What to do if you stain your wedding dress?

As wedding approaches, there are a few things to know about cleaning your dress, and we can help!

Stay Calm

The first thing you should do if you accidentally stain your wedding dress is to stay calm!

I know it’s easier said than done, as staining your wedding dress can feel like the worst thing that could happen, especially after all the months (or even years) of your planning and preparation to make sure your big day is special.

Don’t lose hope just yet. The worst thing you can do after you stain your wedding dress is panic. It might cause you to use the wrong type of stain removing chemicals on your beautiful dress and make the situation worse!

Instead, stay calm, relax, be informed and take a calculated approach to remove the stain. It could save the day.

Be Informed

Before you dive into let-me-fix-it-mode, ask yourself some basic questions, “Do I know the fabric well?” “Which type of stains am I trying to counter?”

Different stains require different removal techniques, and the same goes for fabrics. Most wedding dresses should have a care label on the inside, which will provide you with information about the material.

Note: It will be easier to remove the stain from artificial fibers than natural fibers, such as silk. For silk-type of dress, we would recommend you to approach a professional dry cleaner like My Locker Laundry or Cleanly Dry Cleaning & Alteration.

A lot of people may have ignored this, but one of the best way to inform yourself is to consult your wedding dress’ cleaning instructions from the shop you purchased your dress. You should already know how to care for your dress and have those cleaning tools on hand. But if you can’t find the label or it doesn’t help, you should call the boutique. Here are some of the most common stains you may encounter:

Lipstick Stains: This can be difficult to tackle because lipstick colors and formulas of different brand vary. However, you can try to remedy this with one part water and one part dish soap.

Oil Stains: This is relatively easy to remove. Place a cloth under the stained area and use a cotton ball to blot the cleaning solution (yes, blot it!) You can make the cleaning solution by equal parts white vinegar and dish soap, on your gown. Finish by dabbing the dress with warm water (not too hot as it may shrink your wedding dress) to eliminate the scent of the vinegar.

Beverages: One of the easier stains to remove. Make a cleaning solution of three parts of water and one part dish soap and carefully dab it on the stain until it is no longer visible.

Dirt & Grass Stains: Don’t try it yourself. Leave it to the professionals.

Taking Your Dress to the Professionals: My Locker Laundry Garment Care Team

While you can do a few things to remove wedding dress stains, the wisest option remain – take your wedding dress to professionals, inform them about the stains (including source of stains, location of the stains), so that they can take the best care of your beautiful gown.

My Locker Laundry is a technology-based dry cleaning company and offering services in more than 30 over locations across Singapore. Partnering with Cleanly Dry Cleaning & Alteration, recognized as the best dry cleaning company in town by Singapore Finest, our specially trained experts can help you clean, restore, and preserve your dress. We can also help to reinforce wedding gown seams, or reattach any beads or embellishments.

Are you interested in learning more about our services? Contact us today.