Have you ever wondered how to care for your bespoke suits when they have dirt spots on them?

Before running over to the dry cleaner, wait a bit! You may just save that suit more damage by cutting down your visits to the dry cleaner.

The basics for maintaining a suit

The best way to preserve your suit life is by caring for it properly. The more you care for your suit, the better it will last.

As a starter, you need to choose the days for wearing this suit. That means that if you wear a suit every day of the week, you need to have more than one of it. The more you wear your suit, the more the wear and tear.

Also, hang your suit properly after wearing them on a wooden hanger. This will maintain its natural shape. Ensure that you hang it in a cool, dry place when not in use.

Remember to take out everything from the trouser’s pocket to avoid creating a permanent bulge.

How to clean your suit pants and jacket alone at home

If you are a frequent suit wearer, it is sensible to purchase the following

• A wood-handled brush with natural bristles
• A lint roller
• A portable steamer

You will need all these tools and mild detergent when cleaning out small blotches from your suit pants or jacket. Remember to use the mild detergents because it has less harmful effects compared to the stronger ones.

Brush the suit

Thoroughly brushing your suit after wearing it will keep it clean and well-maintained.

You can use a suit brush or cloth brush to gently sweep it in downward strokes from the lapel and the neck area down. Ensure you follow the grains of the fibres. After that, start from the collar and clean underneath.

Also, brush from the shoulders downwards again, and brush the back of the suit jacket. Hold the sleeves away from your body and brush underneath along the side seams when you are done.

Do this every time you wear a suit. It will remove the dirt, dandruff, food particles and other build-ups that can affect its longevity. Use the same method to clean the suit pants.

Remove small spots and stains

When you have stains that don’t go away with brushing, use a towel or water wipes with a mild detergent for cleaning.

To get them off, rub the spot gently with the towel and mild detergent; move it in the opposite direction of the weave. The idea here is just to get the material dampened, not soaked.

Before trying this in front of your suit, test how the material will react to the detergent by cleaning a hidden area in the suit first, when you are done, hang the suit and allow it to air dry.

Use a steamer

Using a steamer on your suit works well on it. It functions for resetting the suit after wear. It takes out the wrinkles from the hard day job and other smells that may have accumulated.

Know that you do not need a super expensive steamer for this; a simple cloth steamer is enough. However, don’t use an iron steamer; it may ruin the fabric. We best advise a handheld steamer.

If you are travelling and cannot carry the steamer in your suitcase, just hang the suit in your bathroom and turn on the heat of your shower for some minutes. The shower steam will do the work of a steamer. After this, lay it on your bed flat and use your hands to smoothen it. Hang it back when you are done.

How to care for your suit after cleaning

Now that you are done with the routine cleaning, how do you take care of the bespoke suits? Use these simple steps to ensure your suit stays in excellent condition until you need it again:

• Use high-quality suit hangers: Wooden hangers with round edges work best because they mimic your body shape and keep the suit in form.
• Use suit covers, especially when travelling: Ensure the suit cover is a cloth bag, not plastic.
• Hang the suit correctly: Give enough space around it so that it can air out. Clustering alongside your other clothes will make it wrinkle.

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When to dry clean your suit

Unfortunately, you cannot keep your suit forever without taking it into the dry cleaner. There will always be unavoidable mishaps that will demand it to be dry cleaned.

However, do not dry clean your suit regularly. The chemicals used for dry cleaning are harsh and will affect your suit after a while.

Before taking your suit for dry cleaning,

• Try the tips above to see if you can handle the suit cleaning yourself
• Regularly brush it after wearing and air dry
• Try spot cleaning first whenever you notice a stain

If the methods above do not work, taking your suit to the dry cleaner should be the last resort.