Hi Pinkspangle: I had a coat too which said dry clean, the other day I washed it by hand and let it drip dry and it turned out lovely. Next time I'm going to put it in the machine on a gentle cycle. Good luck with it, let me know how it turns out.
Hi kimsmum, thanks for that! I am going to give it a go tonight now i have your reassurance!! I will try it on a gentle cycle and hope for the best! Will let you know what happens!x
I wash nearly all of my "Dry Clean Only" clothes and just use the gentlest wash and spin on my machine and dry them either on the line or over a towel on the radiator. Never had any problems yet and probably saved a fortune in dry cleaning bills let alone the hassle of taking them and fetching them from the cleaners. Use a mild hand wash solution too and you shoud be fine
i was told years ago that the labels on clothes that said dry clean only,were put there by manufacturers rather than put a label for every wash type.
If I was washing a wool coat I would spin it because you do not want wool to be wet for very long as that is one of the things that cause it to shrink. a cold wash or a very cool wash should be ok.