Care of Cotton Shirts

[kirsch]

Hello all,

Just curious...it often seems that dry-cleaning is the most convenient way to clean cotton dress shirts (just drop them off at work and pick them back up on way out), but, does this method limit the life of the shirt (lots of heat/chemicals)?

Is it better to use a washing machine on a gentle cycle and then do something like steam the shirt to take care of wrinkles? I notice most of them say to "machine wash cold" anyway.

Additionally, I've heard it's a Faux pas to wear an undershirt with a dress shirt but, living in Atlanta, the temperature can get to 105 degrees F in the summer...with LOTS of humidity, and I hate the thought of sweating all day on an expensive shirt. Of course, the additional shirt doesn't help much with the heat, but, at least I'm not ruining a dress shirt. So what is the rule on this matter?

Thanks,

Chris

[Cufflink79]

Dear Chris:

If you paid retail or got a shirt on sale take good care of it.

I wear a V-neck white cotton T-shirt under my dress shirts all the time, no matter the weather or temperature.

As for cleaning care I wash my clothes every Saturday my shirts get put into the washer with cold water, I use "Shout" cleaner on the collar and cuffs then after the shirt comes out of the dryer (I know you shoulded do that) I press them with an iron.

BTW, I DON"T USE STARCH. All my shirts are virgins when it comes to that.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[Gally]

Chris -

I've always understood that one of the functions of the t-shirt was to help protect the finer cotton of the dress shirt from the sweat the body produces (and perhaps secondarily to at least hide it a little). I always wear tees (not "wife-beaters") under dress shirts, regardless of the temperature, and August in Cincinnati is probably somewhat competitive with Atlanta in terms of humidity-induced misery.

Even if hand-laundering were better in terms of cleaning, I would never be as happy with my ironing as I am with the professional pressing the cleaners can give my shirts. And while I love my Jiffy 2000 steamer, my experience is that it's not as good on cotton as it is on wool.

No doubt there is a convenience/quality trade-off here, and people who can get into the Zen of home washing and ironing would answer differently than I do.

I will add that the only complaint I have about the washing my shirts get at the laundry is that I think I am willing to be tougher on stains than they are. Occasionally I'll have to use Shout on a shirt and run it through a wash at home and then put it right back in the basket to go back for pressing.

Best,

Gally

[RWS]

One of my petty indulgences in life is to take my workshirts (I wear coat and tie to work, so these might be equivalent to your "dress shirts") to a local laundry for laundering (not dry cleaning! I´d think that dry cleaning cotton would indeed be even more ruinous than dry cleaning the more resilent woollens) and pressing. The shirts look much better than my own poor efforts to achieve a smooth appearance.

And I always wear an undershirt under workshirts, even when the temperature passes a hundred degrees with humidity to match.

[MTM]

I pretty much follow Cufflink79's method except that I only dry them for a couple of minutes to take off the majority of the wrinkles and lint, and then iron them while they are a bit damp. To pass the time I'll often watch TV or call family members using an ear piece.

Mark

[falke]

Chris,

Dry cleaning is a very abrasive process; I would definitely not dry clean my cotton shirts. In fact, I dry clean my jackets not more than once a year. I spot clean if there is a stain but I air out my jacket after each wear and I have my dry cleaner steam and touch-up my jackets now and then.

As for wearing an undershirt underneath a shirt, it is really a matter of personal preference. I never wear one even though I live in the Silicon Valley and it is relatively dry during summer time. But if you like not wearing one because of the humid weather in Atlanta, then you shouldn’t. A shirt is just a shirt even though it is bespoke and a bit expensive. You should let go, enjoy it and not be so conscious about getting it dirty. All my shirts, dress and casual, are custom made but if one gets dirty during meal time, I wash it as soon as possible. If you have time, you can iron it yourself or take it to the dry cleaner to be pressed. Unlike a jacket, a shirt is meant to be washed every time after you wear it, undershirt or not.

Falke

[e.marshall]

Additionally, I've heard it's a Faux pas to wear an undershirt with a dress shirt but, living in Atlanta, the temperature can get to 105 degrees F in the summer...with LOTS of humidity, and I hate the thought of sweating all day on an expensive shirt.

Here is an interesting, and related fact:

In many respects, your dress shirt is an undershirt. Historically, for the upper classes whom could afford high quality handmade clothing, the shirt was basically underwear. They were unisex in a general sense; both men and women wore them, and in both cases there were lace and other such fine trimmings. Generally speaking the shirt was not fitted, and was worn as a protective measure to keep sweat from the inside of your tailored clothing. Perhaps if you think of it by an historical name, chemise, you will, better relate to what I mean.

Even years later when, during England's Regency period, perhaps under the influence of our esteemed Beau Brummel, the shirt was raised from it's humble beginnings (uniform, unisex, utilitarian) to it's current position as having equal importance in finery and simplicity (very tailored, eventually in a multiplicity of fabrics, generally under the ownership of men), the shirt was an undergarment, and a gentleman (or lady) would NEVER have been publicly, or even privately viewed in only their undergarment, or "shirtsleeves," as it was often referred to then. Only the most trusted intimates would have viewed a person of fine breeding out of their jacket, in only their shirt.

These days, it is considered quite normal to be seen without our jackets, and is even considered dashing in a certain way. And I am sure you know more or less what I mean; you likely would not receive a superior in only your shirt, nor would you go for your job interview in only a shirt, with your jacket, say, folded over your arm, but your colleagues at work, and anyone around when you ate at a less than fancy affair might see you in your shirtsleeves, and think it quite appropriate.

I suppose what I am saying is this: go ahead and wear an undershirt, in many respects you are only doing for your shirt what others before you have done for their outer clothing. If on the other hand, you have the means and casual nature it would take to wear a fine bespoke shirt without an undershirt (thereby shortening the life of the shirt), then go ahead and skip the undershirt.

After all, you are only giving your underwear some more underwear for it's own protection.

[sartorius]

Whilst I can see the practicalities of wearing a t-shirt under a shirt, I have to say that it is not a good look if you can see the outline of the t-shirt underneath.

I don't see the point of dry cleaning a cotton shirt. Quality dry cleaners use very mild chemicals so as not to damage the fabric, but they actually don't work very well on certain types of stains. Dry cleaning with strong chemicals may get the stains out, but it will ruin the garment in the process.

To my mind cotton is very robust when it comes to machine washing, so you can pretty well nuke your shirts at high temperatures (I always wash at 60 degrees), and with judicious use of stain remover for sweat and food which is really locked in. No need to wear a t-shirt and risk looking like a delivery boy, because the washing process will get everything out!

[BirdofSydney]

I tend to soak my shirts overnight in hot water with a little "Fiesta" soaker. Then rinse them in a tub full of hot water, scrubbing the cuffs with laundry soap.

After this, I put them through just the spin cycle part of the washing machine, to get most of the water out, and air-dry the remainder.

The cuffs don't always come out 100% perfectly, but I think I just need better laundry soap!

[Collarmelton]

One way to make easier ironing a cotton dress shirt is to put the freshly-laundered shirt while still damp into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a while. Once it is good and cold, the iron will take out wrinkles quite easily.

[Cufflink79]

One way to make easier ironing a cotton dress shirt is to put the freshly-laundered shirt while still damp into a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for a while. Once it is good and cold, the iron will take out wrinkles quite easily.

Never heard of the freezer trick before.

One bit of advice you might want to set a timer with a buzzer so you don't forget about the shirt. Say the phone rings, or you get a knock at the door and well... use your imagination.

Best Regards,

Cufflink79

[alden]

One button down oxford, shaken not stirred

[Collarmelton]

Cufflink 79 reminds me of another important point - people in high stress jobs should not iron their own shirts. Not only do many such people lack the time to do so, but if the phone rings, well, the distraction of stress that continues even after one leaves the workplace brings the risk that one might answer the iron instead of the phone. Years ago, one of my colleagues did exactly this. He showed up for work the next day with burns on both sides of his face, telling us, "Well, I had to call the ambulance, didn't I?"

[MTM]

Cufflink 79 reminds me of another important point - people in high stress jobs should not iron their own shirts.... He showed up for work the next day with burns on both sides of his face, telling us, "Well, I had to call the ambulance, didn't I?"

Oh no!!!
Stress is a factor, but one could just have ADD/ADHD -- as I'd bet I have.

m

[Cufflink79]

Cufflink 79 reminds me of another important point - people in high stress jobs should not iron their own shirts.... He showed up for work the next day with burns on both sides of his face, telling us, "Well, I had to call the ambulance, didn't I?"

Oh no!!!
Stress is a factor, but one could just have ADD/ADHD -- as I'd bet I have.

m

Whether it is ADD/ADHD or a high stress job. It is finding someone who will do what you want done to your shirts.

As the old saying goes, "If you want something done right, do it yourself".

Best Regards,

Cufflink79