How to Care for Lined Garments
CLOTHING CARE TIPS
A warm, sturdy, and attractive winter coat can be one of the most versatile items in your closet. Depending on the climate where you live, you may be wearing this item all winter, with any number of different outfits and accessories. Good winter coats can be expensive, so you’ll definitely want to take good care of yours, including keeping it clean.
But even if you know how to care for the material on the outer shell of the coat, you may be confused by the inner lining. What do you have to do to keep that clean? Take a look at some helpful tips for caring for lined garments.
Acrylic Linings
Acrylic is one material that’s commonly used to create faux fur for lining coats and other clothing items. How to wash your acrylic lining depends largely on the outer material of the garment. If the acrylic lining is inside of a coat made of a machine-washable fabric, then it’s fine for the lining to be washed that way as well. Some acrylic linings are removable, which means that they can be machine washed even if the outer shell cannot.
However, if the outer shell can’t be machine washed, then you’ll need to spot-clean your acrylic lining. Spot cleaning isn’t difficult. Just moisten the soiled area with a clean, damp cloth, use your fingers to work some gentle detergent into the area until the stain is removed, and rinse thoroughly with clean water.
You’ll need to gently comb the area in order to smooth it out. Once you’ve finished cleaning it, you’ll need to let it air dry – acrylic linings are fine to go in the washing machine but the heat of a dryer will create tight, matted areas. Also, acrylic linings will begin to lose their shine if they’re washed too often, so keep cleanings to a minimum.
Acetate Linings
Another material that you might see used to line clothing is acetate. This material is commonly used to line things like suit jackets. Acetate is delicate and can be damaged by agitation or burned by high heat, so it’s best to hand wash acetate linings or bring them to the dry cleaners.
If you opt to hand wash an acetate lining, you can start by running it under cold water to dilute any stains. Then fill a sink with clean water and a few spoonfuls of detergent. Dip the garment into the water, then shake it gently. Then rinse it again to remove excess detergent. Depending on how soiled the lining is, you may need to repeat this process several times.
When you’re satisfied that the stain has been removed, hold the garment over the sink to drip-dry. Then arrange the garment into its natural shape on top of a dry towel so that it can finish drying while laying flat. Choose an area that’s warm, dry, and well-ventilated to dry the item. About halfway through the drying process, change the towels and flip the item onto the other side.