of the water from the shirt with the spin cycle in the washing machine.
They pull the damp shirt onto an industrial shirt press that closes over the shirt and simultaneously irons the garment while removing all of the moisture.
Pros: Convenient, (relatively) inexpensive.

Cons: Some cleaners will be too hard on the shirts. The slamming of the press over the front of the shirt can cause buttons to chip or shatter. If the shirt torso or sleeve is stretched over the press when it is steamed dry it can cause this part of the shirt to become wider in these areas. Finally, in the process of bringing the shirts from the cleaners to your closet collars will often be smashed in some way, requiring additional ironing for optimal appearance.(ie, you will mostly have to re-iron your shirt before using it. )