The dry cleaning process is necessary for many of your clothes to continue looking like new. This is due to the fact that certain types of fabrics and fabric blends cannot be cleaned using soap and water as is done with most casual clothing. T-shirts and jeans can be washed in a clothing washer and dried in a tumble dryer at your home, but if you were to attempt to use the same process to clean a men’s suit or a woman’s dress made of a more delicate material like silk or lace you would essentially ruin it. These types of fabrics are designed to be cleaned using a process that does not use water, which is only available within the dry cleaning process.
Dry cleaning itself is actually a little bit misleading, as it implies that the process of cleaning garments is somehow done without liquid. This is not the case, and the dry cleaning process actually uses special liquids containing chemicals that gently remove dirt, stains and odors before being extruded from the clothing using a special machine. This process enables the clothing to be cleaned in a manner that does not damage the threads of the fabric itself, and also prepares it for machine pressing which will keep the fabric more crisp looking than if you ironed it at home. Many fabrics will begin to get a shine if you attempt to press them with an iron, so it is best to avoid at home pressing of formal wear under any circumstances. The dry cleaning and pressing process will enable fine fabrics to remain in good order, and prevent the buildup of oils and dirt left behind by skin contact over time. These are the soils that create the dull look of a worn out suit or dress, and if they are allowed to build up over time by too infrequent dry cleaning, then the garments will have a significantly reduced life span.
How often should you dry clean your formal and semi-formal garments? The easiest answer is after they have been worn once or twice, or if they have been stained or soiled in any way. If you go to an event and wear a suit for more than a few hours, you are probably going to want to dry clean it afterward before wearing it again, so as to avoid the wrinkled look that wearing a suit gives it. If you are going to a special event of any kind, you are going to want to dry clean your suit or dress before hand, even if it was dry cleaned previously and hung without wearing it. This will keep it from picking up the odors that may be existing in your home or on other clothes in the same storage area. In Las Vegas, there is no shortage of formal and semi-formal events, and you are going to want to visit a Las Vegas dry cleaner before any of them, if you want to be clean and sharp looking.