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Care tipsApr 19, 20234 min read

Washing your suit yourself? Here's what you should keep in mind!

The garment usually has to be dry-cleaned immediately so that the stain can be removed without leaving any residue and the trousers or jacket can be worn again. This not only costs time, but also nerves and, above all, money. But it doesn't have to be, because washing a suit is quicker, saves money and is easy on the nerves if done correctly with our tips.

Everyone knows the problem: an ugly stain spoils your suit trousers or jacket.

Cleaning a suit yourself is of course always associated with a certain risk. Nevertheless, it is possible to wash your suit in your own washing machine. As long as you follow a few important rules, this should not be a problem. We explain how to get your jacket and trousers clean and presentable again without professional dry cleaning.

Pay attention to the care label

Before washing by hand or in the washing machine for the first time, you should check the care label to find out how your suit can be cleaned.

The label, which is located inside the garment, provides information on the temperatures and washing program at which it can be washed. The programs also differ in terms of the spin cycles. Below we briefly explain the most important care symbols:

Special detergent is gentle on the material

If your suit is made of new wool, you should use a wool detergent when washing it at home.

This is gentle on the fibers of the fabric and does not contain any enzymes that can attack the wool. Natural fibers, such as the new wool mentioned here, but also silk, are attacked by the enzymes normally used in detergents and can therefore lose their quality.

Virgin wool is very popular as a material for suits and jackets because it can absorb moisture and transport it to the outside. This means that there are no wet patches when sweating. Men's suits from bugatti also contain a high proportion of breathable new wool or are made entirely from this fine material and reflect the modern casual business look.

Test the fabric before washing

Before washing, you should test the detergent on an inconspicuous area. Some fabrics cannot be cleaned with water. You should therefore test the inside of the hem of the pants or sleeves to see whether the fabric can withstand a light detergent solution and subsequent washing out without leaving any stains.

If a stain cannot be removed in this way, the suit can only be dry cleaned. If there are no visible stains or edges on the tested area, the suit can safely come into contact with water.

How hand washing differs from machine washing

Before the actual wash cycle, you should brush out the individual parts of the suit with a suit brush to remove coarse dirt such as lint or hair. You can then choose either the normal hand wash or the hand wash program of your washing machine as the cleaning method.

Hand wash

First, you should check the suit for stains. These can be moistened in advance with a lint-free cloth, such as a microfiber cloth, and a water-bile soap solution, for example. But please do not rub or rub. The new wool will resent this.
Now comes the actual washing procedure, which begins with filling a small washing tub. The water should be lukewarm. The wool detergent should be completely dissolved in it. The suit is then soaked in the solution. However, you should avoid prolonged soaking.
The water must then be drained and the suit rinsed several times with clear water until the detergent has been completely rinsed out.
The washed garment should now be wrapped in a terry towel and the water carefully squeezed out. However, do not make the mistake of wringing out the clothes.

Washing program in the washing machine

Today's washing machines also have washing programs that are specially tailored to the needs of individual fabrics and fibres.

For example, most washing machines have a wool or hand wash program. To wash your suit, jacket or trousers in the machine, you should proceed as follows:

Before loading the garments into the washing drum, they should be closed so that they retain their shape.
When washing in the washing machine, you should only put a maximum of three items in the drum per wash cycle so as not to damage the suit fabric.
The washing program that is now selected should have a high water level, low spin speeds of less than 600 per minute and a maximum washing temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.
The suit should be removed from the machine immediately after spinning to prevent creasing.

Never put your suit in the dryer

To ensure that your suit or your trousers stay in shape and do not crease, you should observe the following when drying them:

Drying in a tumble dryer is not suitable for suits and pants. The corresponding symbol on the garment label is therefore crossed out.
You should hang your jacket and trousers separately. The hanger for the jacket should have wide curves on the outside so that the shoulder pads can retain their shape. The suit trousers should be dried lying on a terry towel on a clothes horse if possible.
It is best to pull the jacket and trousers into shape before hanging them up. This way you can avoid creases and ensure that your suit fits properly. You should also close all the buttons on your clothes beforehand.

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