Need Advice About Laundering Items Please...

[elvenom]

I have a few coats and dresses that are in superb condition. But they have that old clothes smell..Some have authentic fur collars....should I have them dry cleaned before I list them as a courtesy to the buyer? Not sure what the proper etiquette here. Trying to keep my expenses down of course, but I want to be professional. Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

 

[hatfeathers]

If you have a good covered/screened porch, I would start by hanging your items out there during the day for a few days. You could also do some good for them by giving them a good run-over with the wand attachment on your vaccuum. This will get out the dust and skin cells (yes, they are in there, too) that cause some of the scent. Be careful with the vac over the fur, you might want to fluff and hold the fur with one hand and run the wand with the other, going over your fingers with the wand.

If the items are pre-40s, I would leave any more invasive cleaning to the next owner. If they are post 40s-newer, and they are highly desireable (ie high $ sellers) and you have a GOOD dry cleaner that you trust with older stuff, having them cleaned is certainly a boost to the overall image of the item.
Your dry cleaner can remove the collars on better made coats and have them re-attached at your request. They are usually held on with loop stitches.

For my website, I have things cleaned unless I know for sure the storage conditions of the last 50 years...like I took them out of the lady's closet from a protected garment bag and she told me she had them cleaned before they went in. Even then they get the air and fluff treatment.

It's up to you, what you want to invest, and what your personal storage coditions are. I'm allergic to mold and dust, so I have to be persnickity. I wouldn't want to bring a garment into my store room that might have moth eggs or mold spores on it. That could end up costing me more in Zyrtec and lost items than the initial $8-$15 cleaning bill.

 

[lkranieri]

Just to add to something Jenn said ...

If you use a vacuum on the clothing, you probably want to slip an old stocking over the suction end, just to prevent some part of the garment being inadvertently sucked into the vacuum cleaner.
Lynne

 

[Elisa]

Wow, I never heard that tip about the vacuum cleaner!

I was going to say I don't have access to hanging clothing outdoors, so I sometimes put things in my bathroom over a bathtub full of boiling hot water, lavender oil and Febreze and leave them in there for about six hours. For tobacco smell, I steam with a mixture of distilled water and white vinegar; again, hang the items on the shower rod (empty bathtub) and run the steamer until it runs dry, with the door closed. Turn off the steamer and again, leave for a few hours. Your whole apartment will reek of vinegar, but it works!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

I clean everything, but then I, too, just can't take the risk that there are any nasties in there: I find that moths and silverfish can often take hold in that brief time before someone decides to sell something to me and when I actually see it - so a garment that looks fine can sprout critters.

So I dryclean all wools - and sleep at night. But then, I have a B and M: very few ebayers seem to clean things so for you, I would weigh up the cost of the service against the extra money you'll get for it.