Proper Care: How often to dry clean

In an effort to add input from other professionals who work with men and their clothing, I am including an entry today from Billie Kersh - professional clothier with elevee lifestyle - on a topic she frequently discusses with her clients, caring for your clothes:

"You've just dropped several G's on bespoke suits.  Take the time to properly care for your investment so that it lasts a long, long time.

Men very commonly take their clothing to the dry cleaner too often.  Dry cleaning is a process that removes debris and dirt particles, but it should not be overdone because the chemicals used can be harsh on clothing.

How often you dry clean your suits depends on many factors.  Including: how many suits are in your roation, how often you wear them, whether you've soiled the fabric or gotten it sweaty, and outside factors such as light, smoke, or food.  In general, I recommend dry cleaning no more than once every 60 days; however, I've even heard it's best to only dry clean once a year.  The best advice is to dry clean your clothes only when it's absolutely necessary.

If you spill wine or food on a garment, take it to be spot cleaned as quickly as possible.  Other than that, brushing it with a suit brush and hanging it on a proper hanger in a well-ventilated area in between wearings will do the trick.

Feel free to steam your suits or take them in for a sponge and press in between cleanings to reshape and reset the clothing.  In this process, a small amount of moisture is added to the cloth without any chemicals, so the wool fibers are not damaged and odors are released.

Keep in mind that just because you wore the suit, doesn't necessarily mean it's dirty.  If your shirt fits properly, your jacket doesn't really touch your body at all.  Wool is a natural fiber that is inherently antimicrobial, so hanging it in a well ventilated area for at least a week before wearing it again allows the fabric to naturally defunk and reset itself.

Maintenance actions in between dry cleanings to extend the life of your suits:
-brush your suit after each wearing
-steam it (I recommend the jiffy home steamer)
-spot cleaning
-take it in for sponge and press at a cleaner or tailor shop
-don't iron the cloth directly.  If you feel the need to iron, use a medium setting and place a clean white cotton cloth between the iron and jacket"

Billie Kersh is a professional clothier with elevee bespoke in Chicago, IL and can also be followed on twitter @chisuitgirl

I would like to add that I personally, dry clean my suits 2x per year, with regular steaming, or additional cleaning only if I spill on them.