You’re standing in front of your closet holding a blazer with a small stain, or maybe a silk blouse you’ve been afraid to wash. The question hits: Does this actually need to be dry cleaned, or can I just throw it in the washing machine?
It’s one of the most common clothing care dilemmas — and getting it wrong can mean a shrunken sweater, a ruined suit, or wasted money on dry cleaning something that would’ve been perfectly fine at home.
This guide breaks it all down. We’ll walk through which garments and fabrics truly need professional dry cleaning, which ones are fine in your washing machine, and which fall somewhere in between. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to handle every piece in your wardrobe.
What Is Dry Cleaning, and Why Does It Matter?
Before diving into specific garments, it helps to understand what dry cleaning actually is — because it’s not just “fancier laundry.”
Despite the name, dry cleaning isn’t completely dry. Instead of water, professional dry cleaners use specialized chemical solvents to clean your clothes. The key difference is that water can be harsh on certain fabrics — it causes some fibers to swell, shrink, bleed color, or lose their shape. Dry cleaning solvents clean effectively without putting delicate materials through that kind of stress.
That’s why dry cleaning exists in the first place: some fabrics and garment constructions simply don’t hold up well when exposed to water and the agitation of a washing machine. For those items, dry cleaning isn’t a luxury — it’s the right way to clean them.
Garments and Fabrics You Should Always Dry Clean
These materials and garment types consistently need professional care. Washing them at home — even on a gentle cycle — risks permanent damage.
Silk
Silk is one of the most water-sensitive fabrics you’ll encounter. When silk gets wet, it’s prone to water spotting, color bleeding, and warping. Even a single trip through the washing machine can leave silk looking dull and misshapen. Dry cleaning keeps silk smooth, vibrant, and structurally intact.
Wool and Cashmere
Wool and cashmere fibers react to water and heat by tightening and compressing — a process called felting. That’s how your favorite sweater ends up two sizes smaller after an accidental hot wash. Professional dry cleaning avoids this entirely, keeping wool and cashmere soft, properly sized, and in great shape.
Velvet
Velvet’s signature plush texture is created by densely packed fibers standing upright. Water flattens and crushes those fibers, and once velvet loses its pile, it’s nearly impossible to restore. Dry cleaning preserves that rich, luxurious look.
Leather and Suede
Leather and suede require specialized cleaning solvents and conditioning treatments that go well beyond what you can do at home. Water stains leather, and machine washing can crack and warp it. Professional cleaners have the tools and expertise to clean these materials safely while maintaining their suppleness.
Suits, Blazers, and Structured Garments
A well-made suit or blazer isn’t just fabric — it’s a constructed garment with internal canvasing, fusing, shoulder padding, and lining, all designed to hold a specific shape. Water and machine agitation can warp that internal structure, causing puckering, misshapen shoulders, and a fit that never quite looks the same. Dry cleaning is the only way to clean these garments without compromising their construction.
Heavily Embellished Garments
Beading, sequins, delicate embroidery, and other embellishments are often attached with adhesives or fragile stitching that won’t survive a washing machine. Dry cleaning is gentler on these details and ensures your embellished pieces stay intact.
Wedding Dresses and Formal Gowns
Between delicate fabrics, intricate construction, layers of tulle or lace, and the sheer sentimental value, wedding dresses and formal gowns should always go to a professional. These garments often combine multiple fabric types that each require different handling — something only an experienced cleaner can navigate properly.
Lined Garments
Jackets, skirts, and dresses with linings present a tricky problem: the outer shell and the lining are often made of completely different fabrics. When washed in water, those fabrics can shrink at different rates, causing the garment to pucker, bunch, or hang unevenly. Dry cleaning treats both layers safely and uniformly.
Items That Can Go Either Way
Some garments don’t strictly require dry cleaning, but they benefit from professional care — especially if you want them to look their best and last longer.
Linen
Linen is technically washable, and many people do wash it at home. But linen wrinkles aggressively when machine-washed, and home ironing rarely gets it truly crisp. If you want your linen pieces to look polished rather than lived-in, professional cleaning is worth it.
Rayon and Viscose
These fabrics are unpredictable. Some rayon garments handle gentle washing just fine, while others shrink dramatically or lose their drape entirely. The problem is that you often can’t tell which way it’ll go until it’s too late. When in doubt, professional cleaning is the safer bet.
Down Jackets and Comforters
You can wash down items at home in a large-capacity machine, but it’s risky. Down clumps when wet, and if it doesn’t dry evenly and thoroughly, you end up with lumpy, flat insulation — or worse, mildew. Professional cleaning ensures down items are cleaned gently and dried completely to maintain their loft and warmth.
Dress Shirts
Most cotton and cotton-blend dress shirts can go in a washing machine. But if you want crisp collars, sharp cuffs, and a polished finish that looks like it came from a professional — well, that’s because it did. Professional laundering extends the life of dress shirts and keeps them looking sharper than anything you can achieve with a home iron.
Curtains and Drapes
Lightweight, unlined curtains can usually be machine washed on a gentle cycle. But heavy drapes, anything with lining, or curtains made from delicate fabrics should be professionally cleaned to avoid shrinkage, color fading, and damage to the lining.
Not Sure? Let the Experts Decide.
If you’re looking at a garment and genuinely can’t tell whether it needs dry cleaning or a standard wash, you don’t have to figure it out on your own. With Press’s pickup and delivery service, our garment care experts evaluate every piece and determine the best cleaning method — so you never have to guess or risk ruining something you love.
What You Don’t Need to Dry Clean
Not everything needs to go to a professional, and a good dry cleaner will tell you that. Here are the everyday items that are perfectly safe — and actually better off — in your washing machine.
Cotton Basics
T-shirts, jeans, casual pants, and everyday cotton clothing are built to handle machine washing. These fabrics are durable, easy to care for, and don’t benefit from dry cleaning solvents. Just wash in cold or warm water, and they’ll be fine.
Synthetic Activewear
Polyester, nylon, and spandex workout gear are designed to be washed frequently and hold up to it. In fact, dry cleaning solvents can actually degrade the moisture-wicking and stretch properties of synthetic activewear, making them less functional over time. Machine wash these on a cold or gentle cycle.
Denim
Jeans are one of the most durable garments you own, and most denim experts actually recommend washing them as infrequently as possible to preserve the color and fit. When you do wash them, a cold machine wash or even spot cleaning is all you need. Dry cleaning denim is unnecessary and won’t improve how they look or last.
Polyester and Poly-Blend Items
Most polyester garments — and blended fabrics that are mostly polyester — are machine washable and designed to be low-maintenance. Check the care label, but the vast majority of poly items will do just fine at home.
Take the Guesswork Out of Garment Care
The simplest rule is this: if you’re unsure, it’s always safer to let a professional handle it. One wrong wash cycle can permanently damage a garment, while professional cleaning preserves your clothes and extends their life.
With Press, you don’t have to sort through care labels or stress about which items need what. Schedule a free pickup, and our team will evaluate each piece and clean it the right way — whether that’s dry cleaning, wet cleaning, or professional laundering. It’s garment care on your terms, without the guesswork.
